U.S. Television News and Cold War Propaganda, 1947–1960

How US government and media collaborated in their dissemination of Cold War propaganda.

Nancy Bernhard (Author)

9780521543248, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 16 October 2003

268 pages, 9 b/w illus. 3 tables
22.5 x 15.2 x 1.8 cm, 0.415 kg

"Her [Bernhard's] analysis of media cowardice in dealing with one of the earliest challenges to deviance in Cold War reporting is superb." - Robert P. Newman

Television news and the Cold War grew simultaneously in the years following World War II, and their history is deeply intertwined. In order to guarantee sufficient resolve in the American public for a long term arms buildup, defense and security officials turned to the television networks. In need of access to official film and newsmakers to build themselves into serious news organizations, and anxious to prove their loyalty in the age of blacklisting, the network news divisions acted as unofficial state propagandists. They aired programs produced, scripted, and approved by the White House and the Departments of State and Defense as news and public affairs programs. Based on extensive primary research, this book makes a strong and compelling argument for collaboration between US television networks and government during the early years of the medium, and demonstrates how the Cold War was effectively 'sold' to the American public.

Introduction: selling the Cold War consensus
1. Business, the state, and information from World War II to Cold War
2. Democracy and the advent of television news
3. The State Department's domestic information programs
4. The television industry at war in Korea
5. The White House and NBC present battle report - Washington
6. The Defense Department's domestic information programs
7. Objectivity and consensus journalism
Conclusion
Selling America: corporate prerogatives and democratic processes.

Subject Areas: Media studies [JFD]