Researcher ORCID Identifier
0009-0000-6085-8883
Graduation Year
2026
Date of Submission
4-2025
Document Type
Open Access Senior Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts
Reader 1
Daniel Firoozi
Rights Information
© 2026 Quinten Carney
Abstract
I study the impact of the first entertainment-news figures in American history. Walter Winchell seamlessly mixed celebrity gossip, political news, and personal attacks to create one of the most popular radio programs in the 1930s and 1940s. As a propagandist for Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR), he supported the New Deal, American involvement in World War II, and anti-fascism. Replicating early Irregular Terrain Model (ITM) work, I find that exposure to Winchell had no effect on voting outcomes or support for WWII through war-bond sales. I explore potential channels of influence in a consolidated media ecosystem that existed during Winchell’s time.
Recommended Citation
Carney, Quinten E., "The Original Joe Rogan: Evidence from Walter Winchell and American Political Outcomes" (2026). CMC Senior Theses. 4240.
https://scholarship.claremont.edu/cmc_theses/4240
