Mary Margaret McBride (November 16, 1899 – April 7, 1976) was an American radio interview host and writer.
Following this, she wrote freelance for periodicals including The Saturday Evening Post, Cosmopolitan, and Good Housekeeping, and starting in 1926, collaborated in writing travel-oriented books.
In 1937, she launched on the CBS radio network the first of a series of similar and successful shows, now as Mary Margaret McBride.
Beginning during World War II, she began "breaking the color line", mixing in African American guests.
[7] An account of her career, It's One O'clock and Here is Mary Margaret McBride: A Radio Biography by Susan Ware was published in early 2005.
Her name was spoofed on the classic CBS-TV sitcom I Love Lucy in episode 79, "The Million Dollar Idea", which aired on January 11, 1954.
She was acknowledged by Current Biography[8] as "the first woman to bring newspaper technique to radio interviewing and to make daytime broadcasts profitable."
McBride and manager Stella Karn would produce their show and then market it directly to sponsors in the New York area or broader national arena.
The two were consistently able to maintain a level of support from sponsors, meaning that they were able to produce content that was exactly how they envisioned it, free of outside changes.
When McBride got the job, she immediately recommended Karn as the person to handle the business side of the show's affairs.
[9] McBride and Karn made a name for themselves as pioneers in the field of broadcasting, and also as trailblazers for the future of lesbian and bisexual journalists.
McBride and Karn established their show as a connection point for lesbian and bisexual female creatives, forging friendships with influential names in broadcasting such as Ann Batchelder and Lisa Sergio.