Dee is considered a pioneer in developing the radio format that combines coverage of community affairs with music and news.

[3][4] Among their children were James, who operated the Goode Real Estate Company, one of the first real estate firms operated by a black man in Pittsburgh; William, who owned Goode Pharmacy, a 24-hour pharmacy;[2][4] Mal, first black network television correspondent, who worked for ABC News;[5][6] Ruth, who worked in her brother's drug store and later ran a day-care center in McKeesport; and Allan, who worked at the Wylie Avenue News Agency and was an Army veteran.

[15] She brought in her brother Mal, at the time a reporter of the Pittsburgh Courier, to do a segment on the news covering police beatings, poor housing, segregation issues, and other legal barriers to blacks.

She later brought in Hazel Garland and Toki Schalk Johnson to cover women's items and had a segment featuring teenagers.

[15] In an interview segment, Dee talked to a wide variety of well-known figures including Tony Bennett, Joyce Bryant, Savannah Churchill, Nat King Cole, Eartha Kitt, Nellie Lutcher, Michael Musmanno, Johnnie Ray, and Sarah Vaughan.

[15][14] In August 1951, "Studio Dee" was set up by WHOD in the Hill District of Pittsburgh at the corner of Herron and Center Avenues.

In its heyday (1920–1960) the area was often called Little Harlem or the "Crossroads to the World", to reflect the wide range of cultural expressions found there.

[15] WHOD was sold in 1955 and the programming changed to a country and western format by the new owners, who renamed the station WAMO in 1956.

She aired a program called Songs of Faith, featuring gospel music, for the next six years, gaining wide popularity.

[10] She hosted events to raise money for community improvement projects, receiving many awards and honors from civic groups.

[26][Notes 2] Campaigning together, they succeeded in obtaining a pledge from the organization to refrain from holding meetings in segregated facilities.

[20] She is widely reported to have been the first black woman disc jockey in the United States,[31] though tracing ethnic broadcasting is difficult at a time when there were few opportunities for African Americans and other minorities who were often ignored by the media.