Taylor Branch in "Parting the Water," is a good place to start to see how
the FBI organized its campaign against Martin Luther King. In 1963, just
before the March on Washington, HOover gave information to Congress about
King, trying to damage his reputation. HOover also gave the information to
other government agencies, like the US Information AGency, whose
film-makers covered the March. The head of the USIA, Edward R. Murrow,
refused to even look at Hoover's reports on King because of the blatant
attempt to smear King seemed unfair to him. HOover's rationale was that the
civil rights movement was infiltrated with Commies. Hoover, of course,
refused to acknowledge the existence of the Mafia, but saw Commies
everywhere long after the CP was long defunct in this country.
On another, cultural note, you may get a kick out of looking at Alfred
Hitchcock's portrayal of the FBI in the 1943 Shadow of a Doubt. Hoover was
very aware of the importance of Hollywood portraying his G-men in a
favorable light.
>I'm fairly well familiar with the literature on COINTELPRO, but Gordon
>seems to be referring to something different. Does anyone know
>anything about this "information campaign?" Can anyone suggest print
>sources that discuss it?
>
>Thanks in advance.
>
>Justin Gustainis
>Department of Communication
>SUNY-Plattsburgh
>
Melinda M. Schwenk
Ph.D. Candidate
Annenberg School for Communication
MSchwenk@pobox.asc.upenn.edu
(2)
From: "Jeff A. Hale" <privacy@rt66.com>
Have you looked at Ward Churchill and Jim Vander Walls' _Agents of
Repression_ and _The COINTELPRO Papers_? What about Frank Donner's _The Age
of Surveillance_ and _Protectors of Privilege_? Athan Theoharis' voluminous
work on the FBI/Hoover is also quite useful. All of these -- especially
Donner's monumental work _The Age of Surveillance_ -- deal with the
cross-fertilization of national security paranoia and COINTELPRO-esque
"information campaigns" [i.e info sharing and dual surveillance operations
between FBI/CIA/NSA and Congressional committees such as the Senate's
infamous "Internal Security" subcommittee of the Judiciary Committee].
Much of my research over the past ten years has been in this general area.
E-mail me directly if you want some additional elaboration.
Jeff Hale
The College of Santa Fe
privacy@rt66.com