When it came out in 2001, Invisible Stars: A Social History of
Women in American Broadcasting was the first book to
recognize that women have always played an important part
in American electronic media. The newly revised and
expanded second edition (2014) enhances that original work.
This is not just the story of radio stars or broadcast
journalists, but a social history of women both on and off the
air.
Beginning in the early 1920s with the emergence of radio, the
new edition of "Invisible Stars" chronicles the ambivalence
toward women in broadcasting during the 1930s and 1940s,
the gradual change in status of women in the 1950s and
1960s, the increased presence of women in broadcasting in
the 1970s, and the successes of women in broadcasting in the
1980s and beyond.
The second edition now includes analysis of the social and
political changes that occurred in the early 2000s, such as the
growing number of women talk show hosts; changing
attitudes about women in leadership roles in business and
politics; more about minority women in media; women in
sports, and women sports announcers. Donna Halper also
addresses the question of whether women are in fact no
longer invisible in electronic media: she assesses where
progress for women (in society as well as broadcasting) can
be seen, and where progress appears totally stalled.
Invisible Stars is available from: