Cold War, Cool Medium: Television, McCarthyism, and American Culture

by Thomas Doherty

Conventional wisdom holds that television was a co-conspirator in the repressions of Cold War America, that it was a facilitator to the blacklist and handmaiden to McCarthyism. But Thomas Doherty argues that, through the influence of television, America actually became a more open and tolerant place. Although many books have been written about this period, Cold War, Cool Medium is the only one to examine it through the lens of television programming.

To the unjaded viewership of Cold War America, the television set was not a harbinger of intellectual degradation and moral decay, but a thrilling new household appliance capable of bringing the wonders of the world directly into the home. The "cool medium" permeated the lives of every American, quickly becoming one of the most powerful cultural forces of the twentieth century. While television has frequently been blamed for spurring the rise of Senator Joseph McCarthy, it was also the national stage upon which America witnessed―and ultimately welcomed―his downfall. In this provocative and nuanced cultural history, Doherty chronicles some of the most fascinating and ideologically charged episodes in television the warm-hearted Jewish sitcom The Goldbergs ; the subversive threat from I Love Lucy ; the sermons of Fulton J. Sheen on Life Is Worth Living ; the anticommunist series I Led 3 Lives ; the legendary jousts between Edward R. Murrow and Joseph McCarthy on See It Now ; and the hypnotic, 188-hour political spectacle that was the Army-McCarthy hearings.

By rerunning the programs, freezing the frames, and reading between the lines, Cold War, Cool Medium paints a picture of Cold War America that belies many black-and-white clichés. Doherty not only details how the blacklist operated within the television industry but also how the shows themselves struggled to defy it, arguing that television was preprogrammed to reinforce the very freedoms that McCarthyism attempted to curtail.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, American, Tv, Politics, American History, War

320 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2003

Reviews

[Rick Roseberry · Rating 5 out of 5]

With an innovative assessment of the McCarthy phenomenon and the inculcation of television into the American psyche, Thomas Doherty, in his tome Cold War, Cool Medium: Television, McCarthyism, and American Culture, cautions the reader that “television then was a different medium than television later, or now, and broadcast over a different cultural atmosphere.” (viii) He examines the emergence of television as a “full-scale incursion into American culture,” and contends, “The Cold War and the cool medium negotiated a cultural pact…” (1) The focus of his inquiry into the newly emerging visual medium is the oft-maligned character, Senator Joseph R. McCarthy. He advances the thesis that this new medium, television, was both the vehicle for the junior Senator from Wisconsin’s rise to national prominence as well as the instrument for his undoing. He supports his hypothesis in a rather unique way; he eschews rehashing traditional scholarship in favor of research in “televisual” primary sources – the original telecasts, transcripts of the shows, trade press accounts, newspaper reports, and other contemporary commentary. Acknowledging that McCarthy’s claim to fame as a staunch anti-communist, Doherty concedes that, “like the Cold War liberal, that now nearly extinct creature, I believe it is not mutually exclusive to conclude that Soviet communism posed a menace to human freedom and that Joseph R. McCarthy was a scoundrel.” (viii)
Doherty pays tribute to television early on. “Of the incalculable ways that television transformed American life – in family and friendships, leisure and literacy, consumer habits and common memories – the expansion of freedom of expression and the embrace of human difference must be counted among its most salutary legacies.” He continues, “During the Cold War, through television, America became a more open and tolerant place.” (2) He suggests that there was a codependent relationship between television and the Cold War, noting the concurrent emergence of both onto the American culture.
He outlines the background that permitted the rise of McCarthy beginning with the Korean War and the Rosenberg case, upon the heels of which was issued the pamphlet Red Channels: The Report of Communist Influence in Radio and Television. Red Channels not only named names of purported communists and their fellow travelers in the entertainment industry, but also would serve as the handbook for the blacklisting to come. Doherty traces the beginning of McCarthy’s rise to notoriety to his February 1950 Lincoln Day dinner speech in West Virginia, in which he claimed to have a list of 205 known communists in the state department. With no proof of his accusations, his name became synonymous with making unfounded allegations, which was dubbed “McCarthyism,” the first completely American –ism. The country was swept with anti-communists hysteria; President Truman had initiated loyalty oaths for federal employees, and the House Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC) had launched investigations into allegations of subversion in Hollywood. The author is careful to distinguish between McCarthy’s committee and HUAC, who existed concurrently but separately.
While describing the evolution of the blacklist, Doherty delineates the pariahs being investigated as 1) authentic Communist Party members, unrepentant card-carrying communists, 2) fellow travelers, communists in all but membership, 3) liberals, characteristically New-Deal Democrats with firm commitments to progressive causes, 4) prodigal politicos, former communists or fellow travelers who had confessed his or her past and sought absolution, and 5) self-styled dupes. He notes the collateral damage caused to a number of innocent bystanders through glitches, misprints, and misinformation, and the emergence of the catch-22 category of “controversial persons,” the most numerous category of blacklistees. The first casualty of Red Channels was Jean Muir, whose blacklisting Doherty claims was “clunky and amateurish.” (36) Future blacklistings, such as the case of Philip Loeb, would be more professional. He also explains how the popular television icon Lucille Ball escaped a similar fate; “while the small fry were hooked and gutted, the big fish would be tossed back.” (59) However, the “reigning master of television and politics” in the 50’s, Doherty asserts, was none other than President Dwight D. Eisenhower, who utilized the airwaves with skill and effectiveness. (96)
The author outlines the rise of McCarthy beginning with his committee’s Voice of America hearings, but also notes the popularity of radio cum-television personality Edward R. Murrow, whom he places in an opposing corner of the ring. As an indication of things to come, Doherty writes, “television gave reporters a rough parity with politicians.” (162) He vividly describes McCarthy’s downfall on Murrow’s newsmagazine, “See It Now,” with Murrow describing McCarthy’s two trademark smear techniques as “the investigation” and the “half-truth.” He lauds Murrow, saying his final commentary on the episode “remains the most dramatic, eloquent, and influential oration ever delivered by a television journalist…” (174) Following this disaster, the Army-McCarthy further cast a negative light on the Senator. Censure was to follow. Having thought the matter put to rest, the reader will be surprised to see Doherty revive it. The terms “pixie” and “fairy” used in the hearings had unknown homosexual overtones between Roy Cohen, McCarthy’s counsel, and Dave Schine. Doherty also notes the resurgence of interest in the McCarty saga. Books, movies, and television specials have resurrected interest in the era.
This book lays out the case against Joseph McCarthy in well-supported detail using the contemporary media sources of the era. In the end, McCarthy had indeed been undone by the very medium that he had used to devise his rise to prominence.

[Fresno Bob · Rating 3 out of 5]

alot more about TV in the 50s than McCarthyism or Cold War culture

[Ian Hughes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written and not that usual academic stuffiness that a lot of these books tend to that. A fascinating insight into the paranoia spreading through America in the 50s.

[Ashley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fascinating look at how the Cold War, McCarthyism, and Television were deeply intertwined. The chapter on Edward R. Murrow is an excellent counter point to the laudatory movie "Good Night and Good Luck." Although the book is not a "page turner" I found it hard to put down and talked about it to almost anyone I met.

Well worth a read.

[Jim Willse · Rating 5 out of 5]

Superb research and lively writing. Fascinating look back at the linkage between Cold War events and the growth of television. Particularly resonant in the Time of Trump, he also being a creature of television.

[Sharone · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting information clothed in florid, loathsome prose. Almost unbearable.

[Selina Gonzalez · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars. Interesting and readable. Somewhat given to tangents and explanations of material that seemed unnecessarily detailed for the point he was making. Seemed a bit longer than necessary, but that could be because I was taking notes for a uni assignment. Over all, balanced and insightful, if a little loosely focused.