UCSB Library recently acquired the archives of Marilyn F. (Dillard) Solomon as a notable addition to the Film & Television Collection. Solomon was a pioneer in local commercial television broadcasting, covering issues of interest that were traditionally marginalized in local media, including civic and governmental affairs, international events, and multiracial relations. She was raised in Detroit, Michigan, by parents Ernest C. and Jessie M. Dillard who were deeply involved in labor activism, the civil rights movement, community organizing, and local politics in the 1940s–1960s. The materials reflect her family history of commitment to activism resulting in her long career in television.
Solomon was hired at KCOP-TV in Los Angeles in 1969 and given the unprecedented opportunity to produce weekly primetime television programs and long form documentaries that would demonstrate the station's commitment to operate "in the public interest" as per the Federal Communications Commission regulations. She was deeply influenced by the racially and ethnically diverse City of Los Angeles where she lived, and she believed that all that happens in the world is, at some level, local. Solomon's mission was to create, produce and moderate programs that highlighted the diversity of the City of Los Angeles and Southern California, and to strengthen connections between local happenings and international politics and global events.
She worked at KCOP-TV, a Chris-Craft station, from 1969 to 1994. From her first assignment, as a co-host on the program Minority Community and later as Director of Corporate Relations and Executive Producer of Information and Public Affairs Programming, Solomon was responsible for federal regulatory compliance, corporate, government and community relations, and the production of programs about community issues and activities. She was the producer and moderator of award-winning television programs that addressed civic and social issues, arts and culture, current affairs and news analysis, including a focus on local community issues and activities in Southern California. She also produced programs for children and pre-teens.
Solomon produced primetime documentaries that explored in-depth issues such as the Iran hostage crisis, the Turkish-Armenian conflict, the history of the Afro-Latino original settlers of the City of Los Angeles, the impact of growing immigration on race relations in Southern California, and the plight of endangered children. Her weekly prime-time news analysis program News in Review tackled local and national issues of the week, and she also produced My Turn, the first weekly program addressing gay and lesbian issues in Southern California in the 1970s.
"Marilyn’s archives are an incredible addition to our Film & Television Collection because she was a pioneer in telling the stories of underrepresented communities on television, recognizing that local issues could have national effects," says Film & Television Curator Laura Treat Liebhaber. "It is rare that local television programming archives from this era exist because most TV stations did not preserve their materials. Marilyn’s collection represents an important voice in the historic record of Southern California media and her archives hold significant research potential for scholars across various disciplines."
Solomon received various awards for her professional achievements, including the Alfred I. DuPont-Columbia University Silver Baton for Excellence in Television Journalism, and the International Documentary Association CINDY Award for the PBS Frontline documentary Down for the Count: An Inside Look at Boxing. Special recognition was given for her documentary work in Turkey, Kenya, Israel, and China. Other awards include the Gold, Silver and Bronze Medals from the International Film and Television Festival of New York. After her retirement, Solomon was appointed Honorary Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE) by Queen Elizabeth II.
“It is deeply satisfying to have my archives included in the Library’s Film & Television Collection," Solomon said of her decision to donate her archives to UCSB Library. "For 25 years I was blessed with the opportunity to provide a series of video bridges, connections toward understanding and appreciation. During those years, the catchphrase was, 'LA’s the place.' Now, thanks to UCSB Library, some of the history of this unique American region is preserved."
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- Marilyn Solomon hosts her weekly prime-time program News in Review, 1981.
