Mary Margaret McBride

 By Chloe Brussard

Known as "The First Lady of Radio", Mary Margaret McBride helped pioneer radio talk shows during the 30's. 

She was born on November 16th, 1899 in Paris, Missouri and died on April 7th, 1976. At the age of six, McBride became a student at a preparatory school called William Woods College, and then at age 16 attended the University of Missouri where she received a degree in journalism in 1919. One organization she was apart of was also the Kappa Alpha Theta sorority.

Out of college, she worked for a year as a reporter at the Cleveland Press before working at the New York Evening Mail until 1924. Following her departure from the NYEM, McBride wrote freelance periodicals including the Sunday Evening Post, Cosmopolitan, and Good Housekeeping.

McBride worked steadily in radio for WOR in New York City, starting in 1934. She had a radio show in which she created a new persona, "Martha Deane", which aired daily until 1940. "Martha Deane" had a whole backstory, as if she was actually a real person, which quickly fell apart. 

"Deane" mentioned at the beginning of the show she had grandchildren, but in future shows forgot their names. Thus, "Martha Deane" became McBride's new persona, but excluded the elaborate backstory. 

She was an American radio interview host whose radio shows spanned more than 40 years. In the 1940's, the daily audience for her housewife-oriented talk show program numbered from 6-8 million listeners. 

In 1983, McBride launched on the CBS Radio Network the first of a series of similar and successful shows, but as Mary Margaret McBride. 

She could no longer use the "Martha Deane" name because it was owned by WOR, so her move to CBS did not include her persona. 

McBride interviewed people who were very well known in the world of art, entertainment, and politics. Not only did she interview people, but she also advertised different products on her show. But, she would only sponsor products that she had a positive personal experience with, and refused to promote all tabacco or alcohol related products. 

McBride's broadcasting journey ranged from many different radio stations. She stayed with CBS until 1941, and then moved to NBC, where her audience numbered in the millions, until 1950. After NBC, she moved to the ABC network until 1954 before going back to NBC until 1960. Finally, she became a broadcaster for The New York Herald Tribunes radio broadcasts. 

Unfortunately, after a long battle with an illness, Mary Margaret McBride died at her home in West Shaken,  New York on April 7th, 1976. Her career was an inspiration for talk radio and television talk show personalities we know today like Phil Donahue and Oprah Winfrey. 

McBride received much recognition after her death, like "It's One O'Clock and Here Is Mary McBride: A Radio Biography" being published by Susan Ware in early 2005. A new character was made out of McBride -- "Mary McGoon". She was featured in many comedy routines of Bob and Ray. 

Her name was also put on the classic CBS-TV sitcom, "I Love Lucy", in episode 76, "The Million Dollar Idea". In 1949, her 15th anniversary celebration was held at Yankee Stadium in New York, which held 75,000 people.

McBride's magazine show was on the air continuously for around 25 years, and it even aired after her death in '76.

Mary Margaret McBride was not only a pioneer in talk show radio, but also a pioneer for women in the journalism community. Her shows reached millions of people across the country regularly, from all different kinds of networks. McBride was a person who people followed from station to station, listening to her where ever she was broadcasting from.