blacklisting The practice of denying employment based on alleged political affiliations, particularly prominent in American broadcasting during the Red Scare era Written by Susan L. Brinson Contributor to SAGE Publications's The SAGE Encyclopedia of Journalism (2022) whose work appears in Britannica as part of a joint publishing agreement with SAGE. Susan L. Brinson Fact-checked by Britannica Editors Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree.... Britannica Editors Last updated Mar. 6, 2026 •History blacklisting, a practice in which individuals are publicly identified as having undesirable political associations and subsequently denied employment opportunities. In American broadcasting history, blacklisting reached its zenith during the Red Scare, a period of intense anticommunist sentiment that affected the industry from approximately 1947 to 1957. Despite constitutional protections guaranteeing freedom of the press from government interference, broadcasting proved particularly susceptible to political pressures during this period. The early Cold War period, spanning from 1945...

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