Carol Stabile provides us with a cautionary tale of a group of women previously erased from the history of broadcasting. This brilliantly researched history gives us the story of the Broadcast 41 and their enemies, the tale of a feminist cohort whose contributions to television and persecution by anti-Communists now emerges as a significant part of the story of a shameful era in American cultural history.
Jane Feuer, Professor Emerita of English and Film Studies, University of Pittsburgh
Trenchant and timely, The Broadcast 41 explores the birth of American television in the context of Cold War anti-Communism. Carol Stabile traces two competing stories, the first centered on anti-Communists who orchestrated the media blacklist, the second documenting the women influencing media production in New York City in the 1930s and 1940s. Stabile considers what television might have been, given the work, resilience and resistance of progressive women and people of color who worked in front of, and behind, the small screen. The Broadcast 41 is essential reading for anyone interested in the history of television and American culture.
Patrice Petro, Professor of Film and Media Studies, University of California, Santa Barbara
The Broadcast 41 is a must-read book for media scholars who want to understand the historical origins of entertainment media as a powerful reinforcer of sexism, racism and classism in American culture.
Caroline Heldman, Associate Professor of Politics, Occidental College
This richly detailed, forcefully argued feminist history of the 'Broadcast 41' sheds scene-changing light on the women artists muffled by the anti-Communist blacklist and more. Both the birth of American television and the strange attraction of 'G-Man masculinity' are clarified through Stabile's sharp and lively eye.
William J. Maxwell, Professor of English and African American Studies, Washington University in St. Louis
...this history is a valuable correction.
Ms Magazine
...an impassioned, indignant documentation of the 1950s “war over popular culture,” highlighting the work of some particularly talented women heroes who could have shaped television programming to reflect real American values and diversity.
Foreword Reviews
The Broadcast 41 offers an insightful, persuasive history of the American conservative movement that united to suppress the voices of progressive women in broadcasting, and how their perspectives continue to remain relevant today. Stabile's frequent connections between the environment of the 1950s and contemporary US politics – such as the #MeToo movement and the FBI's targeting of 'black identity extremists' – may offer a way into this lesser-known history for a broad audience of readers. This ongoing effort to recover the voices of women, immigrants and people of colour in broadcasting offers a vibrant alternative to what she terms the continuing 'historical amnesia' surrounding the anti-communist blacklist.
LSE Review of Books
