Women’s Page Political Columnist Malvina Stephenson
I was excited to find this oral history with Washington, DC political columnist Malvina Stephenson. Her papers are part of the National Women & Media Collection.
Malvina Stephenson teamed with veteran Washington journalist Vera Glaser on election night in 1968. They snuck into Nixon’s inner sanctum on the 35th floor of Waldorf Towers while hundreds of other reporters were stuck in the pressroom on the third floor of the hotel. By the time they were spotted by Nixon’s director of public relations, they had already conducted numerous exclusive interviews and had found a copy of the campaign director’s confidential guide to election returns. They then broke the story.
It was the beginning of their gossipy and newsy column, “Off Beat Washington.” They scored numerous exclusive interviews and rarely revealed their sources during their five years together. The column typically ran in the women’s pages of the newspaper.
Vera and Malvina are both part of my upcoming book about women and politics, Politicking Politely.
