A Trip to NYC’s Paley Center: Revisiting Battle of the Sexes

Episode Description Host Cynthia Bemis Abrams takes listeners to The Paley Center for Media in New York City, exploring its role in preserving television history and hosting key industry events like PaleyFest. Cynthia dives into The Paley Archive during her visit, her top destination. She recounts her observations while watching the iconic 1973 broadcast of Billie Jean King versus Bobby Riggs in the historic "Battle of the Sexes." Listen in as Cynthia unpacks the significance of the archive, her first searches in the database, and her candid reactions to Howard Cosell's commentary alongside Rosie Casals and Gene Scott.   Episode Life Lessons

• Age, training, and mental resilience were crucial to Billie Jean King’s performance.
• The significance of preserving history for future generations to learn and reflect.
• How cultural artifacts like sports broadcasts shape societal conversations on gender and equality.

Episode Resources

• Battle of the Sexes: King vs. Riggs 1973 (1.6) - https://traffic.libsyn.com/advancedtvherstory/Battle_of_the_Sexes_092217.mp3
• TV's Smiling Feminist: Dinah Shore - https://advancedtvherstory.libsyn.com/tvs-smiling-feminist-dinah-shore
• The Paley Center for Media Website - https://www.paleycenter.org/
• YouTube upload of 1973 broadcast https://youtu.be/R9C5XNREzNg?si=4O9Nv5K8ynL30ur0

 

Cynthia Bemis Abrams and Advanced TV Herstory

ATVH Newsletter – tvherstory.com

Website - https://cynthiabemisabrams.com/ 

Podcast Archive - tvherstory.com

Email - advancedtvherstory@gmail.com

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/advancedtvherstory/

YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@advancedtvherstory

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/Media.Cynthia

Bluesky Social - https://bsky.app/profile/cynthiabemisabrams.bsky.social

Production

Video - Nivia Lopez - https://nivialopez.com/

Audio - Marilou Marosz - https://www.linkedin.com/in/mariloumarosz/

Music - https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jahzzar/