ABC’s 1980 broadcast team recount John Lennon’s murder in new eyewitness special

As the 40th anniversary of musical prodigy John Lennon’s shocking murder approaches on Tuesday, Dec. 8, ABC7 is revisiting the shocking day and night of news in a new special, “Eyewitness to the Death of John Lennon,” which will be streaming Friday.

Using rare footage, the network will be giving viewers a firsthand account leading up to Howard Cossell’s harrowing announcement of Lennon’s killing on Monday Night Football.

ABC7 anchor Bill Ritter will be interviewing the 1980s broadcast team which was on the ground in Manhattan as the news broke, including Geraldo Rivera, Ernie Anastos, John Johnson, Doug Johnson – and the many others behind the scenes with stories to tell.

The special also includes a firsthand account from ABC7 producer Alan Weiss, who broke the story to the station.

Weiss was a patient at Roosevelt hospital when police and emergency responders rushed Lennon into the emergency room – he recounts the screams of Yoko Ono and images of doctors attempting to save Lennon’s life.

“Eyewitness to the Death of John Lennon” debuted on Friday, Dec. 4, on ABC7’s streaming apps on Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, and Android TV. To stream the special, viewers can search “ABC7 New York” in the app store. The special will also air at 5 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 13.