A Shadow of Red: Communism and the Blacklist in Radio and Television

The Cold War came to broadcasting in 1950. In that year, just as the Korean War was about to erupt, there appeared from a small publisher a booklet called Red Channels, which listed 151 suspected Communist sympathizers in broadcasting. Within months the blacklist in radio and TV began. The purge of the airwaves, distinct from the better-known blacklist in the movie industry, provoked one of the American media's great free-speech controversies. It affected scores of writers, directors, and actors, yet it was instigated by only a handful of anti-Red watchdogs--three ex-FBI agents, a former naval intelligence officer, and a grocer from Syracuse. A Shadow of Red follows the efforts of these five guardians of the broadcast media in a revealing history of the period, based on interviews, personal correspondence, FBI reports, and court transcripts. The conflict has routinely been portrayed as a simplistic morality tale of persecutors and the persecuted, the standard witch-hunt narrative of right-wing fanatics hounding political innocents whom they insisted were agents of the Communist devil. But, as David Everitt makes clear, the blacklisters, though excessive and destructive, were not deluded hunters of an imaginary menace. Their crusade is best understood as the culmination of a long-standing ideological struggle in broadcasting, in which neither side would indulge its adversaries. Ultimately the conflict would be decided in a historic and dramatic libel trial that brought all the issues, and all the old grievances, into the open. A Shadow of Red is brilliant history, a cautionary tale about civil liberties in a time of emergency, and a vivid example of the polarized political battle over who controls the media, a battle that continues to this day.

About the Author :
David Everitt, a former magazine editor, writes on entertainment and the media. His writings have appeared in the New York Times, Entertainment Weekly, Biography, and American History, and he has also written King of the Half Hour. He lives in Huntington, New York.

Review :
A 'must' for any collection strong in media history or Cold War politics, especially at the college level. -- "Midwest Book Review" A complex story of clashing perspectives and personalities that will provoke thoughtful reconsideration of the balance between free speech, protest, and boycott. --John Earl Haynes, author of Early Cold War Spies A refreshingly objective study. . . . A highly readable chronicle of a tumultuous period during which the cause of anticommunism suffered from mistakes that clever enemies were quick to exploit. --Joseph C. Goulden "Sunday Times" Absorbing history. David Everitt's well-written account offers special insights into the protagonists whose actions shaped this sordid era. --Athan Theoharis, author of From the Secret Files of J. Edgar Hoover An extraordinary chronicle of the blacklist era. . . . A beautifully written and moving narrative. This is a landmark work. -- "Marcus Letter" Deeply researched, highly detailed account. -- "Publishers Weekly" Everitt has given us a thoughtful, considered look at the issue of Communism in American life . . . with fresh, illuminating insights. --Stanley I. Kutler, author of The Wars of Watergate and Abuse of Power Generally excellent. -- "The Weekly Standard" Layered and nuanced story . . . especially pertinent at a time when many of us are terrified of our own justice department again. --Dan Smith "Blue Ridge Business Journal" Readable and superbly researched. -- "New York Sun" Serious in intention and illuminating. --David Hajdu "Columbia Journalism Review" The best modern study of the phenomenon, far enough removed from the people and events of six and more decades ago to provide some analytic judgment. -- "Communication Booknotes Quarterly" The first book to deal evenhandedly with the origins and effects of the communist blacklist in American radio and television. --Joshua Cohen "Forward"