Joins ABC News and anchors "News with the Woman’s Touch"

In 1964, dated here as January 1 for year-level reference, Marlene Sanders formally joined ABC News as a correspondent and began hosting a brief afternoon segment titled "News with the Woman’s Touch". This five‑minute program marked one of the earliest regular network news segments anchored by a woman in the United States.

The show provided Sanders a platform to present news stories with a perspective that acknowledged women as serious news consumers. While the title reflected the era’s tendency to frame women’s contributions in gendered terms, the content expanded beyond soft features to cover substantive issues affecting families, workplaces, and public life.

Her entry into ABC as a correspondent was itself notable: very few women held such roles at major networks, and she soon became one of the first female reporters regularly visible on national television news. Through this slot, Sanders honed the reporting, writing, and on‑air skills that would underpin her later documentary work and executive leadership.

"News with the Woman’s Touch" illustrates the transitional nature of 1960s television: still constrained by stereotypes, yet beginning to open space for women reporters who would increasingly cover politics, conflict, and social movements. Sanders’ presence in this role helped broaden expectations about what women could do in broadcast journalism and prepared audiences for seeing women in more prominent news positions.