journalism history
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Soft news? Hard news? Or, quilted news.
Most of journalism history considers the content of women’s pages to be soft news. Yet, a closer examination of the women’s sections in the 1950s and 1960s shows more complex content. There was soft news – personality profiles, fashion stories and features. Yet, there were also stories about politics, education news and family violence. The women’s page editors created a new kind of news within the social fabric of their communities – a kind of quilted news. Quilts have become recognized as art – largely women’s art – in recent decades. Some credit the counterculture’s arts-and-crafts movement in the 1960s for the renewed attention to the craft. Others view the…
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Soft news? Hard news? Or, quilted news.
Most of journalism history considers the content of women’s pages to be soft news. Yet, a closer examination of the women’s sections in the 1950s and 1960s shows more complex content. There was soft news – personality profiles, fashion stories and features. Yet, there were also stories about politics, education news and family violence. The women’s page editors created a new kind of news within the social fabric of their communities – a kind of quilted news. Quilts have become recognized as art – largely women’s art – in recent decades. Some credit the counterculture’s arts-and-crafts movement in the 1960s for the renewed attention to the craft. Others view the…
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Vivian Castleberry and the Sixth Floor Museum
I have spent the last three days transcribing the taped speeches of Dallas women’s page editor Vivian Castleberry at the Sixth Floor Museum in Dallas. I am working on a book about Vivian. Some of the information confirmed what I have already known. I also heard some new stories. For example, Vivian explained the difficulties that married women faced under Texas law. She told the story of graduating from college and getting her first Neiman Marcus charge card. At the time, she was a writer for a chemical company magazine. After she married, she called Neiman Marcus to get the name changed on her credit card. Instead, the company cancelled…
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Vivian Castleberry and the Sixth Floor Museum
I have spent the last three days transcribing the taped speeches of Dallas women’s page editor Vivian Castleberry at the Sixth Floor Museum in Dallas. I am working on a book about Vivian. Some of the information confirmed what I have already known. I also heard some new stories. For example, Vivian explained the difficulties that married women faced under Texas law. She told the story of graduating from college and getting her first Neiman Marcus charge card. At the time, she was a writer for a chemical company magazine. After she married, she called Neiman Marcus to get the name changed on her credit card. Instead, the company cancelled…
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Kathryn “Kay” Clarenbach
A week from today, Lance and I will be at the archives at UW-Madison. We are going through the papers of Kathryn “Kay” Clarenbach. Here is a link to the extensive finding guide. Kay was a leading feminist but not always the most visible. Much of her work was done behind the scenes although she did serve as the first president of N.O.W. I am curious how she negotiated change with conflicting personalities. We are going to examine Kay’s relationship with journalists – especially her communication with women’s page reporters and editors. I’m thankful for the UCF grant to make the trip.
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Great new image from the Penney-Missouri Award workshop
Yesterday, I received a copy of this image. (It can be found in the papers of the Penney-Missouri Awards at the University of Missouri’s Western Historical Manuscript Collection.) In this photo, taken at a Penney-Missouri Awards’ workshop, are three award-winning women’s page editors: Sandra Wesley, Betty Preston and Edee Greene. One of the strengths of the award program was the workshops that allowed winners to share their secrets for success. I presented a paper about Edee Greene, the women’s page editor at Fort Lauderdale News, last year. She was a fascinating person – a caring friend, a community advocate and a funny writer. I am working on a revision on…
