Advertising is one of the things that make this country a wonderful place in which to live. Without it we would not have the newspapers and magazines that we read, or the “free” radio that we listen to, or the television shows that we routinely watch every day. Of course, some would argue that this current system is not really all that great and could point out a myriad of reasons why. And there is one point that I cannot say that I disagree with though I really do not have any other inhibitions towards advertising in general. Advertising means that someone, an advertiser, is controlling what we read, listen to, and watch. So what happens when these advertisers decide that whatever information that is threatening or at least pose a threat to their interests should not be shared with the public full of customers and potential customers? Are we better off not knowing? Is this fair to the media outlets that often choose to dispense this information? Does this change the meaning of “freedom of the press”?

This struggle between the media and advertisers has been going on since the whole relationship started. But the event that I want cover was one of the catalysts that spurred the change in how TV shows are produced. This event is the Second Red Scare or the McCarthy Era and the person almost single-handedly responsible for most of the event’s drama was none other than Senator Joseph R. McCarthy.

Joseph Raymond McCarthy was born in Grand Chute, Wisconsin on November 14, 1908 . After getting his law degree from Marquette University and practicing as a lawyer for only four years, McCarthy ran for circuit judge. He won the election, but three years later, he joined the Marine Corps to fight in World War II. Before leaving the Corps, McCarthy ran for Wisconsin ’s senatorial seat in the U. S. Congress and lost. Once he then got a discharge from the Marines, he ran again in 1946 for the other senatorial seat and this time he won the election. He really did not show up on anyone’s radar until his infamous attack on the U. S. State Department in 1950. In this attack, he claimed that he had a list of known communists were working within the State Department under the head’s nose. He never came up with any proof and the number that he claimed to have never stayed the same. McCarthy was also known as a great manipulator of the media because he knew how to use them to gain national coverage for nearly four years.

Most of the history books and documentaries focus on his false claims, the Army-McCarthy hearings, and how the media, especially television, was at the point that people could see and hear almost everything that happened during the McCarthy era. There are plenty of studies on McCarthy and the press, but not many seem to point out what happened to Time magazine. Maybe the reason for this failure to mention this event is that it did not make the papers very much. It did not make the front page of any major newspaper, although the issue did arise in a special section of the New York Times.

Political Advertising, The McCarthy Era Cont....