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Newsweek 1960: Working mothers?
The current issue of Newsweek features this March 1960 cover asking about the role of educated mothers and their place n society. This was published three years before Betty Friedan’s The Feminine Mystique asked that question. It is yet another example of how numerous elements that were taking place in the 1960s in terms of creating a foundation for the women’s liberation movement. It is worth noting that several women’s pages editors and journalists were mothers who experienced the difficulties of raising children while working outside the home. Some examples are: Eleanor Hart and Jeanne Voltz at the Miami Herald, Lois Hagen and Constance Daniell at the Milwaukee Journal, Vivian…
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Marjorie Paxson & Three Mile Island
The coverage of the potential nuclear disaster in Japan reminded me of Marjorie Paxson’s coverage of Three Mile Island. A longtime women’s page editor, Paxson became the fourth female publisher of a Gannett newspaper. She became the publisher of the Public Opinion. This is her memory of covering Three Mile Island: “Chambersburg is about fifty-five miles south of Harrisburg. And of course, Three Mile Island nuclear plant is just outside of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. We found out about it the morning of March 28, 1979. Of course, it moved on the wires and the managing editor — who was a woman, by the way — was in to see me immediately…
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White House Conference on Food, Nutrition and Health
A pivotal moment in food journalism occurred with the 1969 with the White House Conference on Food, Nutrition and Health. According to a government report: “Several landmark policy efforts with profound and lasting effects emerged from this conference, including expansions of the food stamp program, food labeling, and the school lunch program.” The conference ultimately issued an official report. In 1988, Milwaukee Journal food editor Peggy Daum wrote of that meeting: “The ripple effect of that meeting is still being felt today. It has been referred to as the Vatican II of the food world.” There was another meeting in 2000.
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Food Studies Presentation: Ohio Food Editor History
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Craig Claiborne, Elizabeth Hawkins and Jane Nickerson
I have been looking at the history of food journalism, focusing on the real role that the NYT writer Craig Claiborne played. He has been given more credit than he truly deserves. He was hired by Elizabeth Penrose Hawkins. In her obit above, it is noted that one of her proudest moments was hiring Claiborne – putting a man in charge of what had been traditionally a women’s position. (He took over for Jane Nickerson – who clearly took a news approach to food.) Yet, for all his influence – he did not, at least initially, see food as news. In his memoir, this is how he describes his job…
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The King’s Speech and Joan Younger Dickinson
Lance and I went to see the movie, The King’s Speech today. (We liked it.) In the movie, King George VI becomes the head of England after his brother leaves the throne to marry Wallace Simpson – shown above from the movie. In the post-World War II years, they went to the Bahamas, where the Duke became governor. Above is a photo of women’s page and women’s magazine writer Joan Younger Dickinson interviewing the real Wallace Simpson – who by that time was the Duchess of Windsor – in the Bahamas. (The image is at the University of Wyoming.) I am revising my article about Joan Younger Dickinson for a…
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Best Milwaukee Cooks
I am working on an article about Milwaukee Journal food editor Peggy Daum and have been going through the cookbook that she edited, The Best Cook on the Block Cookbook. It was a result of a feature that began in October 1977 where readers would nominate someone they considered the best cook in their neighborhood. In the introduction, Daum wrote: “In a city where family ties are still strong and three or four generations still live in the same neighborhood , this means holiday feasts for relatives, Sunday dinners for family, Saturday night suppers for friends.” (2) What I found interesting in the book was how many men were featured…
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A website devoted to the history of newspaper women's pages
