Our Article to be Published in Gastronomica
Lance & I have been going over page proofs for our article. It’s called “Food Fight: Accusations of Press Agentry: A Case for Ethics and the Development of the Association of Food Journalists.” It will be in the Summer 2013 issues of Gastronomica: Journal of Food & Culture. It is a history of newspaper food pages and a case study of Peggy Daum & Ruth Gray’s work.
In our paper, we explained:
“A regular part of these women’s sections were food pages. These sections were made thick with grocery store and kitchen product advertisements in the 1950s and 1960s. And the food editors had influence. According to a 1953 article in Time magazine: “In U.S. dailies, few staffers exert more direct influence on readers than the food editor; only the front page and the comics have a bigger readership. Last week 133 of these influential newshens (130) and newsmen (three) gathered at Chicago’s Drake Hotel for their tenth annual meeting.” In 1950, the journalism industry publication Editor & Publisher reported that the number of newspaper food editors had grown from 240 to 561 in one year. The reporter noted, “Hundreds of newspapers, which in the past have paid scant attention to the subject, are realizing the reader interest and the advertising revenue possibilities of food and are appointing qualified editors to turn out readable food pages.”
We concluded: ” This research negates the criticisms of Sen. Moss and Karp in that it demonstrates it is incorrect history to believe the generalizations that the food sections and their editors were hostages of the food industry as late as the 1970s. Women food editors were already writing hard news with no advertiser influence before Moss’s claims. Furthermore, the women used the opportunity legitimize their profession by creating a journalism organization of their own that continues today.
The work of female journalists – especially those in the oft-ignored women’s pages – is worthy of continued study. While these women were accused of lacking ethics, a review of the work by Daum and Gray shows otherwise; they were actually operating under ethical practices. And, in the case of Daum, she was motivated to create an organization grounded in ethics to prove the critics of her profession wrong. In Summer 2011, the Bible for journalists, the Associated Press Stylebook, added a special section devoted to food reporting. According to a press release, the reason for the new section was: ““With all the cooking shows, blogs and magazines focusing on food, as well as growing interest in organic and locally sourced foods, our new food section feels timely and on trend,” said Colleen Newvine, product manager of the AP Stylebook. “With this new addition to the AP Stylebook, The Associated Press is proud to bring clarity to the writing that describes and informs the new food movement.” This statement negates all of the important work that was done by women in food journalism for decades.
You May Also Like
