Women in the Media Webinar Panel

Women in the Media Panel in Honor of Women's History Month

Our panelists include: Peg DeGrassa, editor, Town Talk Newspapers, News & Press of Delaware County, and feature writer, Delaware County Daily & Sunday Times; Debbi Calton, on air personality/radio announcer Outside FM, and former WMGK midday host; and Loraine Ballard Morrill, news director and community affairs director for the six iHeartMedia PHL radio stations.

In this webinar, our panelists will discuss their careers; the roles women will play in the changing media landscape; leadership and mentorship; and answer questions from attendees.

About our featured speakers:

Peg DeGrassa is a lifelong Delaware County resident who embarked on her journalism journey as editor of her high school newspaper and writer for her college newspaper. After earning her degree, DeGrassa went to work at the Beach Haven Times in New Jersey, where she wrote a weekly Music Column, and covered local entertainment “at the shore.”

She began her career with Delaware County newspapers as the associate editor at Town Talk Newspapers, which at the time, had seven different editions. She was responsible for gathering, editing, writing, and laying out the community news each week for the paper, as well as keeping a vibrant online and social media presence and participating in special projects and events.

The award-winning journalist eventually became editor of all five of the newspapers that formed The Delaware County News Network. For 20 years, she also wrote a blog and a weekly column about life in Delaware County. All of the newspapers in Delco News Network were eventually merged into two weekly newspapers that currently cover the entire county:  Town Talk and The News & Press of Delaware County.

Besides being the eyes and ears of the community through the Delaware County News Network, DeGrassa is also a reporter and feature writer for The Delaware County Daily & Sunday Times.

She has served on various community boards and advisory committees and she’s a past president of the Delaware County Press Club.

Debbi Calton has been a radio DJ since 1976. From her beginnings at her college radio station in Charlotte, NC to Tampa to Orlando to Denver to Chicago, she has been a Philadelphia rock/classic rock radio mainstay for 37 years from1983-2019.

During this time, she was also part of a team that won a Grammy for Best Children’s LP “All Against Bullies Big and Small."

She recently stepped down from her decades spanning midday shift at WMGK with a month of retrospection via interviews, old airchecks, and commercials from the past. She did what most never accomplish in radio: she said goodbye to her audience on her own terms.

Not being able to stay away from the music for long, she’s currently on air on OutsideFM.com with the freedom to truly play whatever she wants. It’s a full circle back to her early days in freeform radio.

Loraine Ballard Morrill is News director and Community Affairs director for the six iHeartMedia PHL radio stations Power 99, WDAS FM, Q102, ALT 104.5, The Breeze 106.1 and The Gambler 1480 AM, where she hosts and produces Philadelphia’s Community Affairs Programs, “Insight” and “What’s Going On.”  She also coordinates community outreach and campaigns for all the stations.

She has received numerous awards, including the Philadelphia Human Relations Commission Human Rights Award, Philadelphia NAACP President’s Award, the Philadelphia Association for Black Journalists Community Award, the Achievement in Radio Lifetime Achievement Award, the Harris Wofford Active Citizenship Award, The AIDS Fund Favorite Straight Person, Women Veterans Who Rock Leadership Award, the Penn Center for AIDS Research Legacy Award and The Philadelphia Tribune’s Most Influential. Under her direction, Power 99 FM was the first station to receive six prestigious National Association of Broadcasters Crystal Award for Service and the First NAB Crystal Heritage Award - the highest award for broadcast community service.

She has served on the Boards of The Philadelphia Urban League, The Centers for Literacy, First Person Arts, Philadelphia Committee for Children and Youth, and Keep Philadelphia Beautiful, among others.  Loraine currently sits on the Boards of PHLDiversity, the Mayor’s Commission on Adult Education, Girl Scouts of Eastern PA, the Marian Anderson Awards, and the READ!by4th Leadership Committee.

Join us on Zoom on Wednesday, March 24, 2021 @ noon.

Reserve your space today!

Members: Free

Nonmembers: $10

To receive your Zoom link: Registrants will receive the link in a reminder email before the event.

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