Rosie Napravnik (pictured above) hopes to become the first woman to win the Kentucky Derby today. Napravnik will be aboard Pants on Fire, on whom she won the Louisiana Derby. Five women have ridden in the Kentucky Derby — the last was Rosemary Homeister in 2003 — but none has finished in the top 10. Napravnik already has made some history. She’s the first female jockey to win the Louisiana Derby and the Fair Grounds riding title, finishing first on 110 of her 482 mounts to far outpace closest competitor James Graham (76 of 539). Louisville is home to another important first: Carol Sutton. Carol was a groundbreaking women’s page…

Here is a short Q & A with Carrie Orman, the daughter of Louisville women’s page editor turned managing editor Carol Sutton. Here is what she said about her mother: “Historical character identified with: My mom, Carol Sutton. She is a historical character and has been written about several times. (Sutton, former managing editor of The Courier-Journal, was the first woman to hold that position at a major U.S. daily, according to the newspaper’s archives.)”

Here is a short Q & A with Carrie Orman, the daughter of Louisville women’s page editor turned managing editor Carol Sutton. Here is what she said about her mother: “Historical character identified with: My mom, Carol Sutton. She is a historical character and has been written about several times. (Sutton, former managing editor of The Courier-Journal, was the first woman to hold that position at a major U.S. daily, according to the newspaper’s archives.)”

Here is a clip of Thursday’s speaker, Jerry Mitchell, from the Colbert Report. Journalism legend (and winner of the 2009 “genius grant” from the MacArthur Foundation) spoke to both of my classes at UCF today. He addressed the lack of Southern newspaper coverage during the civil rights era. While that was true at most newspapers, one exception was the Louisville Courier-Journal. It was a more progressive newspaper and named women’s page editor Carol Sutton to the managing editor position in the 1970s. While was was M.E., she oversaw the coverage of busing. The newspaper took an anti-segregation position: ” Sutton said the staff tried to get information out as soon…

Here is a clip of Thursday’s speaker, Jerry Mitchell, from the Colbert Report. Journalism legend (and winner of the 2009 “genius grant” from the MacArthur Foundation) spoke to both of my classes at UCF today. He addressed the lack of Southern newspaper coverage during the civil rights era. While that was true at most newspapers, one exception was the Louisville Courier-Journal. It was a more progressive newspaper and named women’s page editor Carol Sutton to the managing editor position in the 1970s. While was was M.E., she oversaw the coverage of busing. The newspaper took an anti-segregation position: ” Sutton said the staff tried to get information out as soon…

I have been pondering the importance of getting history right – making sure the facts are truly facts. In academia, we send out our research to peer review in the hopes of getting published. These readers can determine if the methodology is strong or if the right literature is cited. What they can typically not determine is if the story is complete. That is why I was so pleased to get the following email from Irene Nolan, formerly of the Louisville Courier Journal. (I interviewed her a few years ago for my article about Carol Sutton, a former women’s page editor and the first female managing editor of a major…