National Comm Association Acceptances
So far, I have heard back about two papers about women’s page journalists that have been accepted for presentation at N.C.A. in Orlando this coming fall. |
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· “The Real Inventor of Food Journalism: The Story Behind the First New York Times Food Writer Jane Nickerson and Her Food Section, 1942-1957,” National Communication Association Convention, Orlando, November 2012. (Co-authored with Lance Speere.)
This is the story of pioneering New York Times food editor Jane Nickerson and her work at the newspaper in the 1940s and 1950s. Despite being at the most widely researched newspaper in the country and a career that set the stage for food journalism, she has been largely forgotten by communication and culinary scholars. Examining her overall career allow for a richer understanding of women’s roles in the industry – after all, for decades women journalists were restricted to women’s pages and food sections. Too often the role of food journalism in newspapers has been dismissed as fluff or pandering to advertisers. This is far from the truth. Nickerson’s coverage fit the definition of news as this scholarship demonstrates. It lays the groundwork for the study of soft news.
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· “Cecily Brownstone: A First Lady of Food Journalism,” National Communication Association Convention, Orlando, November 2012.
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This proposed research is about Cecily Brownstone, who wrote cookbooks and twice-a-week feature articles on food for the Associated Press for 39 years. From 1947 until she retired in 1986, Brownstone wrote two columns on cuisine and five recipes a week for the A.P., an estimated 14,200 articles. She began most mornings talking on the phone to James Beard and spent her days cooking in her own test kitchen. This research establishes a place for Brownstone, the role of newspaper test kitchens and the value of the food sections in the annals of communication history. It builds on the work of those who have examined materials like cookbooks to better understand the lives of women who are often left out of other historical accounts. The food sections of newspapers, made thick with grocery store advertisements in the 1950s and 1960s, originated in the women’s pages of metropolitan dailies across the country. These sections reflected gender roles, health and nutrition standards, and governmental policies about food in a community. They also reflected the developing demographic of many cities as new immigrants settled into communities and shared their dishes. Lastly, these sections told stories about food – creating a form of culinary communication.
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