Multi-Media
During World War II, news would be spread through mediums such as newspapers, the radio, and television. The radio was most commonly used because it could keep everyone updated the fastest, and was cheaper than newspapers in that a person only had to buy one radio, and they would be set. The radio not only provided citizens with updated news, but it also provided entertainment through music and talk-shows. Still, all forms of the media were extremely useful because they all encouraged the war effort. The media had a wide influence over the people of America.
One woman, Phyllis Deakin, worked as a secretary for the Times, but wanted to be a journalist. During World War II, she got the opportunity to interview George VI, which gave her the opportunity to be a journalist for a while, and was one of the first six accredited women correspondents. However, during those days, women were considered inferior to men, so Deakin did not have many opportunities in the field of journalism. Therefore, she created her own Women’s Press Club, and worked hard to make it prominent in society.
Another female who made an impact during World War II was Janet Flanner, a columnist for The New Yorker magazine. She had the advantage of living in Paris, the city between the worlds wars, so she was able to write a lot about what was happening during the war. Some of her pieces include her famous “Letter from Paris” and other articles about Hitler and the Nuremburg trials. Not only was Flanner successful as a columnist, however; she was also a broadcaster on the NBC Blue Network radio. Because most of the men were at war, many women had more job opportunities, so therefore were able to work in the media area.
However, a decade later, journalism jobs became harder for women to obtain. Men began to once again discriminate more against the other gender. The best place that women could go to if they wanted to have a career in international politics was the League of Nations in Geneva. One woman, Helen Kirkpatrick, received a very good education in Geneva, but could only find a job as a trainer at Macy’s when she went out into the work field. Clearly, she deserved better, but the gender role stereotype had affected her. Kirkpatrick’s attempt to fit into the ‘women’s role’ only made her unhappy, so she went back to Geneva and was offered a job more fitting of her education. Opportunities started popping up for her, which eventually led to her reporting on events happening during World War II.
Newspapers during the war were also popular, albeit not as popular as the radio. As seen here:
One woman, Phyllis Deakin, worked as a secretary for the Times, but wanted to be a journalist. During World War II, she got the opportunity to interview George VI, which gave her the opportunity to be a journalist for a while, and was one of the first six accredited women correspondents. However, during those days, women were considered inferior to men, so Deakin did not have many opportunities in the field of journalism. Therefore, she created her own Women’s Press Club, and worked hard to make it prominent in society.
Another female who made an impact during World War II was Janet Flanner, a columnist for The New Yorker magazine. She had the advantage of living in Paris, the city between the worlds wars, so she was able to write a lot about what was happening during the war. Some of her pieces include her famous “Letter from Paris” and other articles about Hitler and the Nuremburg trials. Not only was Flanner successful as a columnist, however; she was also a broadcaster on the NBC Blue Network radio. Because most of the men were at war, many women had more job opportunities, so therefore were able to work in the media area.
However, a decade later, journalism jobs became harder for women to obtain. Men began to once again discriminate more against the other gender. The best place that women could go to if they wanted to have a career in international politics was the League of Nations in Geneva. One woman, Helen Kirkpatrick, received a very good education in Geneva, but could only find a job as a trainer at Macy’s when she went out into the work field. Clearly, she deserved better, but the gender role stereotype had affected her. Kirkpatrick’s attempt to fit into the ‘women’s role’ only made her unhappy, so she went back to Geneva and was offered a job more fitting of her education. Opportunities started popping up for her, which eventually led to her reporting on events happening during World War II.
Newspapers during the war were also popular, albeit not as popular as the radio. As seen here:
the words are all squished together and written in very tiny font. It was probably published like that to save paper and ink, since resources were so limited during war.
Other methods of propaganda were through posters. There were many posters aimed towards women that encouraged them to join the war effort by taking on jobs and staying strong for their families. One particular poster, featuring Rosie the Riveter, was, and still is, very famous.