Brigham Young University BYU ScholarsArchive Faculty Publications 2020-12-17 Agnew, ABC, and Richard Nixon's War on Television Dale L. Cressman PhD Brigham Young University - Provo,
[email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/facpub Part of the Social Influence and oliticalP Communication Commons, and the Television Commons BYU ScholarsArchive Citation Cressman, Dale L. PhD, "Agnew, ABC, and Richard Nixon's War on Television" (2020). Faculty Publications. 4484. https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/facpub/4484 This Peer-Reviewed Article is brought to you for free and open access by BYU ScholarsArchive. It has been accepted for inclusion in Faculty Publications by an authorized administrator of BYU ScholarsArchive. For more information, please contact
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[email protected]. Agnew, ABC, and Richard Nixon’s War on Television Accepted Manuscript for Journalism History Vol. 46 (no. 4) December 2020 Routledge - https://doi.org/10.1080/00947679.2020.1845042 © 2020 History Division of the AEJMC DALE L. CRESSMAN School of Communication, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah, USA Abstract: Less than a year into the presidency of Richard Nixon, Vice President Spiro Agnew launched a series of attacks on television journalists, accusing them of being biased and having too much power to determine what news millions of Americans watched on their televisions. Because the government licensed and regulated their stations, the networks considered Agnew’s statements, and other White House criticisms, to be threats. As the smallest, most vulnerable network, ABC found itself at a confluence of relationships with the administration: It employed both Nixon’s favorite and least favorite anchors, as well as a highly placed executive who lent sympathy and assistance to the White House.