Media: Radio
Martine Rothblatt
Nathalie Sarraute
Writer and lawyer Nathalie Sarraute was an innovative figure in post-World War II French literature. No longer allowed to practice law during the German occupation of France, she posed as the governess of her three daughters to hide her Jewish identity. Sarraute’s many novels and plays are characterized by an “inwardness” and an unusual lack of characters, names, and plot.
Ernestine Schumann-Heink
Ernestine Schumann-Heink was a prominent opera singer whose career spanned from the time she was seventeen into her 70s. Born in Lieben in 1861, Schumann-Heink rose to fame at the Hamburg Opera, and became a Metropolitan Opera star with a repertory of 150 roles. She was known as “The Nation’s Beloved Mother” for singing on weekly radio programs, while raising 7 children.
Vivienne Segal
A talented singer/actor and superb comedian, Vivienne Segal enjoyed a lengthy career. She was best known for her role as Vera Simpson, the older woman in love with the “heel,” Joey (played by Gene Kelly), in the 1940 Rodgers and Hart musical Pal Joey.
Dinah Shore
Dinah Shore, the quintessential American girl, was both America’s sweetheart in the 1940s and 1950s and a leading example of an independent woman in the 1970s. Her career as a singer and actress spanned over forty years and included stints on the radio and in the movies. Shore won nine Emmys, a Peabody, and a Golden Globe.
Joan Micklin Silver
Award-winning director and screenwriter Joan Micklin Silver, born in 1935 in Omaha, Nebraska, wrote and directed the 1975 barrier-breaking independent film Hester Street, which sparked an interest in the lives of immigrant Jews. She also directed Crossing Delancey (1988), five other feature films, and several films for television.
Jo Sinclair
Susan Stamberg
Susan Stamberg, the first full-time woman anchor of a national nightly news broadcast, played an important role in making National Public Radio (NPR) a news organization that offered pioneering opportunities to women journalists. Her half-century career at NPR opened the way for other women by demonstrating competence, originality, and compassion in reporting and interviewing.
Estelle Sternberger
Believing in a future where all people had a voice and women’s work was valued, Estelle Sternberger found a myriad of ways to reshape public opinion, from hosting a political radio show to leading an organization for peace.
Harriet Tanzman
Nina Totenberg
Nina Totenberg has broken important stories on the United States Supreme Court during more than four decades of covering legal affairs for National Public Radio. She helped bring to public attention the previously hidden issue of sexual harassment during the controversial confirmation hearing of Justice Clarence Thomas and has received numerous accolades as a path-breaker in the male-dominated world of Washington journalism.
Ruth Westheimer
Ruth Westheimer, who lost her entire family in the Holocaust, served in the Haganah, and received her Ed.D. from Columbia University, was an unlikely candidate for the role of host of a cheerful talk show about sex. However, her celebration of human sexuality, derived from Orthodox Judaism, made her an influential and highly successful proponent of joyful, responsible sex from the 1980s into the third decade of the twenty-first century.
Women Journalists in Israel
Despite social barriers, Jewish women have played an essential role in the creation and propagation of news and journalism in Israel. With the advent of women’s magazines and the popularization of television, women became particularly involved in the news industry. However, while the numbers of female Israeli journalists have increased, women journalists still face gender-based discrimination. In recent years, many have become vocal members of women’s rights movements such as #MeToo and advocates for a more equitable future.
