text assets/images/thmbs/intro.gif Era of Change

The 1960s were a period of dramatic change throughout American society, and the media was not spared from the turmoil the changes brought. The decade's political conflicts encompassed a variety of bitter subjects: civil rights, Vietnam, feminism, communism, etc. Television forced radio and print media to find new roles to ensure their survival. Television allowed people to actually see the both the government and its protestors in action; the media was naturally caught in the middle.

Civil Rights & NC

None of these conflicts impacted North Carolina more than the civil rights movement. The 1898

]]> white supremacy campaign had allowed the state's Democrats to effectively disenfranchise black voters; this injustice was not rectified until the 1965 Voting Rights Act, which ended literacy tests and gave the federal Department of Justice the authority to appoint federal observers to monitor states' compliance with the law and its constitutional basis, the 15th Amendment.

The 1954 Brown v. the Board of Education ruling declaring segregation in public schools unconstitutional was often ignored in many Southern school districts. In 1963, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated, and Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson, famous for his powerful influence over Capitol Hill,

]]> pushed many of JFK's civil rights initiatives through Congress after becoming president. Television influenced public opinion concerning civil rights, as images of the police responses to riots convinced many citizens to support the civil rights activists.

It would be impossible to cover all of the aspects of politics & the media in the 1960s here, and this is partially because the Archives' resources are increasingly limited as our studies move toward the present. A full study of the 1960s media would have to encompass media organizations' own archives, especially those of television stations and producers.

Click on the thumbnails to view the materials in this section.

]]> image assets/images/thmbs/1950-charlotte.gif Illustrating the place of television and radio during the 1950s, this photograph shows the WBT & WBTV billboard is in a prominent location in downtown Charlotte. The stations earned their place: WBT was the first radio station in the entire Southeast and the first to begin 24-hour programming, and WBTV was the first television station in the Carolinas.

In the 1960s, WBT joined broadcasting efforts such as "Radio Moscow," a show launched by the station in 1959, and "Radio Liberty," syndicated from New York, to counter Soviet propaganda. WBT has a very strong signal, and it claimed with considerable accuracy that it could be heard "from Canada to Cuba."

]]> assets/images/1950-charlotte.jpg full-size (opens in new window)]]> This image is provided courtesy of the NORTH CAROLINA STATE ARCHIVES and may be protected by copyright law, Title 17 US Code. The user must obtain the proper release forms prior to reproducing this material. Postcard View of North Tryon Street from Trade Street, Charlotte, NC. Circa 1950. Courtesy of Durwood Barbour, Raleigh, NC. General Negative Collection, North Carolina State Archives. Call Number N.95.5.30.

]]> image assets/images/thmbs/1950-tv.gif This photograph was taken sometime during the 1950s at an unknown television station in Chapel Hill, possibly WUNC.

By the 1960s, television was well-established in American culture. As of the 1960 census, about 86% of U.S. households had at least one TV and there just over 500 television stations on the air, 11 of which were in North Carolina. The U.S. census, taken once every ten years, gathered data related to the radio (1930), TV (1950), and other technology as it became available. The Statistical Abstracts about Communications for the 1960 Census and the 1970 Census are available from the U.S. Census Bureau website.

]]> assets/images/1950-tv.jpg full-size (opens in new window)]]> This image is provided courtesy of the NORTH CAROLINA STATE ARCHIVES and may be protected by copyright law, Title 17 US Code. The user must obtain the proper release forms prior to reproducing this material. Interior of Chapel Hill, NC, television station. Circa 1950. Station depicted in photograph unknown; possibly UNC-TV. General Negative Collection, North Carolina State Archives. Call Number N.58.9.114.

]]> image assets/images/thmbs/1960-cocke-1.gif N.C. Supreme Court Justice candidate William J. Cocke thanked Isaac London for his support in the upcoming primary. Earning the support of newspaper editors was crucial for any campaign, especially low-profile ones like the state Supreme Court races. Media endorsements provided the support of the many voters who looked to the papers for guidance.

Newspaper endorsements are still a strong tradition, but radio and TV stayed away from the practice. The Federal Communications Commissions's (FCC) regulatory power allowed it to restrict content on public airwaves, and few stations were willing to challenge the administration.

]]> assets/images/1960-cocke-1.jpg full-size (opens in new window)]]> This image is provided courtesy of the NORTH CAROLINA STATE ARCHIVES and may be protected by copyright law, Title 17 US Code. The user must obtain the proper release forms prior to reproducing this material. Cocke, William J. to Isaac S. London, March 29, 1960. [P.C.1254.4] Isaac Spencer London Collection, North Carolina State Archives, Raleigh, NC.

]]> image assets/images/thmbs/1960-wfu.gif Isaac London sent this letter to the president of Wake Forest College (later Wake Forest University) concerning a March 29 student vote against integrating the school. Jack Pryor, the student mentioned in this letter, led the campaign against "social mixing." Beverly Lake was the strongest supporter of segregation among Democratic candidates in the 1960 election.

The 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision, civil rights, and desegregation became some of the defining political issues of the 1960s. Sit-ins at lunch counters began in Winston-Salem in February 1960. Wake Forest took steps to integrate beginning in 1961.

]]> assets/images/1960-wfc.jpg full-size (opens in new window)]]> This image is provided courtesy of the NORTH CAROLINA STATE ARCHIVES and may be protected by copyright law, Title 17 US Code. The user must obtain the proper release forms prior to reproducing this material. London, Isaac S. to Wake Forest College, March 31, 1960. [P.C.1254.4] Isaac Spencer London Collection, North Carolina State Archives, Raleigh, NC.

]]> image assets/images/thmbs/1960-rpd-0421.gif This is a clipping from the April 21, 1960 Rockingham Post-Dispatch. Before 1972, North Carolina nearly always voted Democratic, so the real contest for the governor's office often took place in the Democratic primary, not the general election.

Editor Isaac London endorsed Beverly Lake for governor, a fact alluded to in the last line of this short article. Lake came in second in the May 28 primary, but lost to Terry Sanford in the second primary. But London's endorsement did not stop the paper from poking fun at all of the candidates, Lake included, and their tendency to give vague, safe answers to questions.

]]> assets/images/1960-rpd-0421.gif entire column (new window)]]> This image is provided courtesy of the NORTH CAROLINA STATE ARCHIVES and may be protected by copyright law, Title 17 US Code. The user must obtain the proper release forms prior to reproducing this material. The Rockingham Post-Dispatch. 1960, Rockingham, NC. April 21. North Carolina Newspaper Project, State Library of North Carolina & North Carolina State Archives. Microfilm reel number RocRPD12.

]]> image assets/images/thmbs/1960-helms-1.gif This is a letter future U.S. Senator Jesse Helms sent to Isaac London, editor of the Rockingham Post-Dispatch. It conerns comments other newspapers printed about Dr. Lake, the candidate in the Democratic primary for the gubneratorial election supported by both London and Helms.

Helms accuses the Raleigh News & Observer and others of trying to mislead the people. This was a common charge in politics and was frequently leveled against the N&O, which had already earned the nickname "Nuisance & Disturber" before the Daniels family bought it in 1894 and turned it into one of the leading papers in the state.

]]> assets/images/1960-helms-1.jpg full-size (opens in new window)]]> This image is provided courtesy of the NORTH CAROLINA STATE ARCHIVES and may be protected by copyright law, Title 17 US Code. The user must obtain the proper release forms prior to reproducing this material. Helms, Jesse to Isaac S. London, May 23, 1960. [P.C.1254.4] Isaac Spencer London Collection, North Carolina State Archives, Raleigh, NC.

]]> image assets/images/thmbs/1960-tarboro-0714.gif This is an editorial from page 2 of the Tarboro Daily Southerner. Like most elections, the 1960 presidential election had a lot of contentious issues, some valid and others less so. One of the more questionable issues from today's standpoint is the problem many people had with Democratic candidate John F. Kennedy's Catholicism.

The conflict between Catholics and Protestants came to America with the first colonists and friction, often violent in nature, continued between the two communities through the nineteenth century. JFK remains to this day the only Catholic president in the nation's history.

]]> assets/images/1960-tarboro-0714.gif full-size (opens in new window)]]> This image is provided courtesy of the NORTH CAROLINA STATE ARCHIVES and may be protected by copyright law, Title 17 US Code. The user must obtain the proper release forms prior to reproducing this material. The Daily Southerner. 1960, Tarboro, NC. July 14. North Carolina Newspaper Project, State Library of North Carolina & North Carolina State Archives. Microfilm reel number TarDS40.

]]> image assets/images/thmbs/1960-tarboro-0927.gif This Tarboro Daily Southerner article covered a debate between JFK and Richard Nixon televised on September 26, 1960. The debates between JFK and Nixon were the first presidential debates to be televised and influenced both the nature of campaigning and the result of this election.

Opinions on who won the debates tended to vary greatly depending on whether audiences listened to the debate on the radio or watched it on television. Those who saw them on TV saw that Nixon, who had recently spent time in the hospital and refused make-up, looked weak and pale next to a vibrant JFK. Those who listened on the radio generally thought Nixon won.

]]> assets/images/1960-tarboro-0927.gif entire article (new window)]]> This image is provided courtesy of the NORTH CAROLINA STATE ARCHIVES and may be protected by copyright law, Title 17 US Code. The user must obtain the proper release forms prior to reproducing this material. The Daily Southerner. 1960, Tarboro, NC. September 27. North Carolina Newspaper Project, State Library of North Carolina & North Carolina State Archives. Microfilm reel number TarDS40.

]]> audio assets/images/thmbs/1960-results.gif assets/images/1960-results-sound.jpg This photograph was taken on November 9, 1960 as Terry Sanford and his press secretary, Graham Jones, read various newspapers announcing Sanford's election as governor of North Carolina. Newspapers have always followed elections closely in the U.S., but they displayed more caution in calling elections after an incident in 1948 when several papers announced incorrectly that Dewey had defeated Truman in the close presidential race.

]]> The audio file is one of six radio spots produced for Sanford's gubernatorial campaign in 1960. Two of the spots focused on education, an important theme of his campaign and administration. His campaign theme was a "New Day" for the state, an idea that involved raising the standard of living for all North Carolinians through a variety of means. He identified himself closely with the Kennedy family and their push for civil rights, which Sanford saw as another way to improve opportunities for all residents.

By the 1960s, radio was a very important part of advertising for any cause. Musical jingles, like the one used here, debuted on network radio in the early 1940s and remained a prominent tool for selling consumers and voters everything from Wheaties and Coca-Cola to candidates for office.

]]> assets/sound/1960-sanford-cut1.mp3 This image and audio file are provided courtesy of the NORTH CAROLINA STATE ARCHIVES and may be protected by copyright law, Title 17 US Code. The user must obtain the proper release forms prior to reproducing this material. Election Results, Terry Sanford and Graham Jones. November 9, 1960. Duplicate, General Negative Collection, North Carolina State Archives. Call Number 98.10.4. For the original, see [PC 1776.10] Graham Jones Papers, North Carolina State Archives, Raleigh, NC.

]]> video assets/images/thmbs/1964-sanford-civilrights.gif (Click here to read the governor's transcript of this speech.)

This is the introduction to a speech Governor Sanford made on July 7, 1964, in response to the passage of the Civil Rights Act. The message was broadcasted on radio and TV stations all over the state. In the speech, Sanford implores North Carolinians to obey the law and rely on the courts rather than violence.

Governor Sanford was known as a leading moderate in the South, a reputation enhanced by the state's relatively moderate civil rights experience. Later in the speech, he emphasizes North Carolina's progress toward equal opportunity for all races but admits that there are still many obstacles to total success.

]]> assets/video/1964-sanford-civilrights This video clip is provided courtesy of the NORTH CAROLINA STATE ARCHIVES and may be protected by copyright law, Title 17 US Code. The user must obtain the proper release forms prior to reproducing this material. Sanford, Terry. "Statement by Governor Terry Sanford," July 7, 1964. Video: [V.T.112.1] Video Collection, Non-Textual Materials Unit, North Carolina State Archives. Transcript: MARS Number 368.3, Terry Sanford Governor's Papers [Box 475], Speeches, Statements, Press Releases, 1959-1965, North Carolina State Archives, Raleigh, NC.

]]> video assets/images/thmbs/1964-sanford-report.gif North Carolina term limit laws prohibited governors from serving more than one term until 1977. Therefore, Sanford was not eligible for re-election. Sanford's "New Day for North Carolina" campaign comitted him to raising the standard of living for all North Carolinians, particularly through education. Among his educational reforms were two of his adminstration's most lasting creations: the School of the Arts, a public fine arts institution, and the Governor's School, a free summer program for gifted & talented high school students. As part of his efforts to focus public attention on education, Sanford invited students from a Raleigh high school to the studio for this speech directed towards the students of the state.

]]> assets/video/1964-sanford-report This video clip is provided courtesy of the NORTH CAROLINA STATE ARCHIVES and may be protected by copyright law, Title 17 US Code. The user must obtain the proper release forms prior to reproducing this material. Sanford, Terry. "Report of the People: Governor Terry Sanford Talks to Students of North Carolina," circa 1964. [V.T.112.1] Video Collection, Non-Textual Materials Unit, North Carolina State Archives.

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