First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy’s house tour was the most popular media event in the 60’s. With over 56 million viewers, Mrs. Kennedy won an Honorary Emmy and her televised tour was “the first prime time documentary to explicitly court a female audience.”
On this day, February 14th, in 1962, First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy gives a live tour of the 132-room White House. The broadcast took approximately one hour and was aired on three major networks. In the tour, Mrs. Kennedy showed off the restored and refurbished parts of the home as well as the historical items of previous presidents.
This documentary inspired many females to enter the public sphere and changed the attitude of the community about the roles of the woman. First Lady Kennedy showed that women too could appreciate the arts and be keen in history.