ABSTRACT
The postwar 1940s witnessed the beginnings of a full-fledged broadcast reform movement
composed of labor activists, African Americans, disaffected intellectuals, Progressives,
educators, and religious organizations. Although this reform movement would never
realize the full sum of its parts before it was quelled by reactionary forces, it would
succeed in registering significant victories as well as laying the necessary groundwork for
future reform. The following analysis draws from archival materials and interviews to
recover a largely forgotten moment in broadcast history, one that holds much
contemporary relevance for current media reform efforts and media policy issues.
