Counterattack (newsletter)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

''Counterattack'' was a weekly
subscription The subscription business model is a business model in which a customer must pay a recurring price at regular intervals for access to a product or service. The model was pioneered by publishers of books and periodicals in the 17th century, a ...
-based,
anti-communist Anti-communism is political and ideological opposition to communism. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in the Russian Empire, and it reached global dimensions during the Cold War, when the United States and the ...
,
mimeographed A mimeograph machine (often abbreviated to mimeo, sometimes called a stencil duplicator) is a low-cost duplicating machine that works by forcing ink through a stencil onto paper. The process is called mimeography, and a copy made by the proc ...
newsletter A newsletter is a printed or electronic report containing news concerning the activities of a business or an organization that is sent to its members, customers, employees or other subscribers. Newsletters generally contain one main topic of ...
, which ran from 1947 to 1955 and was published by a "private, independent organization" of the same name and started by three ex-
Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice ...
agents.


Formation

In May 1947, "a group of former FBI agents" founded a "private, independent organization" called Counterattack.


Description

The full title of the publication was ''Counterattack: The Newsletter of Facts on Communism''. The weekly subscription-based newsletter headquartered at 55 W. 42 Street, New York. ''Counterattack'' was available by subscription and on news stands and in stores for one dollar in New York City. An annual subscription cost $24. Its target subscribers included "Security Officers, Personnel Directors, Employment managers and all sorts of people whose business requires them to know the facts about the background of organizations and/or individuals." By 1949, ''Counterattack'' had earned some $200,000 in revenue. In 1952, ''
Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and event (philosophy), events that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various me ...
'' magazine reported:
'Counterattack''never paid salaries of more than $6,000 a year, and it paid only a few dividends of $1 each on its 1,000 shares of stock. Its special research jobs for corporations, ad agencies, unions, etc. now account for about 5% of its income; the rest comes from ''Counterattack''.


Mission

Its self-proclaimed "principal functions" were to:
* Publish the newsletter ''Counterattack'', expose "the most important aspects of Communist activity in America each week * Compile factual information on Communists, Communist fronts, and other subversive organizations * Assist, consult with, and provide factual information on Communist activities
The ''
Columbia Journalism Review The ''Columbia Journalism Review'' (''CJR'') is a biannual magazine for professional journalists that has been published by the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism since 1961. Its contents include news and media industry trends, ana ...
'' has assessed the mission of ''Counterattack'' as follows:
''Counterattack'' had two missions: one, ostensibly journalistic, the other vigorously interventionist. First, it set out to expose everyone it could find who had any connection, however dubious or tenuous, to anything or anyone associated with Communism, Socialism, the
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
, or progressive ideology. Then, more significantly, ''Counterattack'' sought to rally its subscribers to action against the individuals it targeted. In its assault on performers and production personnel in radio and television, Counterattack exhorted its readers to write protest letters to the corporate sponsors of programs featuring actors with purported links to the left.


Counterattack staff

Staff members included: * John G. Keenan: Ex-FBI agent, publisher of ''Counterattack'', and ABC president. * Kenneth M. Bierly: Ex-FBI agent, ABC vice president * Theodore C. Kirkpatrick (AKA "Ted Kirkpatrick"): Ex-FBI agent, managing editor and chief spokesperson of ''Counterattack'' (known as "Mr. Counterattack") and BAC secretary-treasurer * Francis J. McNamara: In 1948, Francis John McNamara (1915–2007), WWII Army intelligence officer and
UNRRA United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA) was an international relief agency, largely dominated by the United States but representing 44 nations. Founded in November 1943, it was dissolved in September 1948. it became part o ...
staffer in China, began serving as researcher. In January 1950, he became editor of ''Counterattack'' through May 1954. (In 1954, he moved to Washington, DC, where he led the National Security Program of the
Veterans of Foreign Wars The Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), formally the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States, is an organization of US war veterans, who, as military service members fought in wars, campaigns, and expeditions on foreign land, waters, or ...
(VFW). He joined the House Committee on Un-American Activities UACas research analyst 958 director of research 961 and staff director
962 Year 962 ( CMLXII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * December – Arab–Byzantine wars – Sack of Aleppo: A Byzantine e ...
In 1970, joined the Subversive Activities Control Board (SACB) as executive secretary. In 1981, he became executive director of the Nathan Hale Foundation. In 1987, he became as vice-chairman of the Security and Intelligence Foundation through to 1990. His last role was senior fellow at the Center for Intelligence Studies. * Herbert Romerstein: In 1951, Romerstein testified before the Senate Sub-Committee on Internal Security on communist youth organizations and before the Subversive Activities Control Board. He became a research analyst and investigator for
American Business Consultants American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...
, publishers of the anti-communist newsletter ''Counterattack'' as well as for Bookmailer, which published his first book, ''Communism and Your Child'', in 1962. From 1965 to 1983, Romerstein served as a staff member for the U.S. House of Representatives. During this interval Romerstein worked as investigator for the House Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC), as minority chief investigator for the House Committee on Internal Security, and on the staff of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.


ABC (publisher)

Alfred Kohlberg Alfred Kohlberg (January 27, 1887, San Francisco, California, April 7, 1960, New York City, New York) was an American textile importer. A staunch anti-Communist, he was a member of the pro-Chiang "China lobby", as well as an ally of Wisconsin Sen ...
, an American textile importer and an ardent member of the anti-communist
China Lobby In American politics, the China lobby consisted of advocacy groups calling for American support for the Republic of China during the period from the 1930s until US recognition of the People's Republic of China in 1979, and then calling for cl ...
, funded the group, registered as American Business Consultants, Inc. (ABC) in 1947, "an extremist group of corporate and ex-government personnel." Affiliates of ABC included Lawrence Johnson (owners of a supermarket chain in upstate New York) and Jack Wren (former
Naval Intelligence Military intelligence is a military discipline that uses information collection and analysis approaches to provide guidance and direction to assist commanders in their decisions. This aim is achieved by providing an assessment of data from a ...
officer at
BBDO BBDO is a worldwide advertising agency network, with its headquarters in New York City. The agency originated in 1891 with the George Batten Company, and in 1928, through a merger with Barton, Durstine & Osborn (BDO), the agency became Batten, B ...
advertising agency). (Kohlberg was also an original national council member of the
John Birch Society The John Birch Society (JBS) is an American right-wing political advocacy group. Founded in 1958, it is anti-communist, supports social conservatism, and is associated with ultraconservative, radical right, far-right, or libertarian ideas. T ...
. ) Keenan served as ABC president, Bierly as vice president, and Kirkpatrick as secretary-treasurer. ABC offered a service costing $5 to investigate people. Newsletter subscribers (clients) included: Bendix Aviation, Du Pont,
General Motors The General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest automaker in the United States and ...
, Metropolitan Life, R.J. Reynolds, and F.W. Woolworth.


History

In 1946, Kirkpatrick and Bierly were implicated in "pirating" of security informants for '' Plain Talk'' magazine and soon thereafter for ''Counterattack'' newsletter. Kirkpatrick and Bierly also used FBI information to capitalize upon their FBI association. Together with Keenan, they formed first "John Quincy Adams Associates" in Washington, DC, and then "American Business Consultants, Inc.", in New York City, publisher of ''Counterattack'' newsletter. On March 26, 1947, FBI director
J. Edgar Hoover John Edgar Hoover (January 1, 1895 – May 2, 1972) was an American law enforcement administrator who served as the first Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). He was appointed director of the Bureau of Investigation  ...
appeared before the
House Un-American Activities Committee The House Committee on Un-American Activities (HCUA), popularly dubbed the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), was an investigative United States Congressional committee, committee of the United States House of Representatives, create ...
(HUAC) to air his views on communism. Hoover said:
The mad march of red fascism is a cause for concern in America. But the deceit, the trickery, and the lies of the American communists are catching up with them. Whenever the spotlight of truth is focused upon them the cry, " red baiting." Now that their aims and objectives are being exposed they are creating a Committee for the Constitutional Rights of Communists, and are feverishly working to build up what they term a quarter-million-dollar defense fund to place in ads in papers, to publish pamphlets, to buy radio time. They know that today it is a fight to the finish and that their backs will soon be to the wall.
The Communist Party of the United States is a
fifth column A fifth column is any group of people who undermine a larger group or nation from within, usually in favor of an enemy group or another nation. According to Harris Mylonas and Scott Radnitz, "fifth columns" are “domestic actors who work to un ...
if there ever was one. It is far better organized than were the
Nazis Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in N ...
in occupied countries prior to their capitulation. They are seeking to weaken America just as they did in the era of obstruction when they were aligned with Nazis. Their goal is the overthrow of our government.
HUAC's investigations gathered momentum after Hoover's speech – and, shortly after that speech, ''Counterattack'' launched publishing.


Political counterattacks

As early as December 1947, ''Counterattack'' had denounced the presidential aspirations of former U.S. Vice President
Henry A. Wallace Henry Agard Wallace (October 7, 1888 – November 18, 1965) was an American politician, journalist, farmer, and businessman who served as the 33rd vice president of the United States, the 11th U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, and the 10th U.S. ...
and his Progressive Party. It tracked other political parties that supported the Progressive Party, including the
American Labor Party The American Labor Party (ALP) was a political party in the United States established in 1936 that was active almost exclusively in the state of New York. The organization was founded by labor leaders and former members of the Socialist Party of A ...
and the National Farmers Union. It also attacked American labor unions, particularly the
Congress of Industrial Organizations The Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) was a federation of unions that organized workers in industrial unions in the United States and Canada from 1935 to 1955. Originally created in 1935 as a committee within the American Federation of ...
(CIO) and the
Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America (ACWA) was a United States labor union known for its support for "social unionism" and progressive political causes. Led by Sidney Hillman for its first thirty years, it helped found the Congress of Indus ...
(ACW) and their support (CIO) or not (ACW). In late March 1948, ''Counterattack'' had started to seek to rally its readers to take action against communists and communist organizations. In May 1948, ''Counterattack'' denounced the communist opposition to the Mundt-Nixon Bill. On July 2, 1948, Keenan and Kirkpatrick testified before the Special Subcommittee of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Education and Labor. Kennan described himself as publisher of ''Counterattack'', ABC president, and Brooklyn resident: he also notice service as FBI agent from 1942 to 1948. Keenan further testified that he was a lawyer and partner in the firm of Alexander and Keenan. Kirkpatrick described himself as managing editor of ''Counterattack'', ABC secretary-treasurer, and Queens resident: he noted service as FBI agent from 1941 to 1945. Kirkpatrick further testified that, after the FBI, he had worked for
Macy's Macy's (originally R. H. Macy & Co.) is an American chain of high-end department stores founded in 1858 by Rowland Hussey Macy. It became a division of the Cincinnati-based Federated Department Stores in 1994, through which it is affiliated wi ...
and then joined ABC in June 1946. They claimed to have some twelve employees, who included other ex-FBI agents. Among them were Jeremiah Buckley (head of research) and Harry Morgan (former vice president of the
American Communications Association The American Communications Association (ACA) was a telegraph and radio workers union, founded in 1931. History In 1931, ACA was founded as the American Radio Telegraphists Association (ARTA) by Mervyn Rathbone. The union represented telegraphist ...
-CIO union). They stated circulation at that time ran between 1,400 and 1,500 subscribers. In 1949, ''Counterattack'' denounced the Scientific and Cultural Conference for World Peace (July 1949) as a communist-front plot. By 1949-1950,
Ed Sullivan Edward Vincent Sullivan (September 28, 1901 – October 13, 1974) was an American television personality, impresario, sports and entertainment reporter, and syndicated columnist for the ''New York Daily News'' and the Chicago Tribune New York ...
was consulting ''Counterattack'' Kirkpatrick for guidance on whom to avoid as a " pinko".


HUAC and ''Red Channels''

In October 1947, the
House Un-American Activities Committee The House Committee on Un-American Activities (HCUA), popularly dubbed the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), was an investigative United States Congressional committee, committee of the United States House of Representatives, create ...
(HUAC) began investigating the influence and infiltration of communism in Hollywood, which some regard as a prelude to
McCarthyism McCarthyism is the practice of making false or unfounded accusations of subversion and treason, especially when related to anarchism, communism and socialism, and especially when done in a public and attention-grabbing manner. The term origin ...
and others regard as the beginning of the
Second Red Scare McCarthyism is the practice of making false or unfounded accusations of subversion and treason, especially when related to anarchism, communism and socialism, and especially when done in a public and attention-grabbing manner. The term origina ...
. A period of
blacklisting Blacklisting is the action of a group or authority compiling a blacklist (or black list) of people, countries or other entities to be avoided or distrusted as being deemed unacceptable to those making the list. If someone is on a blacklist, t ...
in the Entertainment industry began with a
contempt of Congress Contempt of Congress is the act of obstructing the work of the United States Congress or one of its committees. Historically, the bribery of a U.S. senator or U.S. representative was considered contempt of Congress. In modern times, contempt of Co ...
charge against the "Hollywood Ten". American Business Consultants were part of a larger network, which included HUAC, which researched allegedly communist-related activities of individuals and organizations. Composed of several former FBI agents, ABC obtained information from the FBI and had access to the files of HUAC. On June 22, 1950, ''Counterattack'' published a special issue, ''Red Channels: The Report of Communist Influence in Radio and Television'', with intent to "expos the most important aspects of Communist activity in America each week." ''Red Channels'' shook the entertainment industry. Starting in August 1950,
Young & Rubicam VMLY&R is an American marketing and Marketing communications, communications company specializing in advertising, Digital media, digital and social media, sales promotion, direct marketing and brand identity consulting, formed from the merger of ...
advertising agency and its radio and television program-sponsoring client
General Foods General Foods Corporation was a company whose direct predecessor was established in the United States by Charles William Post as the Postum Cereal Company in 1895. The company changed its name to "General Foods" in 1929, after several corporate ...
ran into "pinko" issues over ''
The Aldrich Family ''The Aldrich Family'', a popular radio teenage situation comedy (July 2, 1939 – April 19, 1953), was also presented in films, television and comic books. In the radio series' opening exchange, awkward teen Henry's mother called, "Hen-''reeeee ...
'' and '' The Goldbergs''. In September 1950, ''
Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
'' magazine published an
exposé Expose, exposé, or exposed may refer to: News sources * Exposé (journalism), a form of investigative journalism * '' The Exposé'', a British conspiracist website Film and TV Film * ''Exposé'' (film), a 1976 thriller film * ''Exposed'' (1932 ...
"The Inside on 'Counterattack'", which promised the "full story of paper and operators", an "ex-FBI foursome".


Peak

In 1951, Bierly left the newsletter. He claimed that ''Counterattack'' had "changed into an opinion and editorial sheet—short on facts and long on opinion." He also admitted that ''Red Channels'' had led to "lots of people getting kicked around". He set up his own research outfit with
Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the mu ...
as an initial client. In 1952, ''Counterattack'' seems to have peaked at 7,500 subscribers. By late June 1952, ''
Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and event (philosophy), events that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various me ...
'' magazine reported, Kirkpatrick, AKA "Mr. Counterattack", had left the newsletter for "primarily personal reasons".


Decline

In mid-March 1948, actor
Fredric March Fredric March (born Ernest Frederick McIntyre Bickel; August 31, 1897 – April 14, 1975) was an American actor, regarded as one of Hollywood's most celebrated, versatile stars of the 1930s and 1940s.Obituary ''Variety'', April 16, 1975, p ...
and his wife
Florence Eldridge Florence Eldridge (born Florence McKechnie, September 5, 1901 – August 1, 1988) was an American actress. She was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play in 1957 for her performance in '' Long Day's Journey into Night''. E ...
sued ''Counterattack'' for defamation and damages of $250,000. ''Counterattack'' settled with them out of court–"an expensive lesson" in libel. The first publication whose accusation against ''Counterattack'' for "extortion-style" tactics stuck was a weekly newsletter called ''In Fact'' in an article dated July 17, 1950. Lawsuits against ''Counterattack'' seemed to have stopped its publication by 1954, 1955, or 1958 though the organization (and ABC) seem to have survived until 1968 or even 1973.


Archives

The right-wing
Church League of America {{Short description, Anti-communist organization The Church League of America was founded in Chicago in 1937 to oppose left-wing and Social Gospel influences in Christian thought in organizations. The group's founders were Frank J. Loesch, a lawyer ...
obtained research files from American Business Consultants.
Bloomsburg University Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania (Bloomsburg, BU or Bloom) is a campus of Commonwealth University of Pennsylvania and it is located in Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania. It is part of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE). The ...
's library has made several issues available in
PDF Portable Document Format (PDF), standardized as ISO 32000, is a file format developed by Adobe in 1992 to present documents, including text formatting and images, in a manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating systems. ...
format online.


See also

* ''Plain Talk'' (magazine) * ''
Red Channels ''Red Channels: The Report of Communist Influence in Radio and Television'' was an anti-Communist document published in the United States at the start of the 1950s. Issued by the right-wing journal ''Counterattack'' on June 22, 1950, the pamphle ...
'' * The ''Red Channels'' list *
Anti-communism Anti-communism is political and ideological opposition to communism. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in the Russian Empire, and it reached global dimensions during the Cold War, when the United States and the ...
*
Alfred Kohlberg Alfred Kohlberg (January 27, 1887, San Francisco, California, April 7, 1960, New York City, New York) was an American textile importer. A staunch anti-Communist, he was a member of the pro-Chiang "China lobby", as well as an ally of Wisconsin Sen ...
*
China Lobby In American politics, the China lobby consisted of advocacy groups calling for American support for the Republic of China during the period from the 1930s until US recognition of the People's Republic of China in 1979, and then calling for cl ...
*
John Birch Society The John Birch Society (JBS) is an American right-wing political advocacy group. Founded in 1958, it is anti-communist, supports social conservatism, and is associated with ultraconservative, radical right, far-right, or libertarian ideas. T ...
*
Americans Battling Communism Americans Battling Communism Inc. (ABC) was an anti-communist organization created following an October 1947 speech by Pennsylvania Judge Blair Gunther that called for an "ABC movement" to educate America about communism. Chartered in November 1947 ...
*
Newsletter A newsletter is a printed or electronic report containing news concerning the activities of a business or an organization that is sent to its members, customers, employees or other subscribers. Newsletters generally contain one main topic of int ...


References


External sources

* {{cite book, author= John Cogley, title=Report on Blacklisting: Radio-Television, publisher=Fund for the Republic , url=https://archive.org/details/reportonblacklis00coglrich, date=1956, accessdate=3 March 2018
Bloomsburg University
Counterattack PDFs
Stanford University
Counterattack; the newsletter of facts to combat communism
AP Archives
(27 Mar 1947) Story 1, UN News: Communism, 200 UN V20 R25, 27 Mar 1947, b/w, sound 1947 establishments in New York (state) 1955 disestablishments in New York (state) Anti-communism in the United States Conservative magazines published in the United States Defunct political magazines published in the United States Magazines established in 1947 Magazines disestablished in 1955 Magazines published in New York City Newsletters Weekly magazines published in the United States