Elizabeth McLeod

Elizabeth McLeod (born 1963) is a journalist and broadcast historian who lives and works on the coast of Maine. During her career in broadcast journalism between 1983 and 1997, she received multiple awards for news writing and production from the Maine Association of Broadcasters. Between 1997 and 2006, she contributed over 800 scripts to the daily CBS Radio Network program "Sound*Bytes".

Radio pioneers

As the leading authority on "Amos 'n' Andy", McLeod read thousands of script pages to write "The Original Amos ’n’ Andy: Freeman Gosden, Charles Correll and the 1928–1943 Radio Serial". Much of this was available on the Internet prior to its publication in 2005 by McFarland & Company. A biography of radio's first major stars, examining their long-term impact on the medium, the book refutes the usual blanket condemnations of the radio/TV series. Michael J. Hayde reviewed::Most of you only know what you've been told about "Amos 'n' Andy". Most of you have been misled by so-called "enlightened scholarship" that has reduced this once-beloved show to what one revisionist termed "a nightly racial slur." Behold instead the work of a genuine scholar, Elizabeth McLeod, who has evaluated all the latter-day critiques and not-so-benign neglect surrounding Freeman Gosden and Charles Correll's place in broadcast history and then sets the record straight with facts. This is a thoroughly enjoyable, enlightening, fascinating account of a program that captivated millions of listeners of all races... And it's a meticulous, exhaustively researched documentation of data that proves without doubt that Amos Jones and Andy Brown were beloved because they represented that which is good and decent in humankind, foibles and all.

McLeod has written numerous articles on radio pioneers and the history of early radio and is highly respected within the vintage radio community for her scholarly approach and flawless research. Her articles have appeared in such publications as "Nostalgia Digest", "Journal of the Radio Historical Association of Colorado" and "Radio Recall". Her contributions to books include "Exploring Cultural History: Living Through the Great Depression", edited by Tracy Brown Collins (Greenhaven Press, 2004) and "Encyclopedia of Radio", edited by C.H. Sterling (Routledge, 2004).

Awards

In recognition of her work, she received the 2005 Ray Stanich Award presented by the Friends of Old Time Radio, and she is a three-time winner of awards from the Maine Association of Broadcasters: Best Continuing Coverage, Radio (1990), Best Radio Commercial (1993) and Best Radio Writing (1996).

elected bibliography

Books

*"The Original Amos 'n Andy: Freeman Gosden, Charles Correll, and the 1928-43 Radio Serial". McFarland & Co, 2005.
*Sterling, C. H., editor. McLeod articles in "The Encyclopedia of Radio". Routledge Research Amalgamated Broadcasting System, 2004.
*Collins, Tracy Brown, editor. McLeod essay, "The Controversial Comedy of Amos 'n' Andy" in "Exploring Cultural History: Living Through The Great Depression". Greenhaven Press, 2004.

Magazines

*"Radio Moments of the 20th Century," "Journal of the Radio Historical Association of Colorado", January through December, 2000.
*"Documenting Early Radio," "Radio Recall: Journal of the MWOTRC", December 1997 (Part One), February 1998 (Part Two), April 1998 (Part Three).
*"Nostalgia Digest"
**"Tis Funny, McGee," December 2000-January 2001.
**"We Want Cantor," October-November 2000.
**"Forever Snooks," August-September 2000.
**Tonight the Program's Gonna Be Different: Life and Times of Ed Wynn," June-July 2000.
**"His Time Was Our Time: The Rudy Vallee Story," April-May 2000.
**"Charlie's Big Night," February-March 1999.
**"Forgotten Laughter: An Appreciation of Fred Allen," December 1998-January 1999.

Listen to

* [http://www.otrsite.com/broadcast/archeritage0508.html Interview with Elizabeth McLeod]

External links

* [http://www.midcoast.com/~lizmcl/resume.html Elizabeth McLeod's CV]
* [http://www.midcoast.com/~lizmcl/wgy.html "The Birth of Radio Drama'" by Elizabeth McLeod]
* [http://www.midcoast.com/~lizmcl/ Elizabeth McLeod's Broadcasting History Resources]
* [http://www.midcoast.com/~lizmcl/ "The 100 Greatest Moments in Old-Time Radio" by Elizabeth McLeod]
* [http://members.aol.com/jeff1070/amos.html "Some History of "Amos 'n' Andy", Part One" by Elizabeth McLeod]
* [http://members.aol.com/jeff1070/amos2.html "Some History of "Amos 'n' Andy", Part Two" by Elizabeth McLeod]