You might want to read it again and closely this time. Not only will you then know it is not about 1963, but also that he is talking about a deep cultural inclination towards the anti-intellectual. He recognized how false information, conspiracy and ignorance could quick move through society in old times prior to mass media.Culture and norms are the drivers not hardware and software. 

And news publications frequently ran two publications a day and hit the eyes of a mass of people. Rather than all the fragmentation of digital media, the effect was powerful and concentrated. Just like the effect of mass pop culture in the past which could create social phenomenon (unlike today with fractured cliques), the old way created waves of genuinely wide and deep movements of anti-intellectualism and paranoia. But since you like technological analogies, you talk about 6 or 7 tiny, tinny transistor radios when the traditional mass media was one stereo channeled turned up to 11 on massive speakers.