"We have to talk about liberating minds as well as liberating society"-Angela Davis
Beyond simply unveiling the existence of a Communist Professor on the UCLA campus, the media played a prominent role in the events that followed. However, as expected, various media outlets addressed the scandal from very different points of view. Without exception, throughout the scandal the most sympathetic media outlet continued to be The Daily Bruin. For weeks surrounding the heart of the action, Angela Davis articles continuously dominated every front page of The Daily Bruin. Mirroring the sentiments of the student body, The Bruin continually showed sympathy towards Davis’ cause. On page 9 of the October 6th, 1969 issue, a half page editorial was given to four members of the UCLA International Socialists. The editorial, which blasted both the Regents and Governor Reagan, concluded by stating “The only defense against the new wave of repression on campus is mass, militant action by the students and faculty. We must not let Angela Davis be fired!” Articles such as these no doubt affected the student response to the actions of the Regents and school administration. Very rarely, if at all, did The Bruin refer to Davis as “The Communist Teacher.” While the reach of The Bruin was significantly less than, for instance, The LA Times, it was extremely influential in the sense that those that it did reach were in the thick of the controversy.
The Los Angeles Times
In direct comparison to The Daily Bruin, The Los Angeles Times’ presented a viewed point biased to the other side of the controversy. The LA Times continually referred to Angela Davis with titles emphasizing the communist nature of her political beliefs. Often, these references would be extremely blatant. For instance, in the Oct. 20th, 1969 issue, the title of an article reads “UC Regents Win Change of Judge in Red Teacher Case.” Without a doubt, this title is target towards the older, conservative audience of The Times. Terms like “Red teacher” or simply “Communist Angela Davis” demonstrate a very different approach to covering the scandal between the two newspapers.
Overall, each paper is an interesting study in the process by which newspapers write to an audience. Despite thier differnt approaches, each outlet played their unique role in the progression of events that composed the Angela Davis controversy.
