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Download PDF 1.2 MB Florida State University Libraries Electronic Theses, Treatises and Dissertations The Graduate School 2017 Radio Rhetor: The Rhetorical Practices of Mary Margaret McBride Elizabeth Ashley Rea Follow this and additional works at the DigiNole: FSU's Digital Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected] FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES RADIO RHETOR: THE RHETORICAL PRACTICES OF MARY MARGARET MCBRIDE By ELIZABETH ASHLEY REA A Thesis submitted to the Department of English in partial fulfillment of requirements for the degree of Master of Arts 2017 Elizabeth Ashley Rea defended this thesis on April 24, 2017. The members of the supervisory committee were: Kristie Fleckenstein Professor Directing Thesis Kathleen Yancey Committee Member Tarez Graban Committee Member The Graduate School has verified and approved the above-named committee members, and certifies that the thesis has been approved in accordance with university requirements. ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This research would not have been possible without considerable help from a range of wonderful individuals. First, I would like to thank Kristie Fleckenstein for continually challenging me to push my research further, for providing her detailed insights on each iteration of this work, and for constantly encouraging me throughout the lengthy research process. Without her responses to early versions of this project in the writing workshop, I doubt I ever would have considered this work a subject with the potential for further study. Additionally, I would like to thank Kathleen Yancey and Tarez Graban for supporting this project by serving on my committee. Beyond serving on this committee, they each provided valuable input, helping me think through this research during its early stages. Next, I would like to acknowledge the family of Mary Margaret McBride for providing the legal permissions that enabled this research. Their generosity made this project possible. Finally, I must thank my family and my FSU English family for listening to countless hours of discussion on this project and offering their unwavering support. I am grateful to know each of you. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Tables ................................................................................................................................... vi Abstract ..........................................................................................................................................vii 1. INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................ 1 1.1 Prologue ............................................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Research Questions and Exigencies ................................................................................... 2 1.2.1 Introducing Mary Margaret McBride ...................................................................... 6 1.2.2 Feminist Rhetorical Histories ................................................................................... 7 1.2.3 Sonic Rhetoric and Radio ........................................................................................ 9 1.3 Methodology ...................................................................................................................... 12 1.3.1 Feminist Orientation and Research Principles ....................................................... 12 1.3.2 Data Selection ......................................................................................................... 17 1.3.3 Methods of Analysis ................................................................................................ 19 2. LITERATURE REVIEW ........................................................................................................... 23 2.1 Prologue ............................................................................................................................ 23 2.2 The Golden Age of Radio .................................................................................................. 24 2.3 Contextualizing Mary Margaret ........................................................................................ 34 2.4 Feminist Rhetorical Historiography ................................................................................. 40 3. ANALYSIS ................................................................................................................................. 47 3.1 Prologue ............................................................................................................................. 47 3.2 McBride’s Sonic Rhetorical Practices ............................................................................... 49 3.2.1 Conversational Tone and Direct Address to Listeners .......................................... 49 3.2.2 Indirect Questioning Style and Self-deprecation .................................................... 53 3.2.3 Memory and Anecdote ............................................................................................56 3.2.4 Vivid Description and Emotive Language ..............................................................59 3.3 Women and the Private Sphere: Understanding McBride’s Practices and Gendered Identities ............................................................................................................................65 3.4 Sounding Out: The Intersection of Radio and Rhetorical Practices.................................. 76 3.5 Listeners as Family: McBride’s Connection with her Radio Audience ............................ 82 3.6 McBride’s Advocacy and New Norms of Femininity ........................................................ 88 4. CONCLUSIONS, IMPLICATIONS, AND LIMITATIONS ........................................................95 4.1 Prologue .............................................................................................................................95 4.2 Reflections on McBride’s Rhetorical Practices ................................................................. 96 4.3 Implications for Feminist Rhetorical Histories and Sonic Rhetorics ............................. 100 4.4 Limitations of Research ................................................................................................... 106 4.5 Directions for Future Research ........................................................................................ 107 APPENDICES ............................................................................................................................... 111 A. DEBORAH TANNEN’S TRANSCRIPTION ANNOTATION KEY ........................................... 111 B. ANNOTATION EXAMPLE: EXCERPTED INTERVIEW WITH CAROLE LANDIS .............. 113 iv C. CAROLE LANDIS INTERVIEW: JANUARY 12, 1945 ............................................................ 116 D. WALTER WHITE INTERVIEW: DECEMBER 26, 1947 ......................................................... 122 E. EDDIE AND ADELAIDE RICKENBACKER INTERVIEW: AUGUST 15, 1945 ...................... 136 F. ELEANOR ROOSEVELET AND OTHERS INTERVIEW: MAY 10, 1946 ............................... 149 References .................................................................................................................................... 166 Biographical Sketch ..................................................................................................................... 173 v LIST OF TABLES 1 Royster and Kirsch’s Advanced Inquiry Model ....................................................................... 15 2 Bernaert’s Conventions, Constraints, and Affordances of Radio ............................................ 77 vi ABSTRACT This project presents an analysis of the rhetorical practices of famed radio host Mary Margaret McBride as examined through a selection of her recorded radio broadcasts and written works. Following the tradition of feminist rhetorical histories, this work seeks to expand the canon of rhetors studied to include an overlooked but significant female rhetor and the understudied medium of radio. In this thesis, I pose the questions: 1) What rhetorical practices characterize Mary Margaret McBride’s performances of sonic rhetoric? 2) How do these practices and her medium of radio intersect? 3) How did McBride’s practices align with or diverge from her gendered identities, especially in regards to private and public boundaries? Through this project, I characterize McBride’s rhetorical practices as: (1) a conversational style and direct address; (2) indirect questions with digression and self-deprecation; (3) memory and anecdote; and (4) vivid description and emotive language. From this analysis, I posit that McBride’s practices show her awareness of radio’s position between public and private spheres, allow her to connect with her audiences, challenge the public and private binary, and foster new norms for feminine discourse vii CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION You brought us the war generals and correspondents throughout those heartbreaking times, the latest book reviews and authors, the Broadway hits and actors, and all the famous and great of our times…with it all, you brought humor, common sense, and your high standards of human behavior. You added something very precious to my life, and I shall never cease to be grateful. –Margaret Oberfelder, 1960 letter to Mary Margaret McBride, Out of the Air 1.1 Prologue The crackle of the radio broadcast resonated as the lilting opening
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