Mass Media and
Big Government
The 1950’s: The Media, Murrow, and McCarthyism
The Cast - Media
In 1950, the lineup was:
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Newspapers Magazines
Radio
Television
The Cast
Newspapers – Still strong, but feeling
weak
• Dominant media since 1890’s until
1930’s
• Rise of Radio took them by surprise
- The New York Times
- Chicago Tribune
- Washington Post
- Des Moines Register
The Cast
Magazines – Often overlooked, but
VERY powerful opinion makers
• Henry Luce empire –
Time magazine
Life magazine
• Also Colliers, Post, Look, many
others
• Note example of Foreign Affairs
magazine
The Cast
Radio –
Strong leader at beginning of 1950s
• Always leader in Entertainment but –
• Their ability to bring news of the war
into homes transformed their
business.
• News and Public Affairs
• CBS, NBC, others?
The Cast
Television –
• The new kid on the block.
• But they had a secret – early
backers were newspapers.
The Events
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•
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Depression
WWI & WWII
FDR’s Death
Munich, Yalta and Potsdam
Alger Hiss, HUAC
Truman’s 1948 victory
Growth of autos, industry, suburbs &
Television
Timeline
1930
Depression
1940
1950
World War II
Millions out of
work. German
government falls.
In US, trade
unions legalized.
1960
Red scare
USSR negates
Yalta and
Potsdam
agreements.
Cold War begins.
A bombs, H bombs and
spies revealed. Klaus
Fuchs , Alger Hiss.
Korea. The Cambridge
spies. The rise of Sen.
Joe McCarthy.
The Cast – People
• President Truman
• General and President Eisenhower
• Representative, Senator and
Vice President Richard Nixon
• Senator Joe McCarthy
• Joseph Stalin
• Nikita Khrushchev
• Fidel Castro
Timeline, 1945 – 1960
Churchill
declares the
‘Iron Curtain’
has descended
1945
China turns
‘Red’
Russian A bomb
1950
N. Korea
attacks
1955
Kennan’s
Sputnik
“Long
Telegram” The
Russian H bomb
Berlin
Airlift
USSR negates
Yalta and
Potsdam
agreements.
McCarthy
Cold War begins.
arises
1959
U-2
Incident
Who We Were - 1950
151 million Americans
Of the 38 million homes:
• 70% had a radio (33 million)
• About 50% had a phone – and
needed operators
• 10% owned a TV
• Only 38% had ever seen a TV
program
Who We Were - 1950
151 million Americans
Of the 38 million homes:
• 66% lived in urban areas – 2,500 or
above.
• 52% of rural farms had electricity.
A Few Facts
Disposable income - $1,074 / year
• Mail was 3 cents
• Candy bar or a soda was a nickel
A Few Facts
Few had insurance – or needed it.
• Average family spent $150 / yr on
health care
Only one in three adults had a car