Operation Mockingbird: When the CIA Infiltrated American Media

Frank Wisner and the "Mighty Wurlitzer"

Frank Wisner (1909-1965), head of the CIA's Office of Policy Coordination (OPC), called his media network the "Mighty Wurlitzer"—a reference to the theater organs that could play any tune. By the early 1950s, the CIA could plant a story anywhere in the world and watch it echo through "independent" media. [8]

Wisner recruited Philip Graham, owner of the Washington Post, to help coordinate media operations. Graham, in turn, recruited prominent journalists from his social circle—the "Georgetown Set"—including columnists Joseph and Stewart Alsop. [9]

The Bernstein Investigation: 400+ Journalists

In October 1977, Carl Bernstein—the Watergate journalist—published a 25,000-word exposé in Rolling Stone titled "The CIA and the Media." His investigation found: [2]

• 400+ American journalists secretly carried out CIA assignments
• Relationships ranged from occasional tips to full-time CIA employment
• Major organizations involved: New York Times, CBS, Time, Newsweek, AP, UPI
• Publisher Arthur Hays Sulzberger provided cover for 5 CIA employees at the Times

The Church Committee Revelations

In 1975-1976, the Senate Select Committee to Study Governmental Operations—chaired by Senator Frank Church—investigated CIA domestic activities. Their findings confirmed: [1]

• 50+ journalists with documented CIA relationships
• CIA sponsored or produced over 1,000 books before 1967
• By the 1950s, 3,000 salaried/contract employees engaged in propaganda
• Annual cost: approximately $265 million

The CIA refused to provide names of all media assets, leading the Committee to conclude there were "many more" beyond the confirmed 50+.

Project Mockingbird: The Wiretapping Program

Declassified documents reveal a specific operation called Project Mockingbird (distinct from the broader media program). In 1963, the CIA wiretapped two syndicated columnists—Robert Allen and Paul Scott—from March through June, authorized by CIA Director John McCone with Attorney General Robert Kennedy's approval. [7]

The "Family Jewels" documents, declassified in 2007, confirmed this surveillance but did not fully document the broader media infiltration program. [3]

Techniques and Methods

The CIA employed multiple techniques for media manipulation: [6]

• Story planting: Journalists published CIA-written or -influenced articles
• Cover operations: Journalist credentials provided cover for intelligence gathering
• Black propaganda: Foreign journalists paid to publish CIA stories
• Book publishing: CIA funded or produced over 1,000 books
• Suppression: Stories unfavorable to CIA operations killed or delayed

Historical Debate: Scope and Names

Historians debate the exact scope of CIA-media relationships. Scholar David Hadley's 2019 book The Rising Clamor argues that press collaboration stemmed from "Cold War consensus and shared view of Soviet threat" rather than systematic CIA control. [5]

What remains undisputed: the Church Committee confirmed that CIA cultivated relationships with hundreds of journalists, and these relationships compromised the independence of major American media institutions during the Cold War.