The Reporter (magazine) - Connections To The CIA and American Government

Connections To The CIA and American Government

Elke van Cassel documents many connections that The Reporter had to the American intelligence establishment and believes that there is circumstantial evidence that the magazine was funded by the CIA. She notes that The Reporter was created at around the same time that the CIA began funding pro-American artists and journalists, including such similar magazines as Partisan Review and New Leader, and folded around the time that these kinds of clandestine activities were beginning to draw public scrutiny. The magazine stressed the importance of ideas in the Cold War, and believed that the United States government needed to defend its political and economic system to the world. This indicates that its editors would not have been opposed to cooperating with and possibly even accepting funding from the American government. Ascoli and other members of his staff were personally and professionally acquainted with some of the major figures of the mid-century American intelligence establishment and worked for a handful of organizations that were connected to or funded by the CIA. Cassel finds it notable that in the archives of the magazine its financial records, along with other important pieces of information, are missing. In the end, she concludes that while there is no direct evidence of CIA funding, the circumstantial case is substantial. At the very least, it can be established that The Reporter and its staff had close working relationships with several influential government officials and agencies, including the CIA and other services engaged in promoting American ideals and interests through the media.