KPBS

A Woman’s Place is in the Kitchen

By Gloria Penner / Senior Political Correspondent

Published May 3, 2010 at 3:00 AM PDT

This story was published more than 15 years ago.

Gloria Penner began working at KPBS as a journalist in 1969.

It was December 1, 1969 and my younger son was having his third birthday. For both of us, it would be a day of great change. Brad was spending his first day at "Humpty-Dumpty Pre-School," admitted after he had mastered the prerequisite civilized behaviors. My older son, Steve, was in morning kindergarten. And I was stepping back into the media world after a five year hiatus devoted to my role as parent and homemaker. It was a half-time position which worked for my schedule and for the KEBS (now KPBS) budget.

Traditional multi-story office buildings were the venue for my earlier jobs in radio and television in Washington, D.C. and Hawaii. But on that Monday morning, my destination was an aging two-story apartment house built around a deteriorating swimming pool near the SDSU campus.

There I met General Manager John Witherspoon and Program Director Brad Warner in their offices, a living room for John and a bedroom for Brad. It was an unlikely place of business. My doubts about this strange broadcast operation grew when I was shown to my office: a galley-type kitchen lined with traditional kitchen cabinets. The sink was there, but no stove or refrigerator. Instead, there was a desk and chair and nothing more. I had traded one kitchen for another. My adventure had begun...

Corrected: July 1, 2025 at 9:20 AM PDT

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KPBS remembers Gloria Penner, Senior Political Correspondent and host of "KPBS Midday Edition- Roundtable" on Fridays at noon. Gloria was the host "San Diego Week" from 2008-2011 and also hosted the first hour of KPBS Radio's "These Days" from 1995 to 1999. She served as the host of KPBS TV's "Full Focus" from 2003 to 2007. Gloria first joined KPBS Television in 1969 as director of community relations. Subsequently, she oversaw production of television programs for nine years. From 1993 to 1995, she was the host and writer for "KPBS Weekend Edition," a locally produced television program featuring highlights from the MacNeil/Lehrer News Hour. National credits include reporting and producing assignments for "Nightly Business Report" and the "MacNeil/Lehrer News Hour." She played an active part in KPBS’ election coverage for 30 years. She has moderated scores of town hall meetings on candidates races and propositions for KPBS, "Envision San Diego," and the League of Women Voters. She conducted scores of interviews with congressional, state and local candidates; and reported for television documentaries on issues and candidates. Her awards include 7 Emmys, 5 Golden Mikes, 2 Gracies from the American Federation of Women in Radio and Television, The San Diego Press Club’s Harold Keen Award for excellence in journalism, the John Swett Award from the California Teachers Association, and many honors from the Society for Professional Journalists and the San Diego Bar Association. An annual Gloria Penner Award for Civic Service was established in 2003 by the League of Women Voters of San Diego County, and Gloria was the first recipient. Gloria earned her bachelor’s degree from Brooklyn College. She did graduate work in English at New York University and earned her Master’s Degree in English from Syracuse University. She started her radio career in San Francisco in the 1950s as an associate producer on a program called Housewives Protective League. Her first job in television came after a move to Washington, D.C. where she was associate producer of the Washington segment of the "Today Show." After a stint in Hawaii and a return to Washington, D.C., she relocated to San Diego and took a few years off for family life. Gloria is survived by her husband Bill Snyder of La Jolla; two sons, Brad Penner of San Diego and Steve Penner of Tucson, Arizona.

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