Red Channels: The Report of Communist Influence in Radio and Television.

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Title

Red Channels: The Report of Communist Influence in Radio and Television.

Publisher

New York: Counterattack,

Date

1950.

Description

Red Channels is an imperfect guide to the supposed political leanings of those in American radio and television suspected by self-anointed “patriots” of being less than one hundred percent “loyal” to the United States. These patriots began their activities in the 1940s with a newsletter (Counterattack), subsequently embellished by special reports such as Red Channels, whose publication is considered to mark the formal beginning of blacklisting in American radio and television (already underway in the movie industry). For me Red Channels serves as a reminder of the anathema of blacklisting that debilitated the American entertainment industries for years. It also remains an important reflection of times that saw widespread hysteria about internal subversion and foreign threats to the United States, some of which proved real.

Source

Daniel J. Leab