The Broadcast Century and Beyond, 5th Edition

Chapter SEVEN

The Shifting

Q and A and Jiggle

The new decade began as the previous one had ended. Vietnam was topic number one in 1970, with broadcasting expanding its coverage of nationwide protests as the protests themselves escalated. There was much to cover, including the National Guard’s killing of student protesters at Kent State and Jackson State universities. Kent State, where the students were white, received then and still receives strong media attention; Jackson State, where the students were black, was and is still largely ignored by the media.

President Richard Nixon was unhappy with broadcasting’s coverage of events. Believing that television and radio were distorting his policies and purposes for political reasons, he did not hesitate ...