There's hatred, then there's stupidity.
And then there's whatever THAT was.
Here's hoping, this time through, with possible forewarning (doubtful though), that the military nails the newspaper to the wall all the while screaming to the rest of the papers that the Tribune's blabbing just cost US Sailors their lives. Hit all the patriotic buttons, while pointing fingers solely at the paper's owner. Possibly even have slanted editorials where its suggested that the rank & file Tribune staff were/are appalled at the breach of security, but told to write it up & print it or their jobs were on the line. Which focuses all attention on the man who really is the problem.
Ruin the man's reputation to the point it collapses and either he folds or gets removed via hostile takeover (Howard Hughes still is alive iirc, and would probably love to buy another newspaper) - and it'd probably end in a best result than OTL.
Also, it sends a stark message to anyone else that might be thinking of opening their mouths, that the US Government will take it
personally and take great pains in
destroying you over it. Without even needing to take 'official' legal action. Or worse, destroy you BEFORE taking legal action - when your name has been plastered everywhere for weeks on end, all reports saying you might very well have cost US military personnel their lives by aiding the enemy....in a time when EVERYONE read the newspapers, in the middle of a war widely seen (then) as the USA getting ambushed into....and only then take things officially to court? Good F'ing luck on the jury not condemning your ass on the spot.
Thompson is from the modern times. Have him give pointers for how to really nail someone in the media that the 1940s isn't used to.
Yet.
Character assassination methods have gotten scarily good and far more advanced ever since the 1960s and really took off in the 1990s, due to TV & Internet respectively becoming ever more prevalent. Back in the 1940s, radios are still something new enough that
entire families cluster around to listen to,
daily, to find out what is going on. Moreso ever since the war started and a huge chunk of those families are desperate for any news involving locations where their sons/brothers/fathers/uncles/husbands/lovers might be stationed. Suddenly going on air and slamming someone that is
'risking our boys, hell, he might as well killed them
himself', would have the entire country turn on him in an instant. I remember my grandparents mentioning how they could perfectly recall sitting around with a good chunk of their neighborhood, in the only house IN said neighborhood that had a 'good' quality radio, all listening to reports about the war and other events. And this is the pre-Watergate era, before the country started becoming numb to political skullduggery/backstabbing/infighting. Back when the common person actually BELIEVED in their politicians - and FDR, due to getting the common man back to work with his New Deal, has quite possibly the strongest hold among the population in the 20th century of any President that sat in the White House. Even better, to top all this off, is that this is an era where you just don't play hardball to that level. Not internally. Against enemies of the state that are external, sure, go wild. But nailing someone to the wall and vilifying them publicly who is a fellow citizen? Its just not done (then) unless someone in the government
already knows said person is a criminal.
Even with vague hints, Thompson could give the various propaganda divisions damn near their ideal of the holy grail in how to ruin someone's career. He might deeply regret it later on once FDR is out of office and whomever replaces him steps up (I am NOT even going to try to guess whom) and the political landscape starts using the more advanced and amoral mudslinging tactics decades early, but it'd be quite valuable in this war.
