Tragedy of a trailblazer: CBS's Don Hollenbeck, an honest reporter in the age of McCarthyism

Loren Ghiglione recounts the fascinating life and tragic suicide of Don Hollenbeck, the controversial newscaster who became a primary target of McCarthyism's smear tactics. Drawing on unsealed FBI records, private family correspondence, and interviews with Walter Cronkite, Mike Wallace, Charles Collingwood, Douglas Edwards, and more than one hundred other journalists, Ghiglione cuts close to the bone of this complicated newsman and chronicles the stark consequences of the anti-Communist frenzy that seized America in the late 1940s and 1950s. Loren Ghiglione recounts the fascinating life and tragic suicide of Don Hollenbeck, the controversial newscaster who became a primary target of McCarthyism's smear tactics. Drawing on unsealed FBI records, private family correspondence, and interviews with Walter Cronkite, Mike Wallace, Charles Collingwood, Douglas Edwards, and more than one hundred other journalists, Ghiglione writes a balanced biography that cuts close to the bone of this complicated newsman and chronicles the stark consequences of the anti-Communist frenzy that seized America in the late 1940s and 1950s. Hollenbeck began his career at the Lincoln, Nebraska __Journal__ (marrying the boss's daughter) before becoming an editor at William Randolph Hearst's rip-roaring __Omaha Bee-News__. He participated in the emerging field of photojournalism at the Associated Press; assisted in creating the innovative, ad-free __PM__ newspaper in New York City; reported from the European theater for NBC radio during World War II; and anchored television newscasts at CBS during the era of Edward R. Murrow. Hollenbeck's pioneering, prize-winning radio program, __CBS Views the Press__ (1947-1950), was a declaration of independence from a print medium that had dominated American newsmaking for close to 250 years. The program candidly criticized the prestigious __New York Times__, the __Daily News__ (then the paper with the largest circulation in America), and Hearst's flagship __Journal-American__ and popular morning tabloid __Daily Mirror__. For this honest work, Hollenbeck was attacked by conservative anti-Communists, especially Hearst columnist Jack O'Brian, and in 1954, plagued by depression, alcoholism, three failed marriages, and two network firings (and worried about a third), Hollenbeck took his own life. In his investigation of this amazing American character, Ghiglione reveals the workings of an industry that continues to fall victim to censorship and political manipulation. Separating myth from fact, __CBS's Don Hollenbeck__ is the definitive portrait of a polarizing figure who became a symbol of America's tortured conscience.

Loren Ghiglione recounts the fascinating life and tragic suicide of Don Hollenbeck, the controversial newscaster who became a primary target of McCarthyism's smear tactics. Drawing on unsealed FBI records, private family correspondence, and interviews with Walter Cronkite, Mike Wallace, Charles Collingwood, Douglas Edwards, and more than one hundred other journalists, Ghiglione writes a balanced biography that cuts close to the bone of this complicated newsman and chronicles the stark consequences of the anti-Communist frenzy that seized America in the late 1940s and 1950s.

Hollenbeck began his career at the Lincoln, Nebraska Journal (marrying the boss's daughter) before becoming an editor at William Randolph Hearst's rip-roaring Omaha Bee-News. He participated in the emerging field of photojournalism at the Associated Press; assisted in creating the innovative, ad-free PM newspaper in New York City; reported from the European theater for NBC radio during World War II; and anchored television newscasts at CBS during the era of Edward R. Murrow.

Hollenbeck's pioneering, prize-winning radio program, CBS Views the Press (1947-1950), was a declaration of independence from a print medium that had dominated American newsmaking for close to 250 years. The program candidly criticized the prestigious New York Times, the Daily News (then the paper with the largest circulation in America), and Hearst's flagship Journal-American and popular morning tabloid Daily Mirror. For this honest work, Hollenbeck was attacked by conservative anti-Communists, especially Hearst columnist Jack O'Brian, and in 1954, plagued bydepression, alcoholism, three failed marriages, and two network firings (and worried about a third), Hollenbeck took his own life. In his investigation of this amazing American character, Ghiglione reveals the workings of an industry that continues to fall victim to censorship and political manipulation. Separating myth from fact, CBS's Don Hollenbeck is the definitive portrait of a polarizing figure who became a symbol of America's tortured conscience.

Sarah Statz Cords - Library Journal

Journalist Don Hollenbeck, Edward R. Murrow's colleague at CBS during the 1940s and 1950s, is the subject of this biography by Ghiglione (journalism, Northwestern Univ.). Although not as famous as Murrow, Hollenbeck was noted for his dedication to objectivity in reporting and was best known for hosting the radio program CBS Views the Press, on which he critiqued the accuracy and style of the national media. A driven professional, he also frequently clashed with network sponsors. In his personal life, he struggled with alcoholism and committed suicide at the age of 49. In addition to Hollenbeck's story, Ghiglione also provides a history of the climate of Communist hunting and loyalty oaths that held sway in both politics and the media. Interspersed with Hollenbeck's story are short chapters about his polar opposite, newspaper columnist Jack O'Brian, who relentlessly criticized Hollenbeck's liberalism and elitism. Ghiglione's attention to detail and use of numerous personal interviews make this both a compelling biography and a rich contextual history of the McCarthy era. Highly recommended for public and academic libraries.

Contents Introduction 1. The Boy from Lincoln 2. Working for William Randolph Hearst in Omaha 3. The Founding of PM, a “Newspaperman’s Ideal” 4. Politics at PM: Commies and “Good Liberals” 5. Covering World War II from Home and Abroad 6. Getting Fired by NBC and ABC, Then Hired by CBS 7. The Invention of CBS Views the Press 8. Jack O’Brian: Buffalo Dock-Walloper to Broadway Drama Critic 9. Press Criticism: From Name-calling to Nuance 10. J ack O’Brian: Championing Decency, Fighting Soft-on-Communism Liberals 11. The Obsession with Subversives and Communist Spies 12. Jack O’Brian: Traveling with the Conservative, Anti-Commie Crowd 13. The Hearsts Versus Hollenbeck 14. Jack O’Brian: Attacking the Communist Broadcasting System 15. Loyalty Oaths, Blacklists, and Joseph McCarthy 16. The Walking Wounded 17. The Sermon in the Suicide Epilogue Acknowledgments Notes Bibliography Index