On this date in history: A Washington scandal takes over the TV [View all]

[brooklynite]

http://www.dailypress.com/news/top-list/dp-on-this-date-in-history-the-watergate-hearings-on-tv-20130517,0,6311539.story

On May 17, 1973, the Senate hearings into the ever-expanding Watergate scandal took over national television.

Understand, this was before cable, before CNN, before the 24-hour news cycle. There were three networks - NBC, ABC and CBS - and they went off the air when people were asleep. But when representatives of President Nixon's re-election campaign were caught breaking into the Democratic National Committee's headquarters, and when Nixon himself was implicated in the cover-up, the nation became transfixed by the unfolding drama.

The three networks agreed to share live coverage of hearings on a rotating basis. One day, NBC would carry the live broadcast. The next day, ABC. The day after that, CBS. That rotation continued for almost three months, and with each new revelation - particularly after a White House aide reluctantly acknowledged that Nixon had been secretly recording every conversation in the Oval Office - viewers understood that this was a lot more than just guys in suits sitting at long tables asking questions. More than 85 percent of Americans were watching at least some of the hearings

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/video/may-17-1973-televised-watergate-hearings-begin-19171632