When the News Broke : Chicago 1968 and the Polarizing of America

**A riveting, blow-by-blow account of how the network broadcasts of the 1968 Democratic convention shattered faith in American media.** “The whole world is watching!” cried protestors at the 1968 Democratic convention as Chicago police beat them in the streets. When some of that violence was then aired on network television, another kind of hell broke loose. Some viewers were stunned and outraged; others thought the protestors deserved what they got. No one—least of all Chicago mayor Richard Daley—was happy with how the networks handled it. In __When the News Broke__, Heather Hendershot revisits TV coverage of those four chaotic days in 1968—not only the violence in the streets but also the tumultuous convention itself, where Black citizens and others forcefully challenged southern delegations that had excluded them, anti-Vietnam delegates sought to change the party’s policy on the war, and journalists and delegates alike were bullied by both Daley’s security forces and party leaders. Ultimately, Hendershot reveals the convention as a pivotal moment in American political history when a mistaken notion of “liberal media bias” became mainstreamed and nationalized. At the same time, she celebrates the values of the network news professionals who strived for fairness and accuracy. Despite their efforts, however, Chicago proved to be a turning point in the public’s trust in national news sources. Since those pivotal days, the political Right in the United States has amplified distrust of TV news, to the point where even the truest and most clearly documented stories can be deemed “fake.” As Hendershot reveals, it doesn’t matter if the “whole world is watching” if people don’t believe what they see. A riveting, blow-by-blow account of how the network broadcasts of the 1968 Democratic convention shattered faith in American media. "The whole world is watching!" cried protestors at the 1968 Democratic convention as Chicago police beat them in the streets. When some of that violence was then aired on network television, another kind of hell broke loose. Some viewers were stunned and outraged; others thought the protestors deserved what they got. No one—least of all Chicago mayor Richard J. Daley—was happy with how the networks handled it. In When the News Broke , Heather Hendershot revisits TV coverage of those four chaotic days in 1968—not only the violence in the streets but also the tumultuous convention itself, where Black citizens and others forcefully challenged southern delegations that had excluded them, anti-Vietnam delegates sought to change the party's policy on the war, and journalists and delegates alike were bullied by both Daley's security forces and party leaders. Ultimately, Hendershot reveals the convention as a pivotal moment in American political history, when a distorted notion of "liberal media bias" became mainstreamed and nationalized. At the same time, she celebrates the values of the network news professionals who strived for fairness and accuracy. Despite their efforts, however, Chicago proved to be a turning point in the public's trust in national news sources. Since those critical days, the political Right in the United States has amplified distrust of TV news, to the point where even the truest and most clearly documented stories can be deemed "fake." As Hendershot demonstrates, it doesn't matter whether the "whole world is watching" if people don't believe what they see. Contents Introduction: Breaking the News, Chicago Style Chapter One. The Storm before the Storm Chapter Two. Day One “ If the Democratic Party can’t be democratic . . . what hope is there for democracy?” Chapter Three. Day Two “ We filibustered with Tweedledee and Tweedledum matters until the American people had gone to bed.” Chapter Four. Day Three “ You do what’s right, you don’t have to give a worry about the television medium.” Chapter Five. Day Four “ Maybe this is a kiss- and- make- up session, but it’s not really intended quite that way, Mayor Daley.” Chapter Six. The Storm after the Storm Conclusion. From Biased News to Fake News Acknowledgments Notes Index "Heather Hendershot argues that a moment long understood as sitting at the crux of American political history-the chaos of the 1968 Democratic convention in Chicago-is also crucial to understanding the country's media history. By scrutinizing those events and broadcasts in precise detail, Hendershot documents the emergence of the idea that the media are inherently liberal. As she shows, the public was unwilling to accept what was happening, and when exposed to even a fraction of the chaos, recoiled at what they thought could only be the malicious bias of the gatekeepers of the airwaves"-- Provided by publisher