Toward a Civil Society: Bernarr Cooper and the Bureau of Mass Communications of the New York State Education Department

Abstract

Bernarr Cooper (1912–1999) led the Bureau of Mass Communications of the New York State Education Department from 1962 to 1982. During its heyday—roughly between 1970 and 1980—the Bureau produced or coproduced more than 1,500 educational programs, distributed widely to public schools and libraries across the state of New York. This article draws the story of Cooper and the Bureau out of the annals of New York State history, making it meaningful to the interrelated histories of mass communication, popular television, education, and public health.