Encountering the ‘Other’ by Lifting the Iron Curtain: American Newspaper Editors’ Global Campaigns for Bridges of Understanding, 1961-1970

After World War II, American Society of Newspaper Editors members focused on sharing their journalistic ideals with Soviet journalists. Between 1961 and 1970 Soviet journalists travelled to the United States, ASNE members travelled to the Soviet Union to encourage greater free flows of information between both countries. This study provides insights into American editors’ transnational activities and attempts to spread Western journalistic ideals during the Cold War. Drawing on archival records, this article examines what motivated American editors to participate in journalism exchanges with journalists in a communist country, how American editors presented the Soviet Union to American readers, and whether American editors suggested these exchanges could advance information flows between both nations. Analysis of extensive primary sources indicates American editors contrasted their freedoms with Soviet controls. Editors’ diary entries, correspondence, and articles described Americans’ advocacy for journalists to receive greater access to information, places, and people.