The Historical Presidency: "Do Something about Life Line": The Kennedy Administration's Campaign to Silence the Radio Right

In: Presidential studies quarterly: official publication of the Center for the Study of the Presidency, Band 48, Heft 4, S. 817-831

Abstract

President John F. Kennedy launched the most successful censorship campaign of the past half century. Its target was the Radio Right, an informal network of conservative broadcasters who reached millions of listeners across the country by the early 1960s. With Kennedy's encouragement, the Internal Revenue Service audited conservative broadcasters to impair their ability to raise money while the Federal Communications Commission discouraged radio stations from airing their programs. The success of the counter–Radio Right campaign contradicts postrevisionist interpretations of Kennedy as a president who grew toward greatness while in office.