food journalism
-
The Job of a Newspaper Food Editor
I am working on a study of food sections in metropolitan newspapers in the World War II years through the 1970s that documents the intersection between gender, food and communities. What seemed at first to be exceptions to David Kamp’s “Jell-O abusing” women’s page journalists, it quickly became the norm. There was a clear community of women who took food seriously as a beat and as a public service. These newspaper food editors wrote for the home cook and the restaurant goers while keeping the advertisers at bay. Unlike the status of magazines where advertising and editorial share a friendly relationship, newspaper food editors were independent. As Dorothy Jurney, an…
You May Also Like
Food Studies Presentation: Ohio Food Editor History
-
Second Helping Cookbook
I recently received a copy of the Second Helping Cookbook – a publication of the Women’s National Press Club. It was a follow up to the group’s earlier book, Who Says We Can’t Cook! It was so popular that the initial 5,000 cookbooks were sold in the first week. Included in the Editorial Committee for the second cookbook (published in 1962) was Washington Post women’s page editor Marie Sauer.
-
Cookbook Author Myra Waldo
In researching newspaper food sections, I came across cookbook author and newspaper columnist Myra Waldo. Here is a section from her obituary:“Starting in the mid-1950’s, Ms. Waldo wrote more than two dozen travel guides and cookbooks, which she periodically updated. Her ”Serve at Once: The Soufflé Cookbook” of 1954, for instance, was revised as ”The Soufflé Cookbook” in 1961 and, reissued in 1990, remains in print. A book she wrote in 1955 with the actress Gertrude Berg, ”The Molly Goldberg Cookbook,” based on Ms. Berg’s famous television character, was reissued most recently in 1999.” Here is a link to one of her syndicated food columns which ran in the Milwaukee…
-
Junior League Cookbooks
I was interviewed for this story that was posted yesterday on NPR’s food blog, The Salt. Above is an image of my copy of a cookbook produced by the Augusta Junior League. “It was an example of women using their power behind the scenes, says Kimberly Voss, a food historian and associate professor at the University of Central Florida. But “in the ’70s, there was a huge backlash against women’s groups that produced cookbooks as fundraisers because it was somehow reinforcing the tradition of the woman in the home.” In recent years, she says, feminist researchers have reconsidered the role of these cookbooks, which required a lot of entrepreneurial muscle…
- food editors, food history, food journalism, Jane Nickerson, Jeanne Voltz, journalism history, ruth gray, women's page history
Women’s Pages & Florida Food History
Lance are going to hear my favorite Florida historian tonight – Gary Mormino. He is going to speak about one of my favorite topics – the history of food in Florida. The event is being held at the Orange County History Center. Florida newspapers have had some great food editors over the years. Jeanne Voltz was the food editor at the Miami Herald during the 1950s and traveled the state looking for food stories. After being the first food editor at the New York Times, Jane Nickerson went on to be the food editor at the Lakeland Ledger. Ruth Gray was the food editor at the St. Petersburg Times who…
You May Also Like
Food Studies Presentation: Ohio Food Editor History
-
History of Sugar
Yesterday, I was lucky enough to hear the wonderful talk “America’s Sweet Tooth” about the history of sugar by food historian Francine Segan. It was a great mix of facts and anecdotes, along with some interesting ads. It really helped to confirm many of the areas I have researched for my book about the history of newspaper food editors. When it came to sugar, several of the newspaper food editors noted that readers never seemed to tire of recipes for cakes. The New York Herald Tribune food editor Clementine Paddleford helped her home cooks deal with the challenges of World War II and the limits on sugar. She encouraged her…
You May Also Like
Food Studies Presentation: Ohio Food Editor History
