CBN News Marks 34 Years of Reporting from a Christian Perspective
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. -- Not too long after its first broadcast in 1961, "The 700 Club" became the go-to source for Christians looking for inspiration and information.
By the 1970s, with America in a moral crisis brought on by President Richard Nixon's Watergate scandal, Pat Robertson sat down with then-Gov. Jimmy Carter. Their discussion centered on a topic rarely discussed amongst newsmakers of the day: faith.
Carter, who called himself a born-again Christian, said in that interview, "I think the Bible says, 'pray without ceasing.'"
At that moment, CBN News was born. And over the next few years, Christians around the country began letting their voices be heard.
Nation Under God
That led to President Ronald Reagan's election in 1980. CBN established a Washington news bureau, and correspondent Forrest Boyd was there when a would-be assassin tried to kill the president.
Viewers prayed with The 700 Club's hosts for the president's recovery. Reagan did recover and served out two full terms as commander-in-chief.
Later, Reagan thanked Pat Robertson for "keeping the faith."
"This is a nation under God," Reagan told Pat. "And as long as we recognize that, I think he'll help us."
A news division of CBN formally began in 1982.
Middle East and Around the World
Outside of America, the world was changing. Radical Muslims were saber-rattling across the Middle East.
In Lebanon, CBN became the first independent source of television news in the region. Further south, CBN opened an office inside Jerusalem to cover the latest news in Israel.
As the Middle East was heating up, the Cold War was winding down. The Soviet Union collapsed, as did communism across Europe. Robertson and Rev, Billy Graham visited a newly unified Germany after the fall of the Berlin Wall.
"Your vision of what you're going to do in Eastern Europe is one of the most thrilling things I have ever heard," Graham told Robertson.
In Russia, the government opened its borders. For the first time, Soviet Jews were allowed to leave for Israel. One million embarked on a journey of "aliyah," and CBN News noted its biblical significance.
Politics, Tech, Terror Attacks and More
In the United States, CBN was busy covering the impeachment proceedings for former President Bill Clinton, the first U.S. president to be impeached in 130 years.
Outside of politics, CBN News' Drew Parkhill was one of the first persons to demonstrate a new technology called "the Internet" on national television.
Parkhill remarked at the time, "Just as television surpassed radio, this will take the place of television."
The Information Age ushered in a millennia filled with promise, although the big news at the start of the century centered on "hanging chads" in Florida.
And then, on one September morning, CBN News anchor Lee Web was on air for the biggest story yet, when the twin towers of the World Trade Center were struck by passenger jets.
After the 9/11 terror attacks, people across America were looking for answers. CBN was at Ground Zero, sharing stories of faith.
As President George W. Bush sent troops into war, reporters such as Chuck Holton and Paul Strand followed them into battle.
To keep up with breaking events, CBN debuted "Newswatch," a 30-minute daily newscast, launched a website, and soon CBN News reporters covered every major event in the world - from natural disasters such as Hurricane Katrina, to the attempts at peace in the Middle East.
In the digital age of covering the news, viewers can see David Brody interview the biggest names in politics and on Capitol Hill, or Efrem Graham sit down with the biggest names in show business.
CBN News: A Trusted Name
And at a time when faith in the mainstream press is at a low, CBN is a name that can be trusted. CBN's team of reporters have traveled around the globe, bringing back stories that truly matter.
Now, when news breaks, CBN is there. But the true heart has never been for the headlines, at least not the ones seen anywhere else.
CBN News has given voice to the forgotten, the persecuted, and those standing strong in their faith.
From health reports to the halls of Congress, CBN News is on the scene, standing on the walls as a modern-day watchman, proclaiming the truth from every nation, to every screen.
