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''Plain Talk'' was an American monthly
anticommunist 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 ...
magazine that lasted for 44 months (1946–1950). Its
editor-in-chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The highest-ranking editor of a publication may also be titled editor, managing ...
was
Isaac Don Levine Isaac Don Levine (January 19, 1892 – February 15, 1981) was a 20th-century Russian-born American journalist and anticommunist writer, who is known as a specialist on the Soviet Union. He worked with Soviet ex-spy Walter Krivitsky in a 1939 exp ...
.


Description

''Plain Talk'' featured articles by many
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 ...
writers of the time, including John Chamberlain,
Suzanne La Follette Suzanne Clara La Follette (June 24, 1893 – April 23, 1983) was an American journalist and author who advocated for libertarian feminism in the first half of the 20th century. As an editor she helped found several magazines. She was an early and a ...
,
Eugene Lyons Eugene Lyons (July 1, 1898 – January 7, 1985) was an American journalist and writer. A fellow traveler of Communism in his younger years, Lyons became highly critical of the Soviet Union after several years there as a correspondent of United P ...
,
George S. Schuyler George Samuel Schuyler (; February 25, 1895 – August 31, 1977) was an American writer, journalist, and social commentator known for his conservatism after he had initially supported socialism. Early life George Samuel Schuyler was born in ...
, and
Ralph de Toledano Ralph de Toledano (August 17, 1916 – February 3, 2007) was an American writer in the conservative movement in the United States throughout the second half of the 20th century. A friend of Richard Nixon, he was a journalist and editor of ''Newsw ...
. The magazine was published on a monthly basis.


History

In the 1970s, Levine wrote that in July 1946, Benjamin Mandel (a "guide to the mission" of the magazine), accompanied by Father John F. Cronin and
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 ...
, approached Levine at home in Norwalk, Connecticut. Kohlberg funded $25,000 for it, a free office, and funding for five staffers. The magazine was established in 1946, and the first issue appeared in October 1946. Its low circulation and readership levels made the magazine cease publication in May 1950. Former US 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 ...
had provided some "half-hearted" funding, but it did not succeed in shoring up the magazine. Connected to the magazine was the name Theodore Cooper Kirkpatrick, who, with fellow ex-FBI agent Kenneth M. Bierly, was implicated in "pirating" of security informants for ''Plain Talk'' magazine and soon for ''Counterattack'' newsletter. Kirkpatrick and Bierly also used FBI information to capitalize upon their association. Kirkpatrick and Bierly joined with a third ex-FBI agent, John G. Keenan, to form "
John Quincy Adams John Quincy Adams (; July 11, 1767 – February 23, 1848) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, and diarist who served as the sixth president of the United States, from 1825 to 1829. He previously served as the eighth United States ...
Associates" in Washington, DC, and then "American Business Consultants, Inc.," in New York City, the publisher of ''
Counterattack A counterattack is a tactic employed in response to an attack, with the term originating in "war games". The general objective is to negate or thwart the advantage gained by the enemy during attack, while the specific objectives typically seek ...
'' newsletter. In 1950, several writers and editors from ''Plain Talk'' stated to work for ''
The Freeman ''The Freeman'' (formerly published as ''The Freeman: Ideas on Liberty'' or ''Ideas on Liberty'') was an American libertarian magazine, formerly published by the Foundation for Economic Education (FEE). It was founded in 1950 by John Chamberl ...
'', which was founded later that year and acquired the ''Plain Talk'' subscription list.


Personnel

*
Isaac Don Levine Isaac Don Levine (January 19, 1892 – February 15, 1981) was a 20th-century Russian-born American journalist and anticommunist writer, who is known as a specialist on the Soviet Union. He worked with Soviet ex-spy Walter Krivitsky in a 1939 exp ...
, editor * John Chamberlain *
Suzanne La Follette Suzanne Clara La Follette (June 24, 1893 – April 23, 1983) was an American journalist and author who advocated for libertarian feminism in the first half of the 20th century. As an editor she helped found several magazines. She was an early and a ...
*
Eugene Lyons Eugene Lyons (July 1, 1898 – January 7, 1985) was an American journalist and writer. A fellow traveler of Communism in his younger years, Lyons became highly critical of the Soviet Union after several years there as a correspondent of United P ...
*
Guenther Reinhardt Guenther Reinhardt (1904-1968) was a German-American writer and investigator, best known for his book ''Crime Without Punishment: The Secret Soviet Terror Against America'' (1952). Background Guenther Reinhardt was born Günther Reinhardt ...
*
George S. Schuyler George Samuel Schuyler (; February 25, 1895 – August 31, 1977) was an American writer, journalist, and social commentator known for his conservatism after he had initially supported socialism. Early life George Samuel Schuyler was born in ...
*
Ralph de Toledano Ralph de Toledano (August 17, 1916 – February 3, 2007) was an American writer in the conservative movement in the United States throughout the second half of the 20th century. A friend of Richard Nixon, he was a journalist and editor of ''Newsw ...


Works

An anthology of articles from the magazine was published in 1976. * ''Plain Talk'' magazine (October 1946–May 1950) * ''Plain Talk: An Anthology from the Leading Anti-Communist Magazine of the 40s'' (1976)


See also

* ''
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 ...
''


References


Further reading

* {{cite book , first=Isaac , last=Don Levine , author-link=Isaac Don Levine , title=Plain Talk: An Anthology from the Leading Anti-Communist Magazine of the 40s , publisher=Arlington House , url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Plain_Talk/gII8AAAAIAAJ , place= New Rochelle, New York , date=1976, isbn=9780870003486 Conservative magazines published in the United States Anti-communist organizations in the United States Defunct political magazines published in the United States Magazines established in 1946 Magazines disestablished in 1950