Secrets of Victory: The Office of Censorship and the American Press and Radio in World War II - Softcover

Sweeney, Michael S.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0807849146 ISBN 13: 9780807849149

Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press, 2001

Synopsis

During World War II, the civilian Office of Censorship supervised a huge and surprisingly successful program of news management: the voluntary self-censorship of the American press. In January 1942, censorship codebooks were distributed to all American newspapers, magazines, and radio stations with the request that journalists adhere to the guidelines within. Remarkably, over the course of the war no print journalist, and only one radio journalist, ever deliberately violated the censorship code after having been made aware of it and understanding its intent.

Secrets of Victory examines the World War II censorship program and analyzes the reasons for its success. Using archival sources, including the Office of Censorship’s own records, Michael Sweeney traces the development of news media censorship from a pressing necessity after the attack on Pearl Harbor to the centralized yet efficient bureaucracy that persuaded thousands of journalists to censor themselves for the sake of national security. At the heart of this often dramatic story is the Office of Censorship’s director Byron Price. A former reporter himself, Price relied on cooperation with — rather than coercion of — American journalists in his fight to safeguard the nation’s secrets.

About this title

About the Author

A former reporter and editor, Michael S. Sweeney is assistant professor of communications at Utah State University in Logan.

Reviews

In this carefully documented study of press censorship during World War II, former reporter Sweeney (Utah State Univ.) shows how Byron Price's brilliant management of the Office of Censorship encouraged and supported the successful voluntary adherence to the Code of Wartime practices by members of the press and broadcast media. Price often brokered disputes between powerful figures in the military establishment, government officials of the Roosevelt administration, and members of the press and radio. He requested that members of the broadcast and press community not compromise the men and women in harm's way or undermine any Allied cause and to clear with his office any questionable or sensitive material that could possibly damage the war effort. This timely and important book about journalism, the media, and government control of information during wartime is highly recommended for academic and large public libraries. Gerald R. Costa, Brooklyn P.L., NY
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press
• Publication date: 2001
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0807849146
• ISBN 13: 9780807849149
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 288