Marlene Sanders

Marlene Sanders (born January 10, 1931) is an American female pioneer in broadcasting.

Early life and education

Sanders grew up in a Jewish family in Shaker Heights, Ohio. Her family was relatively secular, only attending a Reform temple occasionally, but well aware of ongoing issues affecting the Jewish community such as discrimination. Although the school she attended was socially segregated by religion, she participated in activities that were mixed such as theater and synchronized swimming. As career options were limited at the time, Sanders moved to New York City to purse a theater career.^[1]

Career

In 1955, after failing to land steady work in theater, she accepted a low-level job in television news, working for Ted Yates, the producer for Mike Wallace of CBS.^[1][2] She eventually became associate producer of the show and after Wallace left, became a coproducer.^[2] This was an unprecedented achievement as women were typically relegated to performing solely administrative functions in the newsroom.

Her career progressed from thereon. Sanders is credited with helping to break down the barriers women faced in broadcasting at the time: Sanders was the first woman to cover the Vietnam war from the field; the first woman anchor of a nightly newscast for a major network; and eventually the first woman vice president of the ABC News division.

Sanders later became an Emmy Award–winning correspondent, writer, producer and broadcast-news executive.

Personal life

She was married to television producer Jerome Toobin, who died in 1984. They had one child, Jeffrey Toobin,^[3] lawyer, author, and CNN legal analyst.

References

External links

• Marlene Sanders at the Internet Movie Database
• Faculty Profile - Marlene Sanders, NYU Arthur L Carter Journalism Institute