We see this power, this visual culture that is often written, often spoken. There is also a really important visual components. In the case of the mccarthyism, how did you document, how can you document gossip employed politically . Prof. Frost in that example Andrea Friedman found there was a journalist who wrote a piece talking about this. She would say that was one journalist. She also knows that it shaped the discussion around him. This photograph, mccarthy whispering to his assistant, that image of intimacy and whispering and gossip, that was plastered everywhere. Even if there was only one article that talks about what was his relationship, that image that didnt look up standing, it didnt look respectful. The other thing we can see is that we see gossip in the hearings when they did their investigations and a hollywood and subversion in hollywood. 1947. The House Committee on unamerican activities. 1947, and the early 1950s. They are using hearsay. It is a congressional hearing. They could use hearsay. Lots of rumors. People were blacklisted for having the same name as somebody who was a member of the communist party. It was all rumor and hearsay and gossip. There is a strong celebrity gossip culture today. It has roots in old hollywood. One of the people you have written about, heather hopper, was an early contributor to gossip. Can you tell us about her and the role she played . Prof. Frost she wasnt the first big powerhouse. Parsons laid the groundwork and hopper challenged in the 1930s. Hopper is fascinating to me. If people liked her they called her the duchess of dish. If they didnt like her she was the gargoyle of gossip. She was a powerhouse. She wielded gossip unmercifully. I think what is interesting is she was political. She was conservative politically. She knew gossip to cap about celebrity culture as well as politics. Most hollywood gossip is positive. It is puffing the actor, to get people to see the movie. The majority is positive. The negative gossip, the scandalous gossip gets the headlines and people remember. They were part of the industry. It was a balancing act. They needed to help the industry and maintain their own sense of objectivity and be critical. Prof. Feeley parsons and hopper were rivals. How often did they write . What were their main subjects . Prof. Feeley they were operating on multiple platforms. Parsons, they are writing daily columns, giving radio broadcasts, when Television Comes along they do television. At sullivan takes it to television most effectively. How . Prof. Feeley with the Ed Sullivan Show. He was not always walter wind chill winchill. He figures out how to take his persona as this square straightman and translates it to television. The Ed Sullivan Show guests come on. They are gossiping about themselves. The power dynamic shifts in a way. All of his rivals tried television. Prof. Frost hopper is riding a column every day for 27 years. It is millions. She is syndicated widely. All the big papers, all the metropolitan metropolitan areas. It becomes part of peoples everyday lives. One of the great things was looking at fan letters. Her fans would write to her saying every morning the first thing i do is read what is going on. She is able to shape audiences experience of the movies and celebrity colter, as well as the political side. How did you get the idea for your book . Prof. Frost i come from a large family. My mother is one of 11 children. I have 27 cousins. I cant keep in touch with everybody on a weekly basis. We have to get by on gossip. Before facebook. Before facebook we gossiped about ourselves on facebook. I needed to be put to call my sister and hear about eight different people. I saw that gossip was a positive thing. I only heard the negative part. How does it build communities . How does it keep relationships going . How was it enjoyable . We had a moorcock relocated view of gossip and wanted to pursue it. Historians need to look at gossip as a topic and as a source of historical evidence. How successful have you been at persuading your colleagues . Prof. Feeley i think it has changed. When i was in graduate school there wasnt much work. That is part of the reason i saw you on the program a long time ago. Immediately emails and thought well, a comrade in this lonely work. Since then it has been a couple of years. There are more people doing the work. More people generally take media Popular Culture and the history thereof more seriously. We are surrounded by a. I just want to kind of underscore the importance understanding gossip. One of its key roles as a promotional tool and a marketplace where it is selling a project, selling a brand. With the mass media platform. They continue to proliferate. It is an increasingly important role. Media gossip for better or worse. Historians are late to the party. Others have been working with gossip for a long time. Anthropologists, sociologists, the social cultural side. Womens of feminist scholars have look at gossip as womens talk, which we happened addressed as much. Were a little bit late to see this as a scholarly topic. That is not to say that other people have them. This is the first book just on gossip in american history. Were hoping to get people on board. How do you take your research into the future . Do you have other projects planned . Prof. Feeley yes. Im working on a book on the rise of the hollywood press corps. Looking at what is a predominately female press corps. It doesnt exist in 1920. By 1950 it is the secondlargest in the nation second only to the [inaudible] in d. C. Prof. Frost at this point i think i have put the in don gossip for a bit. Im working on film and politics. Gossip is part of that. It will be the sole focus. Question of her frost and kathleen feeley, thank you very much. Next, Dominique Francois explores the role in contributions of women during world war ii. Women in the allied countries he argues, where a vital part of the successes of the war. The Kansas City Public Library hosted this event. Thank you everybody. Im pleased to welcome our speaker, dominique fracois, back to the american heartland. Dominique was in abilene as we commemorated the 70th anniversary of the dday invasion. He is a renowned military historian. He has published 16 books,