journalism history
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Bonnie Cashin grant
I am applying for a UCLA Research Fellowship in order to go through the extensive papers of the designer Bonnie Cashin. She has often been referred to as one of the “Mothers of American Sportswear.” I would focus on the 1950s and 1960s, her post Broadway and Hollywood years as she designed for middle-class women. As New York Times fashion writer Bernadine Morris wrote in 1968: “Women buy Cashin clothes because they are cozy and comfortable, not because they bowl people over.” I hope to examine her interaction with fashion journalists at newspapers. I initially came across Cashin’s work with women’s page editor and fashion journalist Eleni Epstein, the longtime…
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Vivian Castleberry and JFK assassination
Today I am back to working on my manuscript on Dallas Times Herald women’s page editor Vivian Castleberry. I am writing about her coverage of the assassination of President Kennedy. She was waiting to watch the president at the Trade Mart. The above hate ad ran in Dallas Morning News on the morning of the assassination. In an oral history, Vivian recalled being relieved that her newspaper did not run the ad.
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Vivian Castleberry and JFK assassination
Today I am back to working on my manuscript on Dallas Times Herald women’s page editor Vivian Castleberry. I am writing about her coverage of the assassination of President Kennedy. She was waiting to watch the president at the Trade Mart. The above hate ad ran in Dallas Morning News on the morning of the assassination. In an oral history, Vivian recalled being relieved that her newspaper did not run the ad.
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Betty Ewing and society writing
Too often society columns found in women’s pages are reduced to being insignificant. After all, the women’s section where these columns typically ran was often referred to as the “step-child of the profession” in journalism histories. Yet, these columns chronicled the stories of the powerful – the movers and shakers of a community. And, these columns also highlighted the women married to those in power. In doing so, Ewing gave overlooked women a voice. Ewing highlighted the stories of the wives who worked quietly behind-the-scenes. The stories of these women deserve to be part of the historical record of the South. Ewing’s reporting and writing revealed the personalities of the…
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Betty Ewing and society writing
Too often society columns found in women’s pages are reduced to being insignificant. After all, the women’s section where these columns typically ran was often referred to as the “step-child of the profession” in journalism histories. Yet, these columns chronicled the stories of the powerful – the movers and shakers of a community. And, these columns also highlighted the women married to those in power. In doing so, Ewing gave overlooked women a voice. Ewing highlighted the stories of the wives who worked quietly behind-the-scenes. The stories of these women deserve to be part of the historical record of the South. Ewing’s reporting and writing revealed the personalities of the…
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NCA paper and presentation
Today, I am working on my paper, “Who’s Wearing the Pants? How The New York Times Reported the Changing Dress of Women,” which has been accepted for presentation at the National Communication Association convention in San Francisco – where Lance and I got married. I looked at the literal and symbolic power of women wearing pants. Religion was used as a common reason for women to stay in skirts and dresses. Politics were also part of the debate over women wearing pants. Even restaurants were part of the debate as they would decline serve to a woman wearing slacks.
