The civil rights movement played a crucial role in the emerging production practices and self-
understanding of network information workers— the makers of news, documentary, and public affairs
programming—during the 1950s. During the time, TV news was figuring out what it is going to be. Civil
rights was important to TV because not only did it provideTV journalism with much needed vivid
pictures and clear-cut stories, but more importantly, it also gave TV the opportunity to define itself, in a
period where the emergence of TV and civil rights movement was simultaneous. TV’s role was no longer
providing objective reports; it became a weapon that rendered the success of the movement. It became a
medium that addressed civil rights issues, and it became a tool for positive change …show more content…
This can be attributed in part to the moral authority commanded by movement participants,
who acted with remarkable courage in the face of the violent reprisals and economic deprivations that
accompanied their activism.
The constant exposure to the everyday life of the movement won the press over. The press favored the
activists, abandoning the rule of balance, while deposing the segregationist’ irrational hatred. However,
this is not only a product of the contingencies of the movement, but as one that serves their own interests.
For news workers, civil rights reporting promised the cultural capital the new medium needed. Because
publicity was such a crucial part of the movement’s strategies, and because public opinion was such an
important element in the disposition of particular civil rights struggles, coverage of the movement
allowed network news not only to report, but also to intervene in, national cultural and political discourse.
The networks’ response to the 1957 integration crisis in Little Rock is a great example. On September
understanding of network information workers— the makers of news, documentary, and public affairs
programming—during the 1950s. During the time, TV news was figuring out what it is going to be. Civil
rights was important to TV because not only did it provideTV journalism with much needed vivid
pictures and clear-cut stories, but more importantly, it also gave TV the opportunity to define itself, in a
period where the emergence of TV and civil rights movement was simultaneous. TV’s role was no longer
providing objective reports; it became a weapon that rendered the success of the movement. It became a
medium that addressed civil rights issues, and it became a tool for positive change …show more content…
This can be attributed in part to the moral authority commanded by movement participants,
who acted with remarkable courage in the face of the violent reprisals and economic deprivations that
accompanied their activism.
The constant exposure to the everyday life of the movement won the press over. The press favored the
activists, abandoning the rule of balance, while deposing the segregationist’ irrational hatred. However,
this is not only a product of the contingencies of the movement, but as one that serves their own interests.
For news workers, civil rights reporting promised the cultural capital the new medium needed. Because
publicity was such a crucial part of the movement’s strategies, and because public opinion was such an
important element in the disposition of particular civil rights struggles, coverage of the movement
allowed network news not only to report, but also to intervene in, national cultural and political discourse.
The networks’ response to the 1957 integration crisis in Little Rock is a great example. On September