By Rebecca Toov
Minnesota School of the Air: People Worth Hearing About - Joyce Jackson. Broadcast date: November 21, 1973. Audio reel and cue sheet, tray 118, University of Minnesota Radio and Television Broadcasting records, ua01039, University Archives.
Season 3: Episode 3. Women on the Air: Joyce Jackson
You are listening to U of M Radio on Your Historic Dial Podcast. Welcome to Season 3 Women on the Air: Episode 3 Joyce Jackson.
This is Rebecca from University Archives. In a previous episode, we introduced you to the Minnesota School of the Air series People Worth Hearing About, which originated on KUOM radio in 1969 with programs that featured biographies of prominent African Americans. The series later expanded to include persons who according to School of the Air director Betty Girling, “have – for the most part – been overlooked in the writings of our history, because they were non-white, or non-male…” The series began with profiles of historical figures told in the form of dramatization, where a voice actor played the figure and depicted a scene from their life, punctuated with musical transitions and sound effects. In subsequent seasons, School of the Air staff produced recorded interviews with living persons. This brings us to the featured historic broadcast for this episode, the November 21, 1973 program of People Worth Hearing About, an interview with Dr. Joyce Jackson, Principal of Central High School in Minneapolis.
In a July 1973 letter addressed to Jackson, Assistant Producer Walter Brody described the inspiration for this program:
“Dear Ms. Jackson,
This is the sixth school year that the Minnesota School of the Air has scheduled vignette biographies of outstanding minority Americans, on a daily basis, for in-school listening…
… Wherever possible, after the first year we stressed only historic personalities, we have tried to interlace historic figures with people living today, and with local people, in order that our listeners in Grades 4-5-6 learn that Minnesotans, too, have made, and are making, contributions of great value in their areas of specialization.
With “living” personalities, we usually try to arrange for a “live” interview, since the voice of the American so cited adds a level of understanding and appreciation for these Intermediate Gradesters, in addition to the timeliness and authenticity of whatever she or he may choose to say. We try to pick people each year who will give us as broad a range as possible, in occupations, age, experience, etc.
Your new position as principal of Minneapolis Central High School is one we feel to be of interest to the children at this level and will give them an opportunity to gain greater understanding of the role of a school principal. We hope you will accept our request to participate in an interview for this series...
… At the moment we are collecting data and preparing the Teachers’ Manual... We would appreciate it if you could send us a resume... From this we will construct… copy which will give the teachers using the series some idea in advance of the broadcast of your present responsibilities and past accomplishments...”[1]
Headline: Mrs. Joyce Jackson to Become Central High's Principal. Undated newspaper clipping about Dr. Jackson found in a program folder, Box 16, Betty T. Girling papers, ua00192, University Archives.
The copy printed in the 1973-74 Teacher’s Handbook appeared in part, as follows:
