Donna Halper
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Donna Lee Halper (born February 14, 1947, in
Dorchester, Massachusetts Dorchester () is a Neighborhoods in Boston, neighborhood comprising more than in the city of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Originally, Dorchester was a separate town, founded by Puritans who emigrated in 1630 from Dorchester, Dorset, E ...
) is a
Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
-based
historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human species; as well as the ...
and radio consultant. Beginning in 1968, Halper worked as a radio disc jockey and music director, and is credited with discovering the progressive rock band Rush while at
WMMS WMMS (100.7 FM broadcasting, FM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Cleveland, Ohio, serving Greater Cleveland and much of surrounding Northeast Ohio, commonly identified as "The Buzzard". Widely regarded as one of the most influen ...
in Cleveland in 1974. She has taught courses in broadcasting, media criticism, and media history, and is author of a number of books, including the first book-length study devoted to the history of women in American broadcasting, ''Invisible Stars: A Social History of Women in American Broadcasting''. In March 2023, it was announced that she would be inducted into the Massachusetts Broadcasters Hall of Fame and receive the Pioneer Broadcaster Award.


Career

Halper attended
Northeastern University Northeastern University (NU or NEU) is a private university, private research university with its main campus in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It was founded by the Boston Young Men's Christian Association in 1898 as an all-male instit ...
, where she received
B.A. A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree ...
, M.A., and M.Ed. degrees. In 1968 she became the first female announcer at Northeastern's campus radio station, WNEU (now WRBB). Halper went on to a career that spanned 12 years as a radio broadcaster, music director, and music producer in
Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...
,
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
,
Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
, and Boston. In 1980, Halper became a radio consultant for college and commercial radio stations in the United States, eastern Canada and Puerto Rico. In the late 1980s, Halper began teaching college courses about broadcasting, media criticism, and media history. She taught part-time at
Emerson College Emerson College is a private college in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It also maintains campuses in Los Angeles and Well, Limburg, Netherlands (Kasteel Well). Founded in 1880 by Charles Wesley Emerson as a "school of Public Speaking, o ...
, in the journalism department and the Institute of Liberal Arts until the summer of 2008, when she accepted a position as assistant professor of communication at
Lesley University Lesley University is a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. It was founded in 1909 to educate teachers. Originally founded as a women's college, male students were admitted beginning in 2005. History 1909–1998 Th ...
in
Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is a suburb in the Greater Boston metropolitan area, located directly across the Charles River from Boston. The city's population as of the 2020 United States census, ...
. In 2012, she was promoted to Associate Professor. In 1987–88, Halper taught courses at
Franklin Pierce University Franklin Pierce University is a private university in Rindge, New Hampshire, United States. It was founded as Franklin Pierce College in 1962, combining a liberal arts foundation with coursework for professional development, professional preparat ...
in
Rindge, New Hampshire Rindge is a town in Cheshire County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 6,476 at the 2020 census, up from 6,014 at the 2010 census. Rindge is home to Franklin Pierce University, the Cathedral of the Pines and part of Annett Stat ...
, on radio programming. She has also taught at the
University of Massachusetts Amherst The University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst) is a public land-grant research university in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. It is the flagship campus of the University of Massachusetts system and was founded in 1863 as the ...
and the
University of Massachusetts Boston The University of Massachusetts Boston (stylized as UMass Boston) is a Public university, public US-based research university. It is the only public research university in Boston and the third-largest campus in the five-campus University of Ma ...
. In May 2011, she earned a Ph.D. in communication from UMass Amherst. A media and social historian, Halper has written essays for encyclopedias and magazines. In 2008, she contributed a chapter in Michael C. Keith's ''Radio Cultures: The Sound Medium in American Life'', and in 2010, her essay about the impact of
McCarthyism McCarthyism is a political practice defined by the political repression and persecution of left-wing individuals and a Fear mongering, campaign spreading fear of communist and Soviet influence on American institutions and of Soviet espionage i ...
on broadcasting appeared in the academic reference work ''Perspectives in American Social History: Cold War and McCarthy Era''. She has also authored a number of books, including ''Icons of Talk: The Media Mouths that Changed America'', a history of talk shows. Halper has also researched and written about
baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...
history for the Society for American Baseball Research ''Baseball Research Journal'', documenting radio broadcasting's impact on the game, and highlighting obscure, overlooked or neglected aspects of the sport. She has also written articles about
Negro leagues The Negro leagues were United States professional baseball leagues comprising teams of African Americans. The term may be used broadly to include professional black teams outside the leagues and it may be used narrowly for the seven relativel ...
players and sportswriters, including Frank "Fay" Young" and Russell J. "Russ" Cowans. Halper has been seen on C-SPAN, where she gave a talk in 2020 about women in early broadcasting. She is also a guest speaker specializing in the history of radio and television, often bringing with her a collection of rare memorabilia. She has been a guest expert on
NPR National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...
,
PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...
, the
History Channel History (formerly and commonly known as the History Channel) is an American pay television television broadcaster, network and the flagship channel of A&E Networks, a joint venture between Hearst Communications and the Disney General Entertainme ...
, and on local television stations
WCVB-TV WCVB-TV (channel 5) is a television station in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, affiliated with ABC and owned by Hearst Television. The station's studios are located on TV Place (off Gould Street near the I-95/ MA 128/Highland Avenue in ...
and
NECN New England Cable News (NECN) is a regional 24-hour cable news television network owned and operated by NBCUniversal (as part of the NBCUniversal Owned Television Stations division, both ultimately owned by Comcast) serving the New England reg ...
, commenting on media history. Her work has focused on women and minorities in media history,
talk radio Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues and consisting entirely or almost entirely of original spoken word content rather than outside music. They may feature monologues, dialogues between the hosts, Interview (jo ...
, and people whose contributions to broadcasting have been overlooked or forgotten, such as broadcast pioneers like
John Shepard III John Shepard III (March 19, 1886May 11, 1950) was an American radio executive and merchant. Among his many achievements, he was one of the original board members of the National Association of Broadcasters, having been elected the group's first ...
, Eunice Randall, and Big Brother Bob Emery.


Rush

Halper is credited with discovering the rock band Rush while working as the Music Director at radio station
WMMS WMMS (100.7 FM broadcasting, FM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Cleveland, Ohio, serving Greater Cleveland and much of surrounding Northeast Ohio, commonly identified as "The Buzzard". Widely regarded as one of the most influen ...
in Cleveland in 1974. After a Canadian record producer gave her the then-unknown band's album, she played a track called “Working Man” on the air. Listeners started requesting more Rush tracks. Soon, other radio stations began including Rush songs in their playlists, and by late summer of 1974, the band got a U.S. recording contract. As an acknowledgement of her role in their success, the band dedicated their first two albums to Halper. Halper appeared in the 2010 documentary about Rush, '' Beyond the Lighted Stage''. On June 25, 2010, she was a speaker when Rush received a star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame. A depiction of Halper, along with depictions of other DJs who were instrumental in Rush's success, is included in the animated video of "
The Spirit of Radio "The Spirit of Radio" is a song by Canadian rock band Rush, released from their 1980 album ''Permanent Waves''. The song's name was inspired by Brampton, Ontario based radio station CFNY-FM's slogan. It was significant in the growing popularity ...
", released for the fortieth anniversary of ''
Permanent Waves ''Permanent Waves'' is the seventh studio album by Canadian rock band Rush, released on January 14, 1980 through Anthem Records. After touring to support their previous album, '' Hemispheres'' (1978), the band began working on new material for ...
'', the album "The Spirit of Radio" originally appeared on.


Published works

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References


External links


Halper's website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Halper, Donna 1947 births American radio DJs 21st-century American historians Living people University of Massachusetts Amherst faculty Jewish American academics American women historians 21st-century American women writers American women radio hosts People from Dorchester, Boston 21st-century American Jews Northeastern University alumni