Investigating Food Journalism History
As I go through the page proofs of The Food Section, I was reminded how this research got started.
My investigation of food journalism began with a Call For Papers for the Icons of American Cooking chapters several years ago. I responded and pitched Jeanne Voltz’s name. I was familiar with Jeanne’s work as the food editor at the Miami Herald and knew that she went on to a successful career at the Los Angeles Times.
Instead, I got assigned the chapter for James Beard. As I did the research for the chapter, I was amazed how much scholarship already existed about Beard. It was difficult to believe that culinary history needed more information about Beard when so little about Voltz existed.
I ended up writing a journal article about Voltz that was published in American Journalism. In it, I examined Voltz’s impressive journalism work as the food editor at the L.A. Times in the 1960s. My findings went counter to what most journalism historians had written – that food sections were full of fluff.
My research about Beard led me to several references about Jane Nickerson, the first food editor at the New York Times. She played a major role at a changing time for food: 1942 to 1957. Yet, she has been overshadowed by Craig Claiborne, who followed her as food editor at the Times. In fact, I was spurred to action in 2009 when the New School declared Craig Claiborne the inventor of food journalism.
After a few years of investigating, I learned that there were lots of other significant food editors along with Jane and Jeanne. The Food Section will tell the stories of more than 60 food editors with lots of examples from Jane and Jeanne’s careers.
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