Civil Rights Media Map - 1962
See how geography, social and political values, economics and history affected newspapers' exercise of freedom of press during the civil rights movement.
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The New York Times
The New York Times was founded 1851, and early on the newspaper focused on providing international news coverage for its readers. Almost a century later, in 1947 the Times became one of the first national news services to establish a Southern bureau. Jonny Popham, that bureau’s first correspondent, wrote reports that showed the moderate voices in the South, but missed stories of racial tension and signs of coming violence. But in 1958, Georgia-born reporter Claude Sitton replaced Popham and began to break stories that showed the full nature of the civil rights movement. Soon after, the Times opened other Southern bureaus. Despite being sued by Montgomery, Ala. Police Commissioner L.B. Sullivan for libel — and having to cease reporting in Alabama until the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the newspaper — the Times was a leader in covering civil rights events. The New York Times continues to be an internationally recognized paper.
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Memphis Press-Scimitar
The Memphis Press-Scimitar was an evening daily paper that ran from 1926 to 1983. The paper’s chief rival was the Memphis morning paper, The Commercial Appeal, which was owned by the same company. The Press-Scimitar was known for being more liberal than most in the South. The paper covered the African-American community before many white papers, and, unusually, used courtesy titles such as “Mr.” and “Mrs.” when referring to African Americans.
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The Commercial Appeal
The Commercial Appeal was founded in Memphis, Tenn., in 1894. The paper developed a large circulation throughout the South, primarily serving white, middle-class readers. The Appeal won a Pulitzer Prize in 1923 for editorials denouncing the Ku Klux Klan. However, during the civil rights movement, Editor Frank Ahlgren supported segregation and other socially conservative policies.
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The Russell Daily News
In 1947, siblings Russell Townsley, William L. Townsley and Helen Townsley Coogan bought The Russell County News and transformed it into The Russell Daily News. In 1960, the newspaper printed Monday through Saturday and served the majority-white town and county of Russell. Between 2000 and 2002, the newspaper changed its name back to The Russell County News and now publishes twice a week.
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