Q.2 Study Source B.

How accurate is this interpretation of the TV playing a

crucial role in making the Government act to end segregation?

Use the source and the knowledge from your studies to explain your answer.

Source B: “Before television the public in the USA had no idea of the abuses
blacks suffered in the South. We showed what was happening, the police dogs,
the miserable conditions. We made it impossible for Congress not to act.”

As source B confirms, by televising the events that were occurring in the south of
the United States people were able to see what was really happening compared
to the postcard perfect situation that the southern states had portrayed through
the enforcement of the Jim Crow laws and the “separate but equal” ideals. With
the televising of the unprovoked attacks upon peaceful protestors the
government was backed into a corner. The TV images were broadcast
internationally, exposing the establishment to criticism from countries opposed to
American foreign policy. At the time the US was conducting a campaign aimed at
encouraging as many countries as possible to join the United Nations and sought
to persuade other nations that they were champions of freedom and equality.

The fact that source B is a statement from a representative of NBC casts doubt
on its impartiality. This is due to the fact that the speaker would want to portray
his company in the most beneficial light possible. One must never forget that
NBC, like all major American news networks and unlike the BBC which is publicly
owned, is a commercial organisation with an overriding duty to provide a dividend
to it’s shareholders. Against that background it is understandable that they would
seek to set themselves up as champions of the liberal establishment. One is
entitled to ask how the story would have been reported if the peaceful protests
had been replaced by riots? A degree of scepticism is justified.

Overall, it can be said that the broadcasting of the incidents that occurred in the
southern states contributed greatly to encouraging Congress to act. Without them
the African Americans could have been waiting far longer for their case to be
heard. Without the non-violent protests of the African Americans the broadcasting
agencies would have had no stories to televise. This makes source B’s
interpretation of the events an over exaggeration. It would be more accurate to
say that television was one of many critical factors that forced Congress to act.