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    Back to Press Play with Madeleine Brand

    Press Play with Madeleine Brand

    Before ‘I Love Lucy,’ Gertrude Berg created one of the first sitcoms. Here are other women pioneers in TV

    Women pioneers in the TV industry are often overlooked. But a new book argues that four women were behind some key TV formats. Irna Phillips created the soap opera. Gertrude Berg created one of the first sitcoms.

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    By Madeleine Brand • Apr 6, 2021 • 17m Listen

    Women pioneers in the TV industry are often overlooked. But a new book argues that four women were behind some key TV formats. Irna Phillips created the soap opera. Gertrude Berg created one of the first sitcoms. Hazel Scott was the first Black primetime TV host. Betty White helped create the daytime talk show. The book is called “When Women Invented Television: The Untold Story of the Female Powerhouses Who Pioneered the Way We Watch Today.”

    The full episode

    4 of 5
    Role of kids in spreading COVID, tips for protecting vaccine cards
    1. 0:00Youth sports and extracurricular activities could be driving new COVID cases, as variants spread
    2. 10:22Keep your vaccine card secure and off social media, says epidemiologist
    3. 18:52Targets of recalls in California: Gov. Newsom, SF and LA district attorneys, Sacramento mayor
    4. 27:18Before ‘I Love Lucy,’ Gertrude Berg created one of the first sitcoms. Here are other women pioneers in TVYou’re reading this
    5. 44:40Heinz ketchup is now in short supply. Restaurants struggle to shift from bottles to packets for takeout
    • https://images.ctfassets.net/2658fe8gbo8o/AvYox6VuEgcxpd20Xo9d3/769bca4fbf97bf022190f4813812c1e2/new-default.jpg?h=250

      Madeleine Brand

      Host, 'Press Play'

    • KCRW placeholder

      Sarah Sweeney

      Vice President of Talk Programming, KCRW

    • KCRW placeholder

      Angie Perrin

      Producer, Press Play

    • KCRW placeholder

      Michell Eloy

      Former Producer/Line Editor, Press Play

    • KCRW placeholder

      Jennifer Keishin Armstrong

      author of “When Women Invented Television”

      CultureEntertainment

    The full episode

    4 of 5
    Role of kids in spreading COVID, tips for protecting vaccine cards
    1. 0:00Youth sports and extracurricular activities could be driving new COVID cases, as variants spread
    2. 10:22Keep your vaccine card secure and off social media, says epidemiologist
    3. 18:52Targets of recalls in California: Gov. Newsom, SF and LA district attorneys, Sacramento mayor
    4. 27:18Before ‘I Love Lucy,’ Gertrude Berg created one of the first sitcoms. Here are other women pioneers in TVYou’re reading this
    5. 44:40Heinz ketchup is now in short supply. Restaurants struggle to shift from bottles to packets for takeout
    Back to Press Play with Madeleine Brand