Not for Women Only

Last updated
Not for Women Only
GenreTalk show
Created by Barbara Walters
Presented byBarbara Walters
Hugh Downs (co-host) '
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
Production
Producer Madeline Amgott
Running time30 minutes
Production company NBC
Original release
Release1971 (1971) –
1976 (1976)
Related
"For Women Only" by Aline B. Saarinen (1968-1971)

Not for Women Only is a syndicated American talk show hosted by broadcast journalist Barbara Walters from 1971 to 1976. [1] [2] The half-hour show aired weekdays on NBC's local New York City affiliate station after The Today Show. The program was adapted by Walters from For Women Only, a talk show hosted by broadcast journalist and art critic Aline B. Saarinen. [3] Gilda Radner studied tapes of Not for Women Only while creating Baba Wawa, her impression of Walters on Saturday Night Live . [4]

Contents

For Women Only

Aline Saarinen, an art and architecture critic who became the third women correspondent for NBC News, was the original moderator of For Women Only. [5] Each show featured a panel of intellectuals and academics who discussed topics considered to be women's issues, including birth control, abortion, and the generation gap. [3] They also fielded questions from a small studio audience made up of topical experts who were invited to attend the taping. [6] Saarinen left the show in 1971 when she was named chief of NBC's Paris News Bureau. [7]

Transition

After Saarinen left the show, NBC asked Barbara Walters if she was interested in taking over hosting duties. Walters accepted on the condition that the program's coverage was expanded and the show itself was renamed Not for Women Only. The first episode featuring Walters premiered in September 1971. [8]

In addition to changing the name and widening the range of topics addressed on the show, Walters requested the studio audience be seated at round tables rather than in rows, creating a more engaging environment. Audience members were no longer invited experts but members of the public who wrote in for tickets, asking, as Walters put it, "questions the folks watching at home would most want asked." [8] The program was one of the first talk shows to involve audiences in this way. [9]

Madeline Amgott, one of the first women to produce TV news programming, produced episodes of the show. [10] Hugh Downs sometimes appeared alongside Walters as a co-host. [11]

Topics

Walters featured a variety of subjects on the show that she thought would be meaningful for her audience, including mainstream topics related to women's equality. [12] These included "Sensitivity Training," "Stress," "Mastectomy," and "Is the Family Dying?" along with "lighthearted themes" like "The Hostess with the Mostest." [13]

The show also featured notable guests including Mamie Eisenhower, Barbara Bush, Lenore Romney, Martha Mitchell, Phyllis Cerf, and Mollie Parnis. [14]

Whenever ratings slipped, Walters recalls, "we did a program that dealt with some aspect of sex ... We had the most dignified and respected experts address these issues, and our questions were also dignified, but we managed to be candid and therefore exciting in a way few shows were in those days. [15]

Reception and legacy

By the time Not for Women Only had been on the air for six months, the ratings had tripled, and other NBC affiliates were picking up the show. The program was syndicated in 1972 and was soon broadcasting in eighty cities. [14] The New York Times called it one of the most “provocative shows in the entire early morning schedule.” [9]

Walters cites the show as a forerunner of The View . [13] [16] She left the program after signing on to co-host ABC Evening News with Harry Reasoner in 1976. In total, over 1,000 episodes of the show were aired. [9]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Talk show</span> Type of broadcast show centered around conversation

A talk show is a television programming, radio programming or podcast genre structured around the act of spontaneous conversation. A talk show is distinguished from other television programs by certain common attributes. In a talk show, one person discusses various topics put forth by a talk show host. This discussion can be in the form of an interview or a simple conversation about important social, political or religious issues and events. The personality of the host shapes the tone and style of the show. A common feature or unwritten rule of talk shows is to be based on "fresh talk", which is talk that is spontaneous or has the appearance of spontaneity.

<i>The Jerry Springer Show</i> American television talk show

Jerry Springer is an American first-run syndicated talk show that was hosted by Jerry Springer. The show ran for twenty-seven seasons from September 30, 1991, to July 26, 2018, in which it broadcast 3,891 episodes. The show premiered as a traditional talk show, with a focus on political issues. However, it reformatted into a tabloid talk show in the mid-1990s.

<i>Today</i> (American TV program) American news and talk television show

Today is an American morning television show that airs weekdays from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. on NBC. The program debuted on January 14, 1952. It was the first of its genre on American television and in the world, and after 72 years of broadcasting it is fifth on the list of longest-running United States television series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Katie Couric</span> American journalist (born 1957)

Katherine Anne Couric is an American journalist and presenter. She is founder of Katie Couric Media, a multimedia news and production company. She also publishes a daily newsletter, Wake Up Call. From 2013 to 2017, she was Yahoo's Global News Anchor. Couric has been a television host at all of the Big Three television networks in the United States, and in her early career she was an assignment editor for CNN. She worked for NBC News from 1989 to 2006, CBS News from 2006 to 2011, and ABC News from 2011 to 2014. She was the first solo female anchor of a major network (CBS) evening news program. In 2021, she appeared as a guest host for the game show Jeopardy!, the first woman to host the flagship American version of the show in its history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barbara Walters</span> American journalist (1929–2022)

Barbara Jill Walters was an American broadcast journalist and television personality. Known for her interviewing ability and popularity with viewers, she appeared as a host of numerous television programs, including Today, the ABC Evening News, 20/20, and The View. Walters was a working journalist from 1951 until her retirement in 2016. Walters was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame in 1989, received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the NATAS in 2000 and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2007.

<i>20/20</i> (American TV program) American television newsmagazine

20/20 (stylized as 2020) is an American television newsmagazine that has been broadcast on ABC since June 6, 1978. Created by ABC News executive Roone Arledge, the program was designed similarly to CBS's 60 Minutes in that it features in-depth story packages, although it focuses more on human interest stories than international and political subjects. The program's name derives from the "20/20" measurement of visual acuity.

<i>Good Morning America</i> American morning news television show

Good Morning America is an American morning television program that is broadcast on ABC. It debuted on November 3, 1975, and first expanded to weekends with the debut of a Sunday edition on January 3, 1993. The Sunday edition was canceled in 1999; weekend editions returned on both Saturdays and Sundays on September 4, 2004. The weekday and Saturday programs airs from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. in all United States timezones. The Sunday editions are an hour long and are transmitted to ABC's stations live at 7:00 a.m. Eastern Time, although stations in some media markets air them at different times. Viewers in the Pacific Time Zone receive an updated feed with a specialized opening and updated live reports. A third hour of the weekday broadcast aired from 2007 to 2008, exclusively on ABC News Now.

<i>The View</i> (talk show) American talk show

The View is an American talk show created by broadcast journalist Barbara Walters. Currently in its 28th season, the show has aired on ABC as part of the network's daytime programming block since August 11, 1997. It features a multi-generational panel of women, who discuss the day's "Hot Topics", such as sociopolitical and entertainment news. In addition to the conversation segments, the panel also conducts interviews with prominent figures, such as celebrities and politicians. Production of the show was held in ABC Television Studio 23 in New York City until 2014, when it relocated to the adjacent ABC Broadcast Center, where it stayed until 2024. Beginning with season 28 in September 2024, production relocated to the ABC facility Studio B, also in New York City.

<i>The Rosie ODonnell Show</i> Television series

The Rosie O'Donnell Show is an American daytime variety television talk show created, hosted, and produced by actress and comedian Rosie O'Donnell. It premiered on June 10, 1996, and concluded after six seasons on June 27, 2002.

Broadcast programming is the practice of organizing or ordering (scheduling) of broadcast media shows, typically radio and television, in a daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, or season-long schedule.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frank McGee (journalist)</span> American television journalist

Frank McGee was an American television journalist, best known for his work with NBC from the late 1950s into the early 1970s.

The Phil Donahue Show is an American talk show that was hosted by Phil Donahue. The show ran for twenty-nine seasons from November 6, 1967, to September 13, 1996, in which it broadcast 6,715 episodes. Before it was placed in syndication in 1970, it was broadcast as a local program on WLWD. Each episode featured Donahue interviewing a panel of guests over different topics. Donahue heavily encouraged participation among audience members.

Calendar is a weekday news and information daytime program aimed at women that aired in the United States on CBS Television from 1961 to 1963. The program was co-hosted by Harry Reasoner and Mary Fickett. Madeline Amgott, who became one of the first women to produce television news during the 1950s and 1960s, helped create the show.

<i>The Steve Wilkos Show</i> American syndicated talk show

The Steve Wilkos Show is a syndicated American tabloid talk show hosted by Steve Wilkos. The series is a spin-off of the Jerry Springer show, where Wilkos was employed as head of security. The Steve Wilkos Show debuted on September 10, 2007, two months after Wilkos' departure as director of security on Jerry Springer. As of May 2024, the show is in its eighteenth season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Star Jones</span> American television personality

Starlet Marie Jones Lugo, better known as Star Jones, is an American lawyer, journalist, television personality, fashion designer, author, and women's and diversity advocate. She is best known as one of the first co-hosts on the ABC morning talk show The View, which she appeared on for nine seasons from 1997–98 through 2005–06. She was also one of sixteen contestants of the fourth installment of The Celebrity Apprentice in 2011, coming in fifth place. She currently serves as the host of Divorce Court.

<i>The Wendy Williams Show</i> American television talk show (2008–2022)

The Wendy Williams Show was an American syndicated talk show created and hosted by Wendy Williams, and produced by Wendy Williams Productions, along with Perler Productions. The show was distributed by Debmar-Mercury and aired nationally, with Fox's owned-and-operated stations serving as its primary affiliate base. The talk show first aired on July 14, 2008, in select major U.S. markets and later expanded nationwide on July 13, 2009, due to loyal viewership which proved highly profitable. It aired its final episode on June 17, 2022, with reruns continuing on most TV stations until September 9.

<i>Today with Hoda & Jenna</i> American daytime television talk show

Today with Hoda & Jenna is an American daytime television talk show on NBC, hosted by Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager. The program airs as the fourth hour of NBC's Today at 10:00 a.m. in all time zones as a "show-within-a-show" with its own hosts, opening sequence, theme music, and website. The Monday through Thursday editions of this portion of the program air live in the Eastern Time Zone and on tape delay elsewhere; the Friday edition is pre-recorded.

<i>The Talk</i> (talk show) American television talk show

The Talk is an American talk show that debuted on October 18, 2010, as part of CBS' daytime programming block. The show was developed by actress and host Sara Gilbert.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aline B. Saarinen</span> American architect

Aline Bernstein Saarinen was an American art and architecture critic, author and television journalist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Madeline Amgott</span> American television news producer

Madeline Rochelle Amgott was an American television news producer. A pioneer of early television news, Amgott was one of the first, and only, women to produce television news shows during the mid-1950s and 1960s.

References

  1. ↑ Thompson, Kathleen. "Barbara Walters". Jewish Women's Archive. Jewish Women's Archive. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
  2. 1 2 Sicherman, Barbara; Green, Carol Hurd (1980). Notable American Women: The Modern Period : a Biographical Dictionary . Harvard University Press. p.  614. ISBN   9780674627338 . Retrieved 18 November 2019.
  3. ↑ Walters, Barbara (2008). Audition: A Memoir. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. p. 300.
  4. ↑ Jacobs, Andrew. "Aline Saarinen". Jewish Women's Archive. Jewish Women's Archive. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
  5. ↑ Audition, p. 190.
  6. ↑ "Saarinen, Aline (1914–1972)". Encyclopedia.com. Encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
  7. 1 2 Audition, p. 191.
  8. 1 2 3 Oswald, Alison (3 July 2012). "From the Archives: Daytime Talk and Invention". Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation. Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
  9. ↑ "Madeline Amgott Dead: Pioneering Female TV News Producer Dies at 92". Variety. 22 July 2014. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
  10. ↑ Erler, Robert J.; Timberg, Bernard M. (2010). Television Talk: A History of the TV Talk Show. Austin, TX: University of Texas Press. p. 228. ISBN   9780292781764.
  11. ↑ Mendoza, Deirdre. "My Mother Was a Feminist: A Call to Consciousness – Ms. Magazine". Ms. Magazine. Feminist Majority Foundation. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
  12. 1 2 Audition, p. 192.
  13. 1 2 Audition, p. 193.
  14. ↑ Audition, pp. 192-193.
  15. ↑ Grove, Lloyd (29 March 2013). "Barbara Walters to Retire—Really". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.