Zelda Robinson describes herself as a “retired broadcaster working harder than I ever worked for corporate.” That about sums up the energy of a woman who has spent decades behind the mic — and has no intention of slowing down.
A Career Born from Instinct
Robinson’s path to radio was anything but straight. She started as a journalism student, switched to photojournalism after watching her sister develop black-and-white photos in a darkroom, and then quickly discovered that putting a microphone in front of a woman who had just lost her home and children in a fire was not something she could do.
“I could not do that — it was just a little bit too much for me,” she said. “So I asked the Holy Spirit to guide me, and I wound up in radio.”
She tried television first. Too boring. Radio, however, was a different story entirely.
“Oh — talking? I can do this and get paid for it?”
Her first break came at WJPC, where legendary gospel radio queen Jackie Hassel hired her on the spot. “She didn’t play no games,” Robinson recalled with a laugh. “She said, ‘Yeah, you’re hired — when can you start?'”
Early on, Robinson’s biggest challenge was learning how to be herself on air. Like many new broadcasters, she was mimicking what she had seen on television — formal, polished, stiff.
Her mentor, Hope Daniels from Columbia College, set her straight.
“She said, ‘You want to sound more conversational — not Hi, this is Zelda Robinson, but hey, it’s me, what’s up,'” Robinson recalled. “It took a mindset shift, but I did it.”
Among her other key influences were radio trailblazers Yvonne Daniels, Denise Jordan Walker, and Denial Alexander — women who shaped Chicago’s airwaves and set the standard for what Black women in broadcasting could be.
A Career of Milestones
One of Robinson’s proudest moments came at AM 1390, where she received a certificate recognizing her contributions to the station’s highest ratings ever — an achievement she said was especially meaningful in a radio landscape where FM always got the glory and AM was treated like an afterthought.
“Nobody had ever gotten anything like that,” she said. “I was real happy about that.”
The Legacy She Hopes to Leave
When asked what legacy she hopes to leave behind, Robinson did not talk about ratings or accolades. She talked about faith — and possibility.
“The legacy of knowing that you are greater than you have ever thought, greater than you have been told. You’ve been dumbed down — but you can do anything if you do the work on yourself.”
She quoted a piece of wisdom she carries from her mother: if you spend as much time developing yourself as you do on your job, you will be better off — and you will make more money. In a culture obsessed with external success, she sees that message as urgently needed.
“Anything is possible. You don’t have to have a million followers. You don’t have to travel the world. Just be open and receptive.”
From Columbia College darkrooms to Chicago’s gospel radio airwaves, Zelda Robinson has always followed the signal — and the signal has never led her wrong.
