EOTO 2 Reflection (Mary Margaret McBride)

 Mary Margaret McBride

Mary Margaret McBride was an American radio host, interviewer, and writer whose career spanned around 40 years. The 1940s was a strong point for her and her career due to her daily audience for her program targeted at housewives had a strong audience of listeners ranging from six to eight million. McBride was often referred to as "The First Lady of Radio" which is quite an achievement.

Mcbride was born in Paris, Missouri, on November 16, 1899. Her family consisted of farmers, and her mother was the daughter of a Baptist minister. A quote that was often referenced by McBride was, "Missouri is not just a state to me, it's my childhood." I like this quote because I feel that it's very general and simplistic, but it's something that almost anyone could relate to. Throughout her childhood, McBride attended public schools in her hometown up until 1910 due to her great aunt paying for her to further her studies at William Woods, which was in Fulton, Missouri.

Once McBride expressed that she wanted to be a writer, her great aunt then stopped paying for her tuition, so she was on her own and then had to forge her own path. To pay for her tuition throughout school, McBride got a part-time job at the local newspaper, "The Paris Mercury." This was very beneficial to her because she was able to gain practical experience while having the responsibilities of social events, courthouse proceedings, baby contests, etc. The paper's editor Tom Bodine encouraged her to pursue a college education, so she left town soon after that and enrolled at the University of Missouri.

McBride worked extremely hard throughout school while also working during the day. She was living on a mere $10 per week in 1916, and 2 years later in 1918, she graduated with a degree in journalism. Until 1934, McBride was in and out of work writing novels under different aliases. She then found her true calling when auditioning for a women's radio show. This really helped her become quite popular as she had weekly radio shows as well as interviews with celebrities within the political world, entertainment world, and any other form of the arts. The remarkable factor is the fact that it was all unscripted which I'm sure audiences really enjoyed as it makes everything more authentic. 

Throughout her career, McBride conducted over 30,000 interviews in total which was extremely impressive. Her audience really appreciated the fact that she did not speak down to them, but instead took them seriously and treated them as equals. Her audience was also split well between men and women which showcases the mass appeal she was able to generate and then retain throughout her career. McBride brought in people of color to showcase diversity in her show which helped her in taking advantage of the current state of radio, which made her an important player in that world. Although she retired in 1954, she still continued to broadcast, but out of the comfort of her own home. McBride passed in her home in New York, on April 7, 1976, due to complications of an illness she was struggling with. McBride was an important player in the world of journalism not only for women, but just in general, and she will not be forgotten.