MONITORING OF RIGHT-WING PROGRAMS IS BEGUN BY NEWLY FORMED COUNCIL

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP73-00475R000201870001-9
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 27, 2016
• Document Release Date: December 19, 2013
• Sequence Number: 1
• Publication Date: October 23, 1967
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

STAT w A cITINCZT(MT
Declassified in Part- Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2 50-Yr 2013/12/19: CIA-RDP73-00475R000201870001-9
? OCT 23 1964
Monitoring
g t-Wing Programs
Isegun by Newly Fonned Council
it
top
? "
?
By Willard Clopten
The newly formed National
Staff Reporter
'Council for Civic Responsibi-
lity began yesterday to mo-
nitor .10 widely heard radio
programs which it described
..as voices of "rightwing ex-
tremism." .
' The group said its purposes
are to keep a permanent re-
cord of the broadcatst for 'use
in blunting their impact and
in notifyint,persons who may
,be unfairly attacked so they
/tan seek equal time in which
to reply.
Formed in September "to
!expose the far right and its
:main force, the John Birch
'Society," the' Coun cil is
composed of more than 200
.persons prominent in busi-
ness, science, education and
[other fields.
'The organization plans to
!turn "the hot light of public
Iscrutiny on . . . spokesmen
for the radical right,". said
Council Chairman Arthur
iLarson, former director of
'the United 'States Informa-
tion Agency and now director
of the Rule of?LaW Center at
Duke University.
? The 10 programs to be
monitoted . account for about'
'7000 radio and television'
broadcasts throughout t h e
country*. ? each week, Larson'
itsai d.
The :programs are: "Life,
Lines,". 1' "Twentieth Century:
'Reformation Hour," '!Citizens
:Council Forum," "M a nio n,
:Forum," "America's Future,"?
'Independent American. Rai
dio Edition," "Church League;
of America," arid programs of,
commentary by Howard
Kersliner, Dan Smoot and;
Billy James Hargis.
Four of the programs arei
broadcast in this area and arej
being monitored bY apparatus
:search Inc., 1404 New York
.in the offices of Group Re.'
Declassified in Part L Sanitized eopy Approved for Release @ 50-Yr 2013/12/19: CIA-RDP73-00475R000201870001-9
pests went into operation
yesterday in New Orleans
and 'Oklahoma City.
Founded in 1962, Group
Research Inc. has specialized
in the study of so-called
right-wing publications. It will
perform the monitoring un-
der contract to the Council.
The Council now sponsors
a 51minute daily program,
"Spotlight on Extremism,"
which is heard in 34 cities.' It
is broadcast locally over
WFAX at 10:35 a.m. week-
days'.
Larson said the group will
soon begin airing a weekly
roundup of quotations from
the monitored programs and
will make the material avai-
lable to the press.
Tb e summaries will be
presented with little .or no
commentary, he said, since
"they . will speak for them-
selves and people can make
their own commentaries."
S t a tin g, that "extremist
forces" are spending about)
$10 million a year on broad-
casting, Larson said: "We can
no longer ignore the ominous
dimcnaions of the. attack that
radical Feactionary fpr c es
? .
have, leveled at the people'
and the policies that com4,
? I
prise our government."
It is. no longer a case, he'
said, "of extremists talking tt.
other extremists and . mas-
saging each others' prejudii
ces. It's getting into the'
bloodstream of the country."
"We hope to provide a,
permanent r e c or d. If the,
fresh air of public opinion'
can blow through, we feel, a
good deal of the worst ex..
cesses will dry up." ?
A pokesrnan :for the,'
Council said its broadcasting.
efforts will be concentrated
in areas where the programs
being monitored are most;
widely heard?the Midwest,
Southwest, California a n d
Florida.
Larson said the Council's
activity had nothing' to do'
with the current presidential.
campaign, in which extre?
mism has, become an issue,1
anti that there, had been no
discussion about the work
with either political party.
The group plans to continuei
the: monitoring "long .'after;!,
election day, ,he said. '
Od