I was 8. I still have a piece of it on my shelf in the living room 
The first big news thing I remember was the crash of Pan Am 103 in Lockerbie in 1988. I was 7 at the time. We lived in London and it was big news there. I don’t know if it was a big deal in the States though.
Oh. I should have thought about that!! I was really interested in space and the astronauts!
We are not old even if we are the oldest. Are we really the oldest?
I always wanted to go to space camp too! Lol
Alan Shepard space flight. Broadcast over PA system at school. I think it was not an orbit, just into space and back. Biggest memory JFK assassination. Was in AP bio learning about ferns. School dismissed.
At least among the Daily Thread folks, as far as I’ve been able to tell. 
We’ll go with most experienced 
I have vague memories of stuff in the 70’s like the gas crisis and lines at the pump, but the first thing that really hit me was Jonestown. I was in middle school (we called it jr. high). Those people … who inadvertently gave us the phrase “drink the kool-aid” … I couldn’t fathom it.
There were local students on that plane so it was definitely on the radar for us.
The death of Elvis Presley.
This reminds me of crash of Flight 255 in Detroit. This was a big deal to our family because my brother’s best friend died in that crash.
I remember having no kindergarten when JFK was assassinated. We had a black and white television and no cartoons just sad people following the hearse.
LOL… you can question my memory… I wont’ take offense.
I’m getting old and know it 
I was answering the question of the first big event. And both those I remember in my daycare mother’s house. I remember the TV being on and watching both things there. She would vacuum and clean during commercials. But you are correct about the dates, now that you point it out. I didn’t go to look up the dates. Oh… I could say something cheeky… “made you look!” LOL
I won’t tell my age! My grandmother said you can’t trust a woman that tells her age. I didn’t know she was telling the only joke she ever told. But I still hold to it.
Which has reminded me of maybe the first big news event I remember: the death of Elvis Presley in 1977 when I was 8. I remember hating it because the TV was wall-to-wall Presley for days and I thought it was very boring!
Definitely the challenger explosion. I was in kindergarten. My sister and I were obsessed with space shuttles and NASA, so it was very salient to me even though I was very young.
A lot have given my answers but definately OJ Simpson trial, there was something with a space shuttle but I dont think it was the Challenger. 9/11 I was in college, in class to be exact. Didnt hear the news till I went into work after a.m. class.
OJ chase…too young for Challenger explosion, I also remember being transfixed by the tv coverage of Princess Diana’s death/funeral (I would have been 14…guess it’s because I’m around the same age as Prince Harry and can’t imagine losing a parent that way, senseless car crash with crazy coverage in the press).
Space shuttle Columbia also exploded upon reentry…but that was much much more recent.
Does anyone remember this? I was in the finance building facing the lake and saw it first hand
It was 17½ years ago. You’re older than you think.