The Jeremiad Over Journalism

editors, sponsorship of journalists‘ travel to the United States, and publication of material
with a favorable perspective on United States policies. These efforts were combined with,
what The New York Times, has referred to as ―black‖ propaganda from the Central
Intelligence Agency, meaning the spread of information where it is not possible to attribute
the sender of the message to any organization or individual. According to secondary
sources, the CIA also actively tried to recruit journalists in Scandinavia and reportedly had
at least one agent inside the Danish news agency Ritzaus Bureau. USIA and CIA thereby
actively tried to create or shape the Danish news coverage after World War II, and
influence the coverage towards stories viewed as desirable from a U.S. government
perspective in terms of the pursuit of ―Atlantic unity ― as well as the defense of ―western
civilization.‖ 320
2. The transnationalization, or ―knowledge exchange,‖ section will argue that Danish
journalists, scholars and teachers were carefully selected for travel to the United States, as
educational exchange, from an American standpoint, was thought to be a very effective way
of influencing (future) Danish leaders. From an American perspective, these educational
exchanges served to influence leading Danes‘ opinion about the United States. From the
Danish students‘ viewpoint, the exchanges for some helped shape their view of journalism
practice, helped create a favorable and more nuanced view of the United States among
opinion makers in Denmark after World War II, and opened the Danish students‘ eyes to a
different media environment to be inspired, but also repulsed, by while creating a valuable
international network for future use.
3. Lastly, the appropriation, or ―receiver,‖ section will argue that Danish journalists looked
more to the United States than to any other country to get a glimpse of the profession‘s
methodological future. The United States was seen as a source of inspiration, even if this
inspiration was not uncritically transferred to Danish news desks. The section argues that in
terms of research and writing, the United States was the country that Danish journalists
looked towards. Additionally, this section offers two concrete examples of Americanization
through transmission, transnationalization, and appropriation in the cases of New Journalism
and investigative reporting.
320 John M. Crewdson and Joseph B. Treaster, "The CIA's 3-Decade Effort to Mold the World's Views," The New York
Times, December 25, 1977. Page 12. Ingeborg Philipsen, "Selskabet for Frihed Og Kultur - Congress for Cultural
Freedom I Danmark 1953-1960 [Society for Freedom and Culture - Congress for Cultural Freedom in Denmark 1953-
1960]," Kritik 158 (2002). Page 40.
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