Martin Luther King Jr.: How the Civil Rights Leader Emerged as a National Media Figure
variety.comhe first made his mark on the national stage. His forceful use of non-violent protest, boycotts and civil disobedience to address the deplorable racism and the legal, political and economic discrimination that Black Americans faced made him a compelling personality at a time when local and national TV news was strengthening as a cultural force.
King’s message and mission was embraced by prominent Hollywood liberals who helped bring more attention to the righteous causes championed by King and the SCLC.
King made his first appearance in Variety in the Sept. 4, 1957, New York-based weekly edition, in a story about NBC’s new Sunday public affairs series “Look Here,” hosted by journalist Martin Agronsky.
King was among the early guests on the show, putting him in the company of then-Secretary of State John Foster Dulles, then-Senator John F.
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