Feminist Frequencies

All the Women Before Me

On this episode of Feminist Frequencies, we come full circle with a woman who's research has been mentioned in earlier episodes of this show. Donna Halper's journey in broadcast is one of many that inspired this podcast, alongside her sentiment of wanting to know where she came from being a woman in the radio industry. 
Research:
http://donnahalper.com/page1.html
https://lesley.edu/about/faculty-staff-directory/donna-halper
https://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/2023/04/former-wmms-dj-and-music-director-donna-halper-known-for-discovering-rush-set-for-her-own-hall-of-fame-induction.html&subscribed=google-oauth2%7C105895719326749415105
https://www.patriotledger.com/story/news/2023/03/27/donna-halper-quincy-ma-rush-fame-joining-the-broadcasters-hall-of-fame/70044991007/
https://brucemiles.net/2021/08/a-true-spirit-of-radio-donna-halpers-life-and-legacy-are-quite-the-rush/
https://news.northeastern.edu/2023/06/01/magazine/rush-rock-band-discovery/
https://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/2021/01/owow-radio-to-end-broadcasting-after-this-week.html
https://www.cleveland.com/music/2018/09/john_gorman_on_the_glory_days.html
https://sabr.org/authors/donna-l-halper/

Now I Know My WABCs

While women would have been broadcasting in the 1970s, there certainly would have still been room for firsts for women in broadcast. Specifically with Liz Kiley, she was both the first female broadcaster and one of the youngest broadcasters at WABC in New York, but that's not the full story. Listen to learn more!
References:
https://www.musicradio77.com/airchecks.html
https://prabook.com/web/liz.kiley/841884
https://www.amandfmmorningside.com/wpgc_liz_kiley.html
https://www.musicradio77.com/LizKileyProfile.html
https://www.musicradio77.com/WABCDJ.html
https://books.google.com/books?id=FkKhBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA260#v=onepage&q&f=false
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xilHTn-YhiE
https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Gavin-Report/90/92/Gavin-1992-09-11.pdf
https://airchexx.com/liz-kiley-92-5-wifi-philadelphia-november-24-1981/
https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1987-10-18-ca-15003-story.html
 

Girls Dream On

Ever had a song you couldn't stop playing over and over again? You wouldn't be alone, but one broadcaster used this tactic to help promote multiple bands on a station in Boston, MA in the 1970s. More on Maxanne Sartori on this episode of Feminist Frequencies
Warning: This episode contains mentions of suicide, although not in depth, but please be sensitive to your own needs. 
Research: 
WBCN and the American Revolution. Directed by Bill Lichtenstein, PBS, 2019.
https://www.wbur.org/news/2019/04/19/wbcn-and-the-american-revolution-cements-the-radio-stations-place-in-music-history
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6DNIxhdFvvA
https://www.bostonglobe.com/2021/11/22/arts/story-wbcn-radio-station-that-mattered-now-book/
https://bspurlin.wordpress.com/maxanne-sartori/
https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2021/11/19/wbcn-american-revolution-boston
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYY3a86GphQ
https://www.mmone.org/maxanne/
https://www.massbroadcastershof.org/hall-of-fame/hall-of-fame-2018/maxanne-sartori/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zGe8DtQaeFE 
https://repository.library.northeastern.edu/files/neu:4f16p494h

Smile, You're On the Air

Following last week's episode about WHER, the all women station in Memphis, TN in 1955, we're talking about the woman that made it all possible, Becky Phillips. Ms. Phillip's husband, Sam Phillips, would fall in love with her voice before they even met, making way for WHER, and women in broadcast into the future. Listen for more!
Research:
https://www.npr.org/2023/01/05/1147052846/sam-phillips-sun-records-elvis
https://www.npr.org/2023/01/27/1152012067/celebrating-the-centennial-of-sun-records-founder-sam-phillips
https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/legacyremembers/rebecca-phillips-obituary?id=19205751
https://kitchensisters.org/present/wher-1000-beautiful-watts/
http://al-ba.com/hof_phillipsr_bio.html
https://alabamachanin.com/journal/2013/01/the-heart-becky-burns-phillips
https://www.theguardian.com/news/2003/aug/01/guardianobituaries.artsobituaries 
https://al-ba.com/wp2/aba-hall-of-fame-and-broadcasters-of-the-year/ 
https://al-ba.com/wp2/becky-phillips/
https://www.openculture.com/2015/12/the-story-of-wher-americas-pioneering-first-all-women-radio-station-1955.html
https://www.peterguralnick.com/post/38709869130/beckyphillips

Something New

This episode is a little bit out of the ordinary from what we've talked about so far. On this episode of Feminist Frequencies, we're not just talking about one woman, but a whole station of women that came about in 1955 in Memphis, Tennessee. 
 
Research:
https://www.popularmechanics.com/culture/music/a22237/sam-phillips-sun-studio/ 
https://www.openculture.com/2015/12/the-story-of-wher-americas-pioneering-first-all-women-radio-station-1955.html 
https://www.thatericalper.com/2015/12/31/the-story-of-wher-americas-first-all-women-radio-station-in-1955/
https://www.nawrb.com/wher-first-all-woman-radio-station-in-the-1950s/
https://hearingvoices.com/2010/03/hv086-wher-memphis/
https://www.npr.org/2005/11/05/3304082/wher-1000-beautiful-watts-part-2 
https://www.npr.org/2005/10/29/3620358/jacquelyn-hall 
https://www.npr.org/2005/10/29/3620357/wher-reunion 
https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=170442
https://www.palmbeachpost.com/story/sponsor-story/2018/04/26/why-are-so-many-celebrities/6889940007/

From Martha to Mary Margaret

After looking at a couple of women who were more into the technology side of broadcast, it's time to talk about a woman who came to broadcast through a different path: journalism. Mary Margaret McBride was special because of the kind of stories she told and the skills she brought to the table, despite the hurtles she had to go through. 
 
Research
https://www.worldradiohistory.com/BOOKSHELF-ARH/Biography/Out-of-the-Air-Mary-McBride-1960.pdf 
https://www.worldradiohistory.com/BOOKSHELF-ARH/Biography/I-Looked-and-Listened-Ben-Gross-1954.pdf
https://www.npr.org/2005/05/14/4652468/remembering-radios-mary-margaret-mcbride
https://blogs.loc.gov/now-see-hear/2019/03/americas-first-lady-of-radio-mary-margaret-mcbride/
https://coutant.org/mcbride.html
https://www.loc.gov/static/programs/national-recording-preservation-board/documents/MCBRIDE2.pdf
https://projects.latimes.com/hollywood/star-walk/mary-margaret-mc-bride/index.html

The Story of the Story Lady

In the late 1910s, another first of women in broadcast emerge from a Morse code and ham radio background to be an inspiration to women both in and out of broadcast through the rest of her life and beyond. Eunice Randall, otherwise known as the Story Lady, is next up on Feminist Frequencies. 
Research:
https://www.oldradio.com/archives/people/randall.htm
https://www.massbroadcastershof.org/hall-of-fame/hall-of-fame-2011/eunice-randall-thompson/ 
https://antiquewireless.org/wp-content/uploads/AWA31_Halper_18-04-23.pdf 
https://www.wanderer.com/features/remembering-mattapoisett%E2%80%99s-radio-pioneer/
http://hamgallery.com/Tribute/W1MPP/
https://www.qcwa.org/w1mpp-01741-sk.htm
https://www.yumpu.com/en/document/view/12229548/eunice-randall-thompson-er-1cdp-w1mpp-1898-k8cx
https://www.yumpu.com/en/document/view/12229548/eunice-randall-thompson-er-1cdp-w1mpp-1898-k8cx/2
https://www.southcoasttoday.com/story/news/2002/03/23/mattapoisett-woman-was-radio-pioneer/50456732007/

One of the First True DJs, Sybil Herrold True

The wife of Charles Herrold, Sybil Herrold True, is arguably one of the first DJs that was on the air. Learn more about her now on Feminist Frequencies. 
 
Research:
https://sanjoserocks.org/didyou/worlds-first-dj/ 
https://historysanjose.org/charles-and-sybil-herrold/
https://bayarearadio.org/audio/kqw/kqw-30th-anniv-november-10-1945 
https://www.radioworld.com/news-and-business/opinion-radio39s-real-founding-father 
https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Short-Wave/Archive-Popular-Communications-IDX/IDX/00s/Popular-Communications-2010-07-OCR-Page-0078.pdf 
https://archive.org/details/casjhsj_000143

Feminist Frequencies Trailer

Introducing Feminist Frequencies, an honors program thesis podcast diving into the history of women in radio. Stay tuned for more!