Breaking a blacklisting effort

John Henry Faulk was an Austin, Texas radio personality who was attacked as a communist.  Wikipedia reveals:

Faulk's radio career at CBS^[6] ended in 1957, a victim of the Cold War and the blacklisting of the 1950s. AWARE, Inc., a for-profit corporation inspired by Wisconsin Senator Joseph McCarthy, offered a "clearance" service to major media advertisers and radio and television networks; for a fee, AWARE would investigate the backgrounds of entertainers for signs of Communist sympathy or affiliation.

In 1955 Faulk earned the ill will of the blacklisting organization when he and other members wrested control of their union, the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists from officers under the backing of AWARE. In reprisal, AWARE labeled Faulk a Communist.^[19] When he discovered that AWARE was actively keeping radio stations from offering him employment, Faulk sought remuneration.

Several prominent radio personalities along with CBS News vice president Edward R. Murrow supported Faulk's earnest attempt to put an end to blacklisting. With financial backing from Murrow, Faulk engaged New York attorney Louis Nizer. Attorneys for AWARE, including McCarthy-committee counsel Roy Cohn, managed to stall the suit, which was originally filed in 1957, for five years. When the trial finally concluded in a New York courtroom, the jury had determined that Faulk should receive more compensation than he sought in his original petition. On June 28, 1962, the jury awarded him the largest libel judgment in history to that date — $3.5 million.^[19] An appeals court later lowered the amount to $500,000. Legal fees and accumulated debts erased most of the balance of the award.^[19]

Faulk's book, Fear on Trial, published in 1963, tells the story of the experience. The book was remade into an Emmy award-winning TV movie in 1975 by CBS Television with William Devaneportraying Faulk and George C. Scott playing Faulk's lawyer, Louis Nizer.

Other supporters in the blacklist struggle included radio pioneer and Wimberley, Texas native Parks Johnson and reporter and CBS television news anchor Walter Cronkite.^[6]

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Conservative talk show host under attack by Media Matters and others on the left may want to look at this case.  My recollection from reading about it is that advertisers were contacted by a grocer who threatened to pull products from the shelf if company did not stop sponsoring programs he did not like.  Nizer managed to expose the operation during the trial.  It effectively ended the blacklisting operation.