Each issue, Clio highlights the latest episode of the Journalism History podcast and recommend a set of episodes from the archives. The podcasts — available on the website and through many podcast players — are excellent teaching tools, easy to add to your syllabi. Transcripts of each episode are available online. 

This issue we highlight the origins of the paparazzi, celebrity journalism, and the college cover girls on Life magazine.

Episode 108: Prehistory of the Paparazzi

Curator Ryan Linkof discusses his research on the Prince of Wales, Wallis Simpson, and the prehistory of the paparazzi. The episode touches on media culture, the phenomena of celebrity and the role of photography in mediating the public’s relationship to famous people

Episode 30: Black Celebrity Journalism

Carrie Teresa joins the podcast to discuss her work on black celebrity journalism in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. She details how black newspapers, such as the Chicago Defender, Pittsburgh Courier, and Baltimore Afro-American, added significant entertainment sections to their newspapers to meet the demand for stars on screen, on stage, and on the field.

Episode 84: Life Magazine’s College Girl

Lindsay Hargrave talks about the history of Life magazine and how college-aged women were portrayed in the 1930s. While only 12 percent of all American women attended college in the 1930s, they constituted nearly half of college enrollment. Yet, often, as Hargrave discusses, the magazine didn’t take these women seriously.