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Conspiracy Nation -- Vol. 9 Num. 30
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("Quid coniuratio est?")
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GLORIA IN EXCELSIS
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[CN transcript of remarks by west coast researcher Dave Emory.]
[...continued...]
"I was never asked to report on other Americans or assess
foreign nationals I had met." -- Gloria Steinem
-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-
The Red Stockings charge that this statement is an alarming
lie. In a "Report on the Vienna Youth Festival" printed
with Steinem's name on it as director of the Independent
Research Service, there are 13 pages devoted exclusively to
biographies, political affiliations, and even some
superficial analyses of persons from all countries
participating in the festival. Youths were monitored in
much the same way at the 1962 World Youth Festival in
Helsinki. In addition to the news and cultural events put
on by the Independent Research Service, the Helsinki
festival was marked by four nights of "spontaneous" rioting
against the festival during which 40 people were arrested.
It was reported by Newsweek in August 1962 that "Pravda, of
course, blamed the disturbances on well-financed CIA and
FBI agents."
(Interrupting briefly. Of course remember that Newsweek is
published by Katherine Graham. We're going to be coming to *her*
role in setting up Ms. [magazine] in just a minute.)
This is Gloria Steinem's background from the late 1950s and
early 1960s. She functioned as a secret representative of
the American government abroad. At least, she was
representing certain American interests, and her activities
in the Independent Research Service involved her
inextricably with the U.S. domestic political intelligence
network.
Another fact exhumed by the Red Stockings is the group's
[Independent Research Service's] publication of a pamphlet
in 1959 called, "A Review of Negro Segregation in the
United States." Steinem's name is listed on the inside
cover, this time as co-director of the Independent Research
Service. The pamphlet focusses on the supposed advances
made by black people in the U.S. For example: "Beyond the
noisy clamor of those who would obstruct justice and fair
play, no alert observer can be unaware of the concerted
effort to rule out segregation from every aspect of
American life." The reason some discrimination does still
occur, according to the research group, is because "it is
also self-perpetuating, in that the rejected group, through
continued deprivation, is hardened in the very
shortcomings, real or imaginary, that are given as the
reasons for the discrimination in the first place."
In other words, the oppression of blacks continues not
because of white, ruling-class interests, but because black
people actually have become inferior. [CN: Here Red
Stocking is paraphrasing how they see the Independent
Research Service pamphlet's argument.]
(I'd interrupt to say that that phrase ["...the rejected group,
through continued deprivation, is hardened in the very
shortcomings, real or imaginary, that are given as the reasons
for the discrimination in the first place."] could be interpreted
in different ways, but that could be one inference of that
phrase. I don't necessarily think that that phrase would have to
be interpreted in this way. That's one area where I disagree a
little bit with the Red Stocking's analysis. However the
reportage here on the Helsinki Youth Festival and so forth is
bedrock, and I think it's worth noting again Steinem's role as
co-founder and co-director of the Independent Research Service.)
The Red Stocking's analysis equates this denial of black
oppression with Ms. magazine's rationalization to explain
the prolonged subjugation of women: both blacks and women
have supposedly become apathetic and deficient.
By 1967, the Independent Research Service was declared
"largely inactive" by the New York Times. Steinem,
however, was still a director in 1968 when Ramparts
[magazine] broke another story. This time they disclosed
that the CIA had plans of their own for another World Youth
Festival to be held in Sofia, Bulgaria. A scandal
involving some confidential letters implicating the CIA,
which found their way into print before the festival, had
the effect of curtailing the CIA's plans for youths in
Sofia.
It was during the following year, 1969-70, that Gloria
Steinem first began publicly identifying herself with the
Women's Movement. Around this same time, Red Stocking
researchers noted there was a change in the biographical
information listed about Steinem in *Who's Who*.
Reportedly, *Who's Who* sends data sheets to their subjects
requesting them to furnish the details. The 1968 and '69
edition was the first issue ever mentioning Steinem, and at
the time she was listed as "Director, educational
foundation, Independent Research Service, Cambridge,
Massachusetts/New York City, 1959-62. Now member Board of
Directors, Washington." By the 1970 edition of *Who's
Who*, this entry was shortened to "Director, educational
foundation, 1959-60." No mention of her position in
Washington on the Board of Directors appears, and she
abbreviated her term of employment with the Independent
Research Service to one year. The censored version appears
in each successive edition of *Who's Who*.
There does seem to be an attempt on Steinem's part to
mislead Ms. readers and conceal parts of her past. For
instance, her bio-blurb in June 1973 Ms. is even vaguer:
"Gloria Steinem has been a free-lance writer all her
professional life. Ms. magazine is her first full-time,
salaried job."
(Obviously, that is not the case.)
Then there is Gloria Steinem's mysteriously swift rise to
national prominence so soon after the 1967 exposures. It
is a common complaint among ex-CIA agents that past
involvement with the Agency often impedes their ability to
find other forms of employment. This was not the case for
Steinem. According to Red Stocking, "her career
skyrocketed after the 1967 exposures. Much of the credit
for this must go to Clay Felker, publisher of New York
Magazine. Recently in the news for his acquisition of the
Village Voice, Felker immediately fired its two remaining
founders from their jobs as publisher and editor. Felker
was Steinem's editor at Esquire [magazine] where her first
free-lance pieces were published. He hired her as
contributing editor to New York Magazine in 1968 and booked
publicity spots for her on radio and tv talk shows. Felker
put up the money for the preview issue of Ms. in January of
1972, a large part of which appeared as a supplement in the
1971 year-end issue of New York Magazine. In effect, it
was Felker who made Steinem famous by giving her a platform
from which to establish her Women's Liberation credentials.
These facts are all part of the public record. What has
not been widely known up to this time are the earlier
political roots of the Steinem/Felker collaboration.
Felker was with Steinem at the Helsinki Youth Festival
editing the English language newspaper put out by the
CIA-financed delegation.
In addition to Steinem's initial boost from Clay Felker,
the Red Stockings were able to determine two other major
sources of funds for the then fledgling Ms. magazine. One
resource was Katherine Graham, owner and publisher of the
Washington Post and Newsweek. She bought $20,000 worth of
stock before the first issue of Ms. was ever published.
According to "perfect Ms. ideology," Graham was recently
featured on the magazine's cover, depicted by the headline
as "The Most Powerful Woman in America."
(That, by the way, from the Ms. issue of October 1974.)
It should be noted in conjunction to this fact that
Newsweek became the most enthusiastic, mass-circulation
magazine promoting the Independent Research Service and
later, Gloria Steinem as an individual. (See early
articles of 5/10/65 and cover story of 8/16/71.)
The second major money source for Ms. was Warner
Communications, Inc. They purchased $1 million worth of Ms.
stock after the preview issue appeared. Warners allegedly
put up nearly all the money and only took 25 percent of the
actual stock holdings. Even the Ms. editors admitted that
this was a trifle odd: "We are especially impressed that
they took the unusual position of becoming a major investor
but minority stockholder, thus providing all the money
without demanding the decision vote in return."
(That from the *Ms. Reader*, page 226.)
(Skipping down in the article.....)
The ad policies of Ms. are an equally important indicator
of the magazine's financial and political backing,
especially in view of the frequently stated Ms. claims of
extreme selectivity regarding which ads they will accept.
This stance makes any ad they choose tantamount to an
endorsement. Blatantly sexist ads are most often rejected,
along with ads for cosmetic and fashion products. However
Ms. seems to have no moral problem accepting public
relations and job recruitment ads for large corporations.
IT&T is one of the most regular advertisers in Ms., along
with non-product ads from Ortho Pharmaceuticals, Exxon Oil,
Chemical Bank, Bell Telephone, Singer Aerospace,
Shearson-Hammel stockbrokers, Gulf & Western, and
Merrill-Lynch stockbrokers.
In their special "Human Developments" section each month,
Ms. runs a series of advertisements for careers in
companies like these.
A letter in September of 1973 from Amy Sverdlow(sp?) of
Women's Strike for Peace questioned what the recruiting of
women for IT&T had in common with human development:
"Let's have a Ms. story on all IT&T activities around the
world. Then, let the reader decide what talented women
will find at IT&T headquarters," she submitted. Ms.
editors replied that in light of all the unemployed women
and women on welfare that they could not be too selective
about their job ads. As if welfare mothers are all headed
toward IT&T careers! There is much controversy over
whether Ms. magazine is a commercial or a political
enterprise. Elements of both seem to exist as ingredients
of the Ms. ideological package.
[...to be continued...]
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