Testimony that George A. Richards, owner of Los Angeles radio station KMPC, ordered his newswriters to slant the news in such fashion as to present Jews only in an unfavorable light was heard here yesterday at a hearing of the Federal Communications Commission on an application by Richards for renewal of his broadcasting license. Richards also owns station WJR in Detroit and WGAR in Cleveland.
The testimony was presented by Clete Roberts, former director of KMPC’s department of public affairs, who said he had been instructed to “couple Jews with Communists” in newscasts. Roberts added that the station owner had stated that there was “a Jewish plot” afcot to control the large radio chains, referring to the fact that executives of three major networks — NBC, CBS and ABC — were Jews. Roberts said that when David Lilienthal was appointed to head the Atomic Energy Commission Richards ordered him to write a critical report for broadcast.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
