Tom Johnson & Vivian Castleberry
This morning, I am sitting in the garden and working on a chapter of my book about Dallas women’s page editor Vivian Castleberry. I am writing about the years when Tom Johnson arrived at the Times Herald. He was the first editor who really understood what she was trying to do. It is a reminder that while most male editors were not supportive of transforming women’s page content, some did understand. (Other examples would include Jim Bellows and J. Edward Murray.)
Vivian and Tom exchanged some emails in 2004 that I went through. Here is one of my favorites from Tom to Vivian: “What I always respected the most was how effectively you achieved change. You did it by persuasion, by logic, by the soundness of your argument. You did not cry, scream, protest, resign or threaten lawsuits – although there were times you were justified in taking any of those steps. You just kept on course, bringing attention to women’s rights.”
