Jesse Helms was a newspaperman-turned-broadcaster whose fiery editorials on WRAL-TV helped propel him to a 30-year career in the United States Senate.

Born in Monroe, NC in 1921, Helms’ first job was sweeping the floor of the Monroe Enquirer at age nine. He wrote a column for the same newspaper in high school and by 1939 was writing freelance sports articles for other papers in the region.

Helms studied journalism at Wingate Junior College and later at Wake Forest College, where he also wrote sports publicity material for the school. A chance meeting with the managing editor of the Raleigh News & Observer led to a job as overnight proofreader for the paper. When the N&O promoted him to sportswriter, Helms dropped out of Wake Forest to devote all his time and energy to his newspaper career.

Helms’ first fulltime job was as a sports reporter with Raleigh’s afternoon paper, the Raleigh Times. He rose to the position of Assistant City Editor before joining the Navy in 1942.

Before leaving for naval duty, Helms married Dorothy “Dot” Coble, who was also working in the newspaper business. Coble was editor of the society page at the News & Observer. The marriage would last until Helms’ death 66 years later.

Helms served stateside as a naval recruiter from 1942-1945. When he returned to Raleigh, he was offered a job as News Director of WCBT Radio in Roanoke Rapids. While working there, he met Capitol Broadcasting Company founder A.J. Fletcher, and the two struck up a friendship that would last a lifetime.

A.J. Fletcher liked the young newsman and saw to it that he would eventually join his company. In 1948, WRAL Radio President Fred Fletcher hired Helms as the News Director for WRAL-AM, WRAL-FM and the company’s two growing networks—the Tobacco Radio Network and the Tobacco Sports Network.

During the next few years Helms ran CBC’s radio news department and developed an intense interest in politics. He began spending spare time working on the 1950 U.S. Senate campaign of Willis Smith, who beat Frank Porter Graham in a hotly-contested election.

After the successful campaign, Senator Smith hired Helms away from WRAL and brought him to Washington as his Administrative Assistant. Helms served capably in that capacity until Smith died suddenly in 1953. He then worked briefly for Alton Lennon—Smith’s successor, but returned to Raleigh before the year ended.

When Jesse Helms came back to Raleigh, he took the job of Executive Director of the North Carolina Bankers Association. He held that title for the next seven years, but also found time to win election to the Raleigh City Council (1957-1961) and keep a hand in broadcasting– hosting a short Sunday program called “Facts of the Matter.”

But by 1960, the time was right for a reunion between Jesse Helms and his old friend, A.J. Fletcher. In a move that would change his life and career, Helms joined Capitol Broadcasting Company as its Executive Vice President, Vice Chairman of the Board, and Assistant Executive Officer.

In his new role at CBC, Jesse Helms’ chief responsibility was to write and express the views and positions of the company on a variety of topics. He communicated those positions in daily editorials on WRAL-TV and Capitol Broadcasting’s radio outlets. The commentaries were called “Viewpoint,” and the segment title became synonymous with Jesse Helms.

From the beginning, Jesse Helms’ Viewpoint editorials were designed to stir passionate debate. A WRAL-TV promotional flier described Viewpoint as “…easily the most provocative five minutes on television anywhere in the South. By taking a stand ourselves, Channel Five hopes that it may spark a willingness in others also to take a stand, either with us or against us, pro or con. Viewpoint is designed to make people think, and to register with Channel Five’s viewers this station’s position on matters of urgent public concern.”

Helms argued for free enterprise and states’ rights and against a host of issues that were familiar targets for conservatives, including abortion, civil rights and Medicaid. Helms spiced his commentaries with folksy anecdotes and biting sarcasm that won him legions of fans, but also made enemies.

The Viewpoint editorials made the controversial commentator a household name in North Carolina and after twelve years on the air—Helms decided to use his popularity among conservative voters as a springboard to Washington.

In early 1972, Jesse Helms filed as a Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate, and the Viewpoint editorials that had made him famous came to an end. Helms left Capitol Broadcasting Company and that fall won the bellwether election that would send him to Washington for the next thirty years.

Helms’ political career is well-chronicled, but it’s generally agreed that he became one of the country’s most powerful and controversial conservatives during his three decades in office. His political stands were much like his Viewpoint editorials; there was no middle ground. The Almanac of American Politics once wrote that “no American politician is more controversial; beloved in some quarters and hated in others, than Jesse Helms.”

As his health began to fail, however, Helms decided to leave politics and say goodbye to the national stage. In August 2001, Senator Jesse Helms returned to the once-familiar studios of WRAL-TV to videotape one final message—a statement officially announcing that he would not run for reelection.

Jesse Helms died July 4, 2008. He was 86.