Indiana Broadcast History Archive

Hoosier native Marilyn Schultz led one of the most important lawsuits in media history to provide better working conditions for women at NBC News in the 1970s. She is an Indiana University graduate who worked at NBC for nine years. She later moved back to Indiana and worked at WTHR-TV in Indianapolis and earned her MA and PhD. at Indiana University. She worked as a university  professor at the University of Texas at Austin, Southern University in Baton Rouge, LA, and St. Edwards University in Austin, Texas. Schultz passed away in 2010.

The Indiana Broadcast History Archive has acquired Schultz's archives, including oral histories and court documents.

Marilyn Schultz was honored with the Indiana University Media School Distinguished Alumni Award in 2019. The following video was produced for the award.

Early Life

Marilyn Schultz grew up in New Albany, IN. At New Albany High School, she was heavily involved in student activities, including Speakers Club, student theater, concert choir, band majorette, cheerleader, and member of the National Honor Society.

She started her broadcasting experience at her high school’s radio station, WNAS, under the leadership of teacher Jerry Weaver. Schultz graduated from NAHS in 1963.

Indiana University

Schultz’s love for broadcasting blossomed when she moved to Bloomington and enrolled at Indiana University in the fall of 1963.  She joined a celebrated group of students who studied and learned under legendary professor and journalist, Dr. Richard Yoakam.

Yoakam not only taught his students in the classroom, he put them to work on the campus public radio station, WFIU, and the IU Sports Network.

When Schultz returned to Indiana University in 1998 for a tribute dinner for Professor Yoakam, she told the crowd how important he has been to her career and life.

Clips in this video

• Marilyn Schultz discussing her mentor, Prof. Richard Yoakam: 51:50–52:45

Starting Her NBC Career

Schultz moved to New York City after graduating from IU in 1967. Yoakam and IU alumnus Russ Tornabene helped her secure her a job at NBC in a position where many have received their start: as an NBC Studio Guidette. There she made a life-long friend in Bambi Tascarella, a fellow Guidette and long-time NBC employee.

"Our mission was to take tourists through the studios at 30 Rock and give them as much history, information and as many laughs as we could for their $1.25 per ticket. We made $40.00 a week and had so much fun we could have almost worked for nothing- had it not been for paying rent and buying groceries.”

Bambi Tascarella, on working as an NBC Studio Guidette

Moving Over to NBC News

Schultz, who was known around NBC as “Schultzie,” did not last long as a Guidette. Gloria Clyne brought her over to NBC News. “She was an immediate hit in the NBC Network newsroom, and why not," remembered Clyne; “she was charming and bubbly, bright and naive, as well as comical, quizzical, intelligent and basically someone who was a lot of fun to be with.”

"I plucked Schultzie out of the chorus line and, damn, if she didn't make herself a star!”

Gloria Clyne on hiring Schultz for NBC News

Clyne later helped Schultz move over to the Huntley Brinkley Report, which was the most popular network newscast in the United States at the time. As a production assistant, Schultz took on many of the important tasks behind the scenes for the Huntley Brinkley Report. “Marilyn wired money to overseas correspondents, tracked telexes from the News Bureaus around the globe and communicated with our brave colleagues in Vietnam,” remembered Tascarella.

"Get Your Own Damn Coffee"

While Schultz was becoming an important team member on the Huntley Brinkley Report, she also was pushing back against gender stereotypes and discrimination against women in the media workplace.

Her boss, Wallace Westfeldt, realized he had hired a “true revolutionary” one morning when he heard a skirmish going on outside his office. A male producer told Schultz that she needed to go get coffee for the crew. She replied, “I am not your waitress.” The producer pushed harder and Schultz told him to get his own damn coffee. Another male producer stepped in and offered to go get the coffee, diffusing the situation for the moment. Westfeldt said at the end of that day, Schultz poked her head into his office to get his take on the disagreement. Westfeldt affirmed to her that she was a not hired to be a waitress.

Now our newsrooms are fully integrated but the first steps taken so long ago were Schultzie's - and she wasn't tip-toeing then or any time since. God bless you, Schultzie.”

Tom Brokaw, NBC News

Schultz didn’t just push back against stereotypes, she had ideas on how NBC could integrate the company. Westfeldt said Schultz and other female employees put together a report on how the network could benefit from the “great reservoir of skills that was being ignored by NBC executives.” Westfeldt said the NBC News managers supported the effort, but talks broke down at the higher levels of NBC.

NBC Career

While Schultz was helping organize the women of NBC News, she was also advancing in her career at the network. In addition to her work on the Huntley Brinkley Report and NBC Nightly News with John Chancellor, she also worked on the live coverage of NASA’s Apollo 12 mission in 1969 and on the network’s 1972 Presidential Election Night Coverage.

Schultz later moved to Washington, DC and worked as an on-air reporter for WRC-TV, the NBC station in Washington.   As a reporter, she covered Watergate, President Nixon’s resignation, the Energy Crisis, as well as health-related stories.

NBC Lawsuit

In 1972, Schultz and other women at NBC formed the Women’s Committee on Equal Employment and Opportunity.   The group presented the network with a report on the discrimination of women in the workplace. The next year, about 50 women at NBC hired an all-women law firm and filed a complaint with the New York City Commission on Human Rights

In 1975, The New York City Commission ruled that it had cause to believe that NBC, “has discriminated against women in recruitment, in hiring, job classification, promotion opportunities and benefit programs,” according to the New York Times. Women at NBC were being “sex segregated” into secretarial jobs with little chance of advancement.

Schultz and 15 other NBC women next filed a lawsuit against NBC in 1975 for sex discrimination on behalf of all women employees.

In September of 1977, NBC and the women settled the lawsuit out of court. NBC agreed to pay $540 thousand in back pay for more than 2700 female NBC employees. The network agreed to start an affirmative action hiring program and set up a $3 million fund for merit pay increases. According to the New York Times, “NBC also agreed to hire women to fill 33 percent to 45 percent of future vacancies in such jobs as television assistant, news, feature, and desk assistant and newswriter.”

Life After NBC

Unfortunately for Schultz, the legal fight took so long, she had already left NBC by the time the settlement was announced. She said that because of her high-profile role in the lawsuit, none of the other networks would hire her.

For eight years, she ran her own production company, Rose Productions.

In 1984, The Washington Press Club Foundation honored Schultz as one of the “American Women who Changed the Face of Journalism.”

Back to Indiana

In 1984, Schultz moved back to Indiana and worked as a newscast producer, for WTHR-TV, the NBC affiliate in Indianapolis. Professor Yoakam also convinced her to go back to school to earn her graduate degrees so she could pursue a second career as a college professor.

From 1986-1992, Schultz earned a Master’s Degree in Telecommunications, followed by a Ph.D. in Mass Communications at IU. During these years she continued to work at WTHR as well as teaching at Indiana University.

College Professor

After completing her coursework for her doctoral degree, Schultz was hired by the University of Texas at Austin as a research professor and head of the broadcast journalism classes.

In Austin, Schultz also forged a close friendship with famous Texas journalist Molly Ivins. Schultz produced five episodes of a political talk show called “Life and Other Issues with Molly Ivins.”

Schultz spent a year at Southern University in Baton Rouge, LA before returning to Austin where she was hired by St. Edwards University in 2002. Marilyn Schultz was teaching at St. Edwards when she died on January 10, 2010 at age 64.

Legacy

Marilyn Schultz's fight for women's rights in the media industry has been memorialized with a wine inspired by her efforts. Schultz's nephew, Matt Grove, along with Jim Obergefell, founded Equality Vines. Grove has honored his "Aunt Marilyn" with a special chardonnay called "Get Your Own Damn Coffee."

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January 2025

by Mike Conway

A big thank you to Sandra and Steve Moberly, Billy Earnest, Pam Vaught, the late Bambi Tascarella, and all who have helped us save the important history of Marilyn Schultz.

Information on the NBC lawsuit from coverage in the Washington Post and New York Times.