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122 reviews for:
Susan, Linda, Nina, and Cokie: The Extraordinary Story of the Founding Mothers of NPR
Lisa Napoli
3.77 AVERAGE
122 reviews for:
Susan, Linda, Nina, and Cokie: The Extraordinary Story of the Founding Mothers of NPR
Lisa Napoli
3.77 AVERAGE
An examination of NPR’s early days, as viewed through the “founding mothers.” How each were able to become journalists at a time when few women were allowed to fill key roles in any organization. Interesting to hear the stories behind the voices I have heard for years. (I continue to really love Nina Totenberg!)
adventurous
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
In the 1970s, a start up nonprofit organization was formed to offer a different kind of news reporting. Four extraordinary women come to work at NPR and take on not just the news while battling both the organization’s officers and their male colleagues try to bring in the old chauvinism into the new venture. But these four women are having none of it. They insist on a new policy and culture that treats women as serious journalists. Cokie Roberts was a political wizard with her knowledge of Congress and the Administrative bodies of government. Susan Stamberg had lived around the world so she liked to cover foreign affairs and work and home life. Linda Wertheimer turned her poise into a polished on air personality. Nina Totenberg specialized in legal affairs and the Supreme Court in particular. Together these women gave NPR a unique persona and created a distinctive approach to news and information that is still their brand today. The group biography is an effective way to cover news balanced with information and presented with talent and flair. I admired all of these women and very much enjoyed this book. Recommend to readers interested in biography, feminism, journalism, women, politics and history.
Truly, this was a 2.5 for me. I loved the stories, but did not enjoy the storytelling. I felt like this was much more of a story about NPR, rather than the women behind it, and the narration fell flat.
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
Lots of feminism, inside beltway stories and personal anecdotes with the NPR business story woven in. Would recommend!
Liked this a lot and learned a ton, but noticed a few tiny factual errors that always end up making me nervous about the validity of the rest of the book. The County Seat of Montgomery County may not matter to the normal reader, but I noticed it was incorrect. I loved the details about the founding mothers' starts, especially Cokie's upbringing in Bethesda. I learned a ton about the early days of NPR and the details of the financial issues that almost ruined it near its beginning. This book took me longer to read than it should have, no fault of the author's but of my busy month.
I've been listening to NPR since the late 1970s, when I was just at the beginning of my career. I had a 13" black & white TV and not the best reception. A friend told me about NPR and it became my news source and so much more.
This book is a biography of four incredible women, a history of NPR, and a history of the women's movement. As I read, I could almost hear the voices of Susan, Linda, Nina, & Cokie and how they made the news interesting and relevant.
Oh, how I loved this book! I don't know if my enjoyment of it was due to nostalgia or to the fascinating story, probably a combination of both, but it doesn't really matter because I think this book was fantastic!
This book is a biography of four incredible women, a history of NPR, and a history of the women's movement. As I read, I could almost hear the voices of Susan, Linda, Nina, & Cokie and how they made the news interesting and relevant.
Oh, how I loved this book! I don't know if my enjoyment of it was due to nostalgia or to the fascinating story, probably a combination of both, but it doesn't really matter because I think this book was fantastic!
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
informative
slow-paced
It was interestesting, but it jumped around a lot and the author read it, which was a poor choice