33 – WHER: 1000 Beautiful Watts—The First All Girl Radio Station in the Nation—Part 2

WHER, established in 1955 by Sam Phillips in Memphis, functioned as the nation’s first all-female radio station, challenging the male-dominated broadcasting landscape of the era. Initially marketed as a novelty featuring "lady disc jockeys" and light, feminine programming, the station evolved into a professional operation that provided a unique platform for women to develop skills in sales, engineering, and news reporting. During the volatile 1960s, the station’s "Open Mic" talk show became a critical, albeit controversial, forum for public discourse, particularly during the Memphis sanitation strike and the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. Despite its historical significance and success in breaking gender barriers, the station eventually succumbed to changing industry demographics and shifting management strategies, leading to the integration of male staff and the abandonment of its all-female identity.