Page 64 - Historical Dictionary of Political Communication in the United States

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FRIENDLY, FRED
thy. See It Now was on the air until 1958. It won more than 30 awards, including
the George Peabody Award. The end of the program did not signal an end to
their relationship; the pair then coproduced a program called Small World, which
used new technology to connect people from different parts of the world to
discuss various topics.
Eventually, Friendly was asked by CBS to produce another documentary pro-
gram called CBS Reports, a program that produced quality, informative docu-
mentaries. In 1964, Friendly was appointed president of CBS News. It was a
heady time for journalists as the 1960s continued to see the country in turmoil,
and Friendly made sure that CBS News did more than just cover the facts by
also providing news analysis.
But gradually he became disenchanted with management at CBS. When they
insisted on running / Love Lucy instead of congressional hearings on the Viet-
nam War in 1966, he resigned. He was asked to be president of the Ford Foun-
dation, a group dedicated to producing quality educational television programs.
He did so and over the next few years helped set the groundwork for what was
to become today's Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB). He continued to
lend his expertise to producing documentaries on CPB. Friendly also became
very active in teaching broadcast journalism at Columbia University. (See also
Joseph McCarthy.)
SOURCES: Contemporary Authors, Vol. 14, 1985; Who's Who in America, 1997-1998.
Jacqueline Nash Gifford