A media love triangle. The famous bachelor, the reader in love and the matchmaker editor in Radiomonde magazine
In the 1939 issues of Radiomonde magazine, the single male star is presented as a heartthrob for his fervent female fans, who continually beg the magazine to show his picture and ask about his age or marital status in the readers’ letters. This article explores the different representations of the single celebrity and the female reader in love in Radiomonde, with the aim of uncovering the complex gender power relations at play in the magazine while also reflecting the emerging type of stardom in Quebec. Another power relationship also emerges between the magazine’s male editors and their female readers. They do not hesitate to discredit—often vehemently—female fans who have fallen under the spell of radio stars, all the while maintaining a mystery surrounding the marital status of single celebrities. Apparently, breaking that spell was seen to result in a loss of interest on the part of the female readership. The second objective of the article is to understand how the editors of Radiomonde exploit, through the creation of typical celebrity bachelor profiles, the amorous feelings of their readers toward radio celebrities as a way to generate interest around their publication.