journalism history
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Women’s History Month: Colleen “Koky” Dishon
Day 17 of Women’s History Month features Colleen “Koky” Dishon. She started her career covering hard news for the Associated Press during World War II. After the war, she was a progressive women’s page editor in Columbus, Ohio, and Milwaukee before moving on to Chicago. She was hired by the Chicago Tribune in 1975 and in 1982, Dishon was named associate editor, becoming the first woman listed in the Chicago Tribune’s masthead. At the Tribune, Dishon created 17 special sections that were often quickly copied at newspapers across the country. In the words of Tribune Managing Editor Ann Marie Lipinski: “Whether you have ever worked for Koky, or ever heard…
- Eleni Epstein, fashion history, fashion journalism, journalism history, women's history month, women's page history
Women’s History Month: Eleni Epstein
Day 16 of Women’s History Month features Washington Star fashion editor Eleni Epstein. She was one of the most noticeable Washington, D.C., voices in translating fashion news in the post-World War II era through 1981. Epstein found fashion to have a unique role in Washington society. After all, as she pointed out, it was her city’s unique social events that required the high couture clothing that she wrote about. “Washington women have always been interested in fashion,” she said. “Our city is one of achievers and doers.” It was a world that Epstein circulated within and would share with her readers as someone who could rarely afford many of the…
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Women’s History Month: Betty Ewing
Day 14 of Women’s History Month is another Texas women’s page journalist: Houston society writer Betty Ewing. Like many of her fellow female reporters during World War II, she got to cover hard news. (Other examples include Marjorie Paxson and Koky Dishon.) When the war ended, she was pushed into the women’s pages and she specialized in society coverage. She worked to broaden the definition of society to be more inclusive. Lance and I went through Betty’s papers several years ago at Texas Woman’s University. I included Betty in my recent book chapter about gossip and the women’s pages.
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Women’s History Month: Vivian Castleberry, Part 2
This is the second part of a post regarding Vivian Castleberry in honor of day 13 of Women’s History Month. In the 1950s, trailblazing Dallas women’s page editor Vivian Castleberry had to find her own way of balancing being a journalist with being the mother of five daughters. She told the male editors who she worked for to allow her some flexibility. She would do her job and meet her deadlines. But she would do it her own way and on her own schedule. As she said in her oral history: “When I went to work for the Times Herald I said, “I will do a great job for you.…
- Carol McCready Hartley, food history, food journalism, journalism history, women's history month, women's page history
Women’s History Month: Carol McCready Hartley
Day 12 of Women’s History Month features another Arizona food editor – Carol McCready Hartley. Hartley graduated from Iowa State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in home economics, focusing on textiles. She was a member of Pi Beta Phi sorority. Her first job was in Chicago, at Carson Pirie Scott, the city’s second largest department store, as a member of the Fashion Board, staging style shows throughout Chicago and North Shore suburbs. She married Richard H. Voshall in 1955. The couple divorced in 1961. She moved from Chicago to Phoenix, Arizona in 1961, and went to work for Phoenix Newspapers, Inc., the following year. She became the first…
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Women’s History Month: Betty Preston Oiler
Staying on the West Coast for day 10 of Women’s History Month – featuring Betty Preston. She was a women’s page editor at the Glendale News-Press in California. Betty Preston Oiler went from an award-winning women’s page editor to a top editor during her career in Glendale, California. A Michigan native, she graduated from Petoskey High School and attended Michigan State College (now Michigan State University). She graduated in 1941 with a degree in journalism. She was taught by the chair of the journalism program Albert A. Applegate who had a daughter, Roberta, near Preston’s age. Roberta Applegate (mentioned in an earlier post) would also go on to be a…
