Ruth Anderson at KFRC
Most
women in early radio were actresses, musicians or
secretaries.
The choice positions of announcer, news reporter or commentator were
always reserved for men. However, in the early 1940s many of
the
country’s best announcers and commentators were taking leaves of
absences to fight in the war. As with other
critical
services, some women stepped in to take their places. Ruth
Anderson at KFRC was the city's only woman news reporter. A
graduate of radio soap operas, she started editing, preparing and
reading her own newscasts in October of 1942. Her fifteen-minute
program “Last Minute News” was heard six days a week, sponsored by a
San Francisco department store. Women were heard
more
frequently in such roles after the war, but it would still take decades
for them to achieve parity with their male counterparts on the
air.
(A Farm Security Administration/Office of War Information Photo, courtesy of the Library of Congress)
(A Farm Security Administration/Office of War Information Photo, courtesy of the Library of Congress)