Research Catalog

Details

Description

1. 37.59 linear feet (84 boxes)

Summary

1. Joan Murray (1937- ) was the first African American female television news reporter in the United States, as well as an entrepreneur, small plane pilot, and writer. The Joan Murray papers detail her career in media and marketing; her personal life; and the various projects and business endeavors that she pursued throughout her life. Arranged into 5 series: I. Broadcasting and media; II. Aviation; III. Business and marketing; IV. Writing; and V. Personal.
2. Joan Elizabeth Murray (1937- ) is a broadcaster, entrepreneur, author, small plane pilot, and lecturer. She was born and raised in Ithaca, New York, alongside her twin sister, June, and a younger sister, Rythma. After graduating from high school and completing a year at Ithaca College, Murray left for New York City to study speech, writing, anthropology, and journalism at Hunter College, The New School for Social Research, and the French Institute. In 1959, Murray was hired as secretary assistant in the CBS Television Network Press Information Department. She was involved in publicity for such events as Russian Premier Nikita Khrushchev's visit to America (1959), the Kennedy-Nixon debates (1960), Edward R. Murrow's documentary "Harvest of Shame" (1960), the first man in space (1961), the premiere of CBS News with Walter Cronkite (1962), and Jacqueline Onassis's televised White House tour, "A Tour of the White House with Mrs. John F. Kennedy" (1962). Murray also served as a production assistant on "Candid Camera" and as secretary to the show's host, Allen Funt. She was eventually promoted and became the first African American to work on CBS's Corporate Affairs staff. During the 1960s, Murray appeared in a number of television and print advertisements. In 1962, she starred in a television commercial for ARTRA skin tone cream with her twin sister, which was the first advertising campaign specifically targeted at an African American audience. Murray left CBS in 1963 for a job as a writer and occasional on-air commentator for the NBC television program, "Women on the Move". The daytime show, which was hosted by Kitty Carlisle, addressed stories about family, home, and fashion. After the show was canceled in 1964, Murray wrote a letter to CBS expressing her qualifications to be an on-air news broadcaster. She was granted an audition and subsequently hired as an on-air news correspondent for the 6:00 PM and 11:00 PM news at the New York City affiliate, WCBS-TV. She also appeared on the WCBS-TV public affairs programs "Two at One" and "Opportunity Line". With her new job, Murray became the first female African American television news reporter in the United States. Murray is also a small plane pilot, a skill she acquired during the 1966 filming of a CBS Eye on New York documentary, "The Small Plane Boom" (1966). That same year she entered the Trans-Continental Women's Air Race as a co-pilot, and became the first African-American to ever fly the race. Also known as the Powder Puff Derby, Murray served as the official WCBS-TV news reporter for the race, which she reported on in a two-part series called, "A Powder Puff for Joan" (1967). Murray was approached by McGraw Hill to write her autobiography as part of their Young Pioneer Book series in 1968. Her book, "The News", was written for a youth audience as a guide to television news reporting and broadcasting, and serves as an account of Murray's early life and career. The following year, Murray authored recommendations to New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller's Committee on Employment of Minority Groups and Women in the News Media. The committee, which was chaired by Samuel B. Gould, was formed to study minority representation in the news media, and to promote greater diversity in the field. In 1969, Murray co-founded Zebra Associates Inc., an advertising and marketing firm that focused on Black, Hispanic, and low-income consumer markets. She served as executive vice president until the company's dissolution in 1976. Zebra Associates was the largest Black-owned and managed advertising agency at the time, and worked with such companies as Coca-Cola, Clairol, Ethiopian Airlines, Gulf Oil, Miller Brewing Company, and Polaroid. Their clients also included government agencies, large organizations, and media companies including the Peace Corps, the Girl Scouts, United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, "Essence" Magazine, and Paramount Pictures. Murray began work with the United States Department of State in the early 1970s, where she reviewed and recommended films for distribution in Africa. Murray embarked on a six week international lecture tour of Africa in 1972, visiting Liberia, Sierra Leone, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, and Zambia on behalf of the Department of State, where she delivered lectures and led seminars on television broadcasting and advertising. After giving a lecture at Howard University in 1979, Murray was asked to assist three physicians in opening Western Park Hospital Medical Center, a new trauma facility in Los Angeles, California. Murray took on the administrative and publicity work, serving as Director of Public Relations and Media/Communications for the new hospital, which opened in November of 1979. In 1980, Murray was married to Richard L. Atkins, a real estate developer and building contractor in Los Angeles. During her time in Los Angeles, Murray owned and operated House of Royal, a fragrance, skin care, and jewelry boutique in Beverly Hills. Murray returned home to Ithaca, New York in 1998 to care for her mother. In Ithaca she began work on her memoir, "Newsroom: Fade to Black", and the novel, "The Colored Ladies Luncheon". Murray is now retired and remains a resident of upstate New York.

Subject

1. Air pilots
2. Journalists
3. New York (N.Y.)
4. Manuscripts
5. Los Angeles (Calif.)
6. African American women in advertising
7. Advertising executives
8. Television news anchors
9. Minutes (Reports)
10. Research
11. Publicist
12. Authors
13. Correspondence
14. Marketing executives
15. Women in marketing
16. African Americans in television broadcasting
17. Photographs
18. Women television news anchors
19. Ithaca (N.Y.)
20. Women air pilots
21. Proposals
22. African American television journalists

Genre/Form

1. Correspondence.
2. Manuscripts.
3. Minutes (Reports)
4. Photographs.
5. Proposals.
6. Research.

Call number

1. Sc MG 847

Source (note)

1. Donated by Joan Murray, 2011.

Author

1. Murray, Joan, 1937-2021.

Title

1. Joan Murray papers, 1953-2009 (bulk 1961-1988).

Source

1. Donated by Joan Murray, 2011.

Connect to:

1. Finding Aid

Occupation

1. Advertising executives.
2. Air pilots.
3. Authors.
4. Journalists.
5. Marketing executives.
6. Publicist.
7. Television news anchors.

Research call number

1. Sc MG 847