Littered on the landscape of radio’s past are the deep, rich voices of famed commentators like Edward R. Murrow, Walter Winchell and Red Barber. They chronicled the rhythms and routines of American life. Rarely, if ever, did you hear a woman’s voice -- deemed too soft and weak to deliver hard news. Today, women broadcasters fill the airways –reporting news and commentating on important issues here and around the world.

Locally, area listeners are informed and entertained by two women who make their home on public radio – Kathleen Dunn of Wisconsin Public Radio and Erin Toner of WUWM.

For Dunn and Toner, their paths to radio were more providence than plan.

A broken down Volkswagen can take some credit for Dunn’s broadcast career. Majoring in speech, drama and English at the University of Iowa, Dunn wanted to teach. After graduating in the early ‘70s, she jumped into her VW to check out teaching schools. Her car broke down in Ohio. On borrowed money, she made the repairs and got as far as Durham, N.C., where she took a job at a small, alternative radio station, WDBS, to repay the debt. “I did the early-morning show and the women’s show. Back then, there weren’t many women in broadcast,” Dunn remembers.

Yes, Dunn is a broadcasting pioneer -- although a bit reluctant to admit it. Having been in the industry for 35 years, she has seen how it’s changed.

In 1974, WTMJ hired her to do an “all-purpose show.” “I was an affirmative-action hire,” Dunn says of the public policy. For 18 years, Dunn did a variety of shows aired on the commercial radio station including talk, religion and a request hour. Eventually, she got a mid-day talk show that featured local and national authors, politicians and other luminaries.

But Dunn could see the writing on the wall. “I knew commercial radio was changing. It was becoming more conservative and there were more controls over the show. I knew it was time to leave.” But leaving when there were so few broadcasting jobs for women, took guts. Her broadcast career could have ended then.

In 1991, she made the switch to Wisconsin Public Radio, getting the coveted afternoon drive-time talk show.

Currently, Dunn has the morning show that runs 9 to 11.a.m. “The morning show worked much better for me, particularly at the time when I had young children, it made it easier to get child care,” she says. Dunn’s husband, Michael Bauman, is also a journalist. At the time, he was a sports columnist for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and traveled for his job.

Dunn’s show airs hard news for the first hour, with the second hour featuring authors, politicians and other guests with interesting and historical perspectives.

Public radio suits Dunn’s journalism style. “I’m not a big personality. I like to give my guests a comfortable space to talk about ideas and issues. The show is a forum for serious discussions to engage and inform a curious audience. I hope it’s always intelligent and spirited.”

She has interviewed many politicians – including presidents – sitting and former. In 2004, Bill Clinton was a guest on her show. Gloria Steinem was scheduled to follow the Clinton interview. Dunn, seeing an opportunity for lively and interesting radio, asked Clinton if he’d like to stay on the air and join in on the Steinem segment. He agreed.

Clinton and Steinem briefly exchanged pleasantries before he started to ask Steinem about a piece of legislation that she was working on. “He knew all about it – all this detail. It was amazing to be the conduit for this interesting exchange of ideas,” Dunn says.

“Public radio adds so much to my life,” she says. “I want to do this for another three to four years. Then I want to stay home, raise dogs and spend my days listening to public radio.”

One of the shows to which Dunn may listen to is “All Things Considered”.

Erin Toner currently hosts, produces and reports for the local segments of this National Public Radio show on WUWM.

Toner, like Dunn, didn’t initially set her sights on radio. She was interested in print journalism. But an internship at a public radio station in East Lansing, Mich. during her senior year at Michigan State University led her in a different direction.

“There is something special about telling a story, hearing the voice. Listeners have to be more engaged in a story if they hear it for only a few minutes, rather than being able to read at their own pace or go back if they’ve missed something. A good story on the radio is captivating and clear. I love to write it, produce it -- mix the audio,” she says of the allure of telling a story with the spoken word.

After graduation in 1999, Toner landed a job at WMUK in Kalamazoo, Mich. where she covered city and county governments. “I did an afternoon report. Actually, we were a staff of three, so I did a little bit of everything including host ‘Weekend Edition.’”

In 2001, she was hired at WKAR in East Lansing, Mich. For five years she worked as a reporter, an assignment editor and eventually hosted the local segments of “All Things Considered.”

Toner met her husband, Corbin, in journalism school. However, his career path took a turn when he entered medical school at the Medical College of Wisconsin, which is how Toner landed in Milwaukee.

Taking a temporary job at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, she eventually secured a reporting job at WUWM.

Toner loves public radio and has never wanted to get into commercial broadcast. “When you work so hard on a story, you want a full four minutes to tell it. In commercial radio, you may only get 45 seconds. You don’t get to do this kind of journalism anywhere else.”

Like most mainstream media sources, those in radio are vying for audience share. “The audience is still there. Yes, the industry has had a couple of rough years, but it does seem as if we haven’t been hit as hard as other news outlets. As long as people are driving around in cars and can simply turn on their radios for news…but like all media, we have to think about doing things differently,” she says.

“We continue to try to attract and retain younger listeners and minorities by developing new shows and offering programming through podcasts, online videos and cell phones. It’s a new way of using radio,” she says.

What’s next for her? Well, motherhood, for one. She and her husband are expecting their first child in May. “And my husband is finishing up med school and will be starting his residency. He hasn’t been assigned anywhere yet. We’re hoping that he gets a hospital in the Milwaukee area.” So are listeners.