See also: Helms-Hunt Senate Race; Smith-Graham Senate Race.
Helms's five-minute weeknight Viewpoint editorials were the natural culmination of these experiences, and he harnessed the growing power of broadcast media with remarkable savvy. He covered a wide range of topics, frequently linking national and international issues with more local issues. Among his frequent targets were what he saw as overtly liberal or immoral aspects of American culture, including the excesses of big government, a "left-wing" bias in national TV network programming, the abuse of academic freedom, the evils of communism, a lax criminal justice system, the inadequate compensation of police and fire personnel, and a wasteful and unnecessary welfare system. He touted an agenda that supported the free enterprise system, the death penalty, prayer in public schools, and a strong national defense. He strongly opposed abortion, "subversive" civil rights activities, the Equal Rights Amendment, and the "sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll" of the radical counterculture.
Another of Helms's favorite targets was the perceived liberalism of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, which represented for him much of what ailed 1960s America. Although he was not shy in voicing his disdain for the university, Helms is wrongly credited with the famous remark that there was no need to build a zoo in North Carolina when the state could just "put a fence around Chapel Hill." In fact, that statement was made by editorialist Chub Seawell, who also argued that the university had no right to use academic freedom to help "god-denying liars" espouse their version of the truth.
Helms's final Viewpoint editorial gave no indication of his permanent departure, but, several days later, A. J. Fletcher, chairman of the board and chief executive officer of the Capitol Broadcasting Corporation, announced on the air that Helms intended to run for a seat in the U.S. Senate. That last Viewpoint editorial, number 2,762, which detailed his plan to take a leave of absence in order to seek the Republican nomination in North Carolina, ended Helms's work at WRAL. Although his 1972 election as the state's first Republican U.S. senator in the twentieth century was hardly the opening chapter in his influential and controversial political career, it did mark the beginning of its most significant phase.
WRAL suspended broadcasts of Viewpoint in February 1972 but resumed them on 8 Feb. 1973 with a new editorialist, William P. Cheshire, who continued to write and present the segments through 11 Nov. 1976. Without Helms as the driving force behind the series and with the increased popularity of FM radio, Viewpoint lost its prominence. WRAL eventually replaced it with fewer regular editorial segments by a wider range of commentators.