Page 135 - Historical Dictionary of Political Communication in the United States

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ROOSEVELT, ANNA
He obtained his law degree from Yale University Law School yet ELEANOR
did
not
pass New York's bar exam. Instead, he decided to work in the financial and
communications industries. A fateful dinner at his mother's home led to his
changing professional direction and becoming "born again" in Christianity.
In 1961, he put the Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN) on the air, with
religious music and programming. To raise money to continue the station, Rob-
ertson asked for pledges from 700 people to give $10 monthly. In exchange, he
gave prayer and guidance. The "700 Club" was born. Over time, nearly 200
radio and television stations became part of his network. However, his decision
to join cable television catapulted his ventures nationally.
CBN uses its airwaves not only to promote Christianity but to comment on
political, social, and economic issues from a Christian perspective. Through the
network, Robertson and his followers created the Committee for Freedom, a
religious special interest group that gives financial support to candidates who
espouse ideas in line with conservative Christianity.
Robertson ran for the 1988 Republican presidential nomination but backed
out amid scandal about his marriage. Robertson's actions demonstrate that there
is a strong block of American voters who see a desire to instill morality into
government. However, Robertson and his followers have not been embraced by
many conservative voters who do not like the idea of church and state blending
together in citizens' lives.

SOURCES: Current Biography Yearbook, 1987; Charles H. Lippy, ed., Twentieth Cen-
tury Shapers of American Popular Religion, 1989.
Jacqueline Nash Gifford

ROOSEVELT, ANNA ELEANOR, the first president's wife to extensively
engage in mass communication, pioneered in techniques of reaching the nation's
women during the administration of Franklin D. Roosevelt. Overcoming the
shyness she had shown as a young wife and mother, Roosevelt made a role for
herself as First Lady from 1933 to 1945 that has yet to be matched by any
successor. In carving out her public career, she was mentored by Louis Howe,
her husband's political adviser, and Loren Hickok, a close friend who was a
reporter for the Associated Press. Eleanor Roosevelt projected her own human-
itarian interests through the mass media, although she also traveled widely and
spoke to innumerable audiences. Her activities, which centered on liberal causes
and urged women to become politically active, helped to humanize the New
Deal during the depression. During World War II they helped build support for
the war effort. Roosevelt reached out to the public through weekly White House
press conferences for women reporters only and a syndicated column, "My
Day," that provided a diarylike account of her daily experiences. She also gave
sponsored radio broadcasts on topics aimed at women, such as descriptions of
White House life. She was a prolific contributor to women's magazines, writing