First Women of Radio

When the instructor in the Broadcast Management class at Central Missouri State College said "there's a great future for women in radio" there was not a woman on the AM band which at that time led the market in audience size. This is not so many years ago.


In the few decades since women may now be considered a dominate force in media.  Most readers actually witnessed this cultural transformation perhaps without knowing it. I have been taken back to the roots of this change by an accidental discovery on Christmas Day.
In 1970 this rookie broadcaster had but one dream, to be a disc jockey and play records on what was then referred to as "underground radio". Underground radio stations were found primarily on the FM band (the exception was KAAY in Little Rock which featured a late night program titled Beaker Street hosted by Clyde Clifford). Underground radio featured the deeper tracks from current record albums by such artists as Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, Quicksilver, Country Joe, Big Brother and others. Most music of the era was coming from San Francisco so naturally that's where I headed.
Given the number of women on  radio today it may be hard to envision a world when there were only men. I recall those days. When my instructor in that Broadcast Management class made his claim that the future for women was bright and I had no idea there would be such change. We're all better for it.



Upon arrival in the City by the Bay I found the heartbeat of this music on one station-KSAN. It was, in my opinion, the best of the best. The disc jockeys were ultra cool, and, for the first time in my life, I heard a woman presenting the music. Not only did this woman know the music but she apparently knew many of the artists. I would hear her conduct live studio interviews with the stars of the San Francisco sound. Interview doesn't really describe her style. It was more a conversation.On Christmas Day, 2012  I discovered this first woman disc jockey is still working and still playing the sounds I love on radio. She may also have the best "air name" of any DJ you've ever heard:  Dusty Street. Before you ask, Dusty is her real name. 

For years I have listened only to AM or FM radio. Finally I made the move to satellite. It's a natural move for anyone who prefers hearing music to commercials. This is where I found Dusty still playing the great music. She does an afternoon weekend show from the Rock 'N Roll Hall of Fame on SiriusXM. She also does her own show, and has much more musical freedom, on webcasts (http://dustystreet.net/flyLow.html ) which I encourage you to sample