They Had a Satellite and They Knew How to Use It: How Donna Allen Led Women to the Forefront of the Technological Revolution in Communication

Abstract

Donna Allen, founder of the Women's Institute for Freedom of the Press, and other women, weary of the lack of coverage by U.S. media of women's issues, undertook a project to circumvent the mass media by using the most cutting-edge technology available —satellites. They set out to prove that women could win their war with the nation's predominantly male editors and news directors, and that they didn't need the editors' or news directors' blessing as agenda setters to do it. Beginning in the 1970s, they began working to set up two international teleconferences as part of the global feminist movement and as part of the first movement of citizens to use satellite technology. This research reveals how developments in technology, changes in public policy, and evolving societal and political attitudes provided the opportunity for those whose voices were thwarted by the traditional media structure to nevertheless participate in an international communication network. It describes a seminal effort by women to challenge mainstream media power and discourse, and to use technology to take the lead in decision-making on women's issues globally. It presents evidence establishing women as early adopters of communication technology ana situates them at the forefront of the current critique of the corporate media structure in the United States.