![Fulton R](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8d/Fulton_R._Lewis_Jr_LCCN2016875537.jpg)
Fulton Lewis Jr. (April 30, 1903 in
Washington D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, Na ...
– August 20,
[ Lists his death date as 21 August, but other references show the death date to be 20 August.] 1966 in Washington D. C.)
was a
conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...
American radio broadcaster from the 1930s to the 1960s.
Early life and career
Lewis was born into influential circles in the nation's capital. He remained close to the circles of power all his life (President
Herbert Hoover
Herbert Clark Hoover (August 10, 1874 – October 20, 1964) was an American politician who served as the 31st president of the United States from 1929 to 1933 and a member of the Republican Party, holding office during the onset of the Gr ...
and his wife attended the wedding of Lewis to Alice Huston, who was the daughter of former
Republican National Committee
The Republican National Committee (RNC) is a U.S. Political action committee, political committee that assists the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party of the United States. It is responsible for developing and promoting the Republi ...
chairman Claudius Hart Huston)
He was an indifferent student; he attended the
University of Virginia
The University of Virginia (UVA) is a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United States, with highly selective ad ...
for three years (where he was a member of the
Virginia Glee Club
The Virginia Glee Club is a men's chorus based at the University of Virginia. It performs both traditional and contemporary vocal works typically in TTBB arrangements. Founded in 1871, the Glee Club is the university's oldest musical organization ...
and wrote the music for that school's official fight song, ''
The Cavalier Song''
). He dropped out of UVa, but soon after enrolled in the
George Washington University Law School. He left that institution when he obtained a reporting job with the
Washington Herald
''The Washington Herald'' was an American daily newspaper in Washington, D.C., from October 8, 1906, to January 31, 1939.
History
The paper was founded in 1906 by Scott C. Bone, who had been managing editor of ''The Washington Post'' from 1888 ...
newspaper. He found his niche in news reporting, and within three years was the paper's
City editor
A city editor is a title used by a particular section editor of a newspaper. They are responsible for the daily changes of a particular issue of a newspaper that will be released in the coming day. Mostly they stay at the publication at night and t ...
. During that time he met and courted his future wife.
Radio career
![Mutual Broadcasting System - Fulton Lewis Radio 1940s-1950s Commercial](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/ca/Mutual_Broadcasting_System_-_Fulton_Lewis_Radio_1940s-1950s_Commercial.jpg)
Lewis left the Herald to join Universal News Service, run by the
Hearst family. Between 1933 and 1936 Lewis wrote a newspaper column called "The Washington Sideshow" which was syndicated by
King Features
King Features Syndicate, Inc. is a American content distribution and animation studio, consumer product licensing and print syndication company owned by Hearst Communications that distributes about 150 comic strips, newspaper columns, editorial ...
. His radio career began when he volunteered to fill in for a vacationing news reporter. The head of Washington AM radio station
WOL was impressed with Lewis' "on-the-spot" reporting and offered him a full-time position. His commentaries were broadcast nationally by the
Mutual Broadcasting System
The Mutual Broadcasting System (commonly referred to simply as Mutual; sometimes referred to as MBS, Mutual Radio or the Mutual Radio Network) was an American commercial radio network in operation from 1934 to 1999. In the Old-time radio, golden ...
.
Lewis' commentary program (presented as a "news" program, but which allowed him to choose his topic and to give his opinions in depth) ran from 7:00-7:15 p.m. Eastern time, five days a week. His audience liked Lewis' folksy broadcasting style. At his commercial peak, Lewis was heard on more than 500 radio stations and boasted a weekly audience of sixteen million listeners. His signature closing was "That's the top of the news as it looks from here." He also transitioned briefly to
television
Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...
in the early 1950s
but the format of his program did not appeal in that medium, so he returned to radio for the remainder of his career.
Lewis was a conservative commentator who supported
Barry Goldwater for President, supported
limited government
In political philosophy, limited government is the concept of a government limited in power. It is a key concept in the history of liberalism.Amy Gutmann, "How Limited Is Liberal Government" in Liberalism Without Illusions: Essays on Liberal Th ...
and
federalism, and opposed liberal leaders such as
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination ...
and
Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), often referred to by his initials LBJ, was an American politician who served as the 36th president of the United States from 1963 to 1969. He had previously served as the 37th vice ...
and their policies. He first made his mark by opposing the
New Deal policies of
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (although he initially admired the man upon his first election), and as the world lurched toward
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
in the late 1930s he strongly supported the
America First Committee
The America First Committee (AFC) was the foremost United States isolationist pressure group against American entry into World War II. Launched in September 1940, it surpassed 800,000 members in 450 chapters at its peak. The AFC principally supp ...
, along with famed aviator
Charles Lindbergh
Charles Augustus Lindbergh (February 4, 1902 – August 26, 1974) was an American aviator, military officer, author, inventor, and activist. On May 20–21, 1927, Lindbergh made the first nonstop flight from New York City to Paris, a distance o ...
in their efforts to keep the US out of what he considered "the European War". He strongly opposed FDR's re-election in 1944, and also the election campaign of FDR's successor
Harry S. Truman
Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A leader of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Franklin ...
in 1948.
After the war, Lewis was avidly
anti-communist, and strongly backed
Senator Joe McCarthy. He was one of the first broadcasters to expose
Julius and Ethel Rosenberg
Julius Rosenberg (May 12, 1918 – June 19, 1953) and Ethel Rosenberg (; September 28, 1915 – June 19, 1953) were American citizens who were convicted of spying on behalf of the Soviet Union. The couple were convicted of providing top-secret i ...
as the
communist spies that the
Venona papers proved they were, although he was later accused of
antisemitism
Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism.
Antis ...
as well.
He despised
Earl Warren, even, at one point, calling to lynch him: "I wouldn't
impeach
Impeachment is the process by which a legislative body or other legally constituted tribunal initiates charges against a public official for misconduct. It may be understood as a unique process involving both political and legal elements.
In ...
him. I'd lynch him." Even after McCarthy was disgraced nationwide, Lewis continued to strongly champion him, and this did much to reduce his nationwide radio audience and appeal. He continued on air, however, until his death in 1966, after which his son
Fulton Lewis III Fulton Lewis III (January 25, 1936 - September 6, 2017) was an American journalist, the only son of the late network American news commentator Fulton Lewis Jr. and Alice Huston Lewis.
Education and early career
Fulton Lewis III attended Landon Sch ...
kept the broadcast running for another twelve years.
Legacy
Lewis was influential in persuading the
U.S. Congress
The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washin ...
to allow radio broadcasting of Congressional activities.
Among those who worked for Lewis was
Kenneth Tomlinson, former head of the
Corporation for Public Broadcasting
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) is an American publicly funded non-profit corporation, created in 1967 to promote and help support public broadcasting. The corporation's mission is to ensure universal access to non-commercial, ...
(CPB), an agency whose existence Lewis would have denounced. In this position, Tomlinson has worked to eliminate what he calls
liberal bias at the
Public Broadcasting Service and
National Public Radio
National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...
. One of CPB's ombudsmen,
Bill Schulz, was a writer for Lewis and for ''
Human Events
''Human Events'' is an American conservative political news and analysis website. Founded in 1944 as a print newspaper, ''Human Events'' became a digital-only publication in 2013.
''Human Events'' takes its name from the first sentence of the U ...
''. Schulz and Tomlinson were also colleagues at ''
Reader's Digest
''Reader's Digest'' is an American general-interest family magazine, published ten times a year. Formerly based in Chappaqua, New York, it is now headquartered in midtown Manhattan. The magazine was founded in 1922 by DeWitt Wallace and his wif ...
''.
Lewis wrote the words for "The Cavalier Song" for the University of Virginia while a student there. The song was featured in the 2000 movie ''
Bring It On Bring It On may refer to:
Books
* ''Bring It On'' (book), by Pat Robertson
* ''Bring It On!'' (manhwa), a romance manhwa by Baek Hye-Kyung
Film and stage
* ''Bring It On'' (film series), an American series of teen comedy cheerleading films capit ...
''.
In 1942 Lewis was the first recipient of the
Alfred I. duPont Award.
Lewis's name is remembered in the
Hollywood Walk of Fame, in a star placed on the South side of the 6200 block of Hollywood Boulevard.
Lewis is buried in
Rock Creek Cemetery
Rock Creek Cemetery is an cemetery with a natural and rolling landscape located at Rock Creek Church Road, NW, and Webster Street, NW, off Hawaii Avenue, NE, in the Petworth neighborhood of Washington, D.C., United States. It is across the stre ...
in Washington, D.C.
A 1987 editorial in the ''
Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large na ...
'' referred to Lewis as " . . one of the most unprincipled journalists ever to practice the trade."
A 2005
Salon.com
''Salon'' is an American politically progressive/ liberal news and opinion website created in 1995. It publishes articles on U.S. politics, culture, and current events.
Content and coverage
''Salon'' covers a variety of topics, including re ...
article stated, "A prominent radio broadcaster in the '40s, '50s and '60s, Lewis was known for his complete lack of objectivity."
References
External links
Fulton J. Lewis, Jr. papersat Syracuse University Special Collections Research Center
William F. Buckey, Jr., on Tomlinson, Schulz, and Lewis.interviewed by
Mike Wallace
Myron Leon Wallace (May 9, 1918 – April 7, 2012) was an American journalist, game show host, actor, and media personality. He interviewed a wide range of prominent newsmakers during his seven-decade career. He was one of the original correspo ...
on ''The Mike Wallace Interview'' February 1, 1958
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lewis, Fulton
1903 births
1966 deaths
People from Washington, D.C.
American radio personalities
American broadcast news analysts
George Washington University Law School alumni
Burials at Rock Creek Cemetery
Washington, D.C., Republicans
Old Right (United States)