Episode 77: The Founding Mothers of NPR

The emergence of National Public Radio in the early 1970s provided a critical opening for women to break into broadcast journalism, a field previously dominated by men and restricted by rigid gender barriers. Author Lisa Napoli details how Susan Stamberg, Linda Wertheimer, Nina Totenberg, and Cokie Roberts bypassed systemic discrimination by outworking their peers and securing roles that allowed them to cover substantive issues like healthcare, education, and politics. These pioneers thrived in the low-budget, experimental environment of the network’s early years, where they established a collaborative "old girl network" to navigate professional challenges and personal responsibilities. By shifting the focus of news coverage toward previously ignored topics and perspectives, these four journalists fundamentally transformed the public's perception of women in media and set a new standard for reporting that persists today.