ruth gray
- Cecily Brownstone, food editors, food history, food section, James Beard, Jeanne Voltz, Nora Ephron, ruth gray
Jello-O Abusers & Nicey-Nice Lady Food Journalists
Caption: Miami Herald and Los Angeles Times food editor Jeanne Voltz In his classic book about food history, The United States of Arugula, David Kamp described the newspaper food editors as “Jello-O abusers” and as “nicey-nice lady food journalists.” There were certainly some editors who did fit the description of nice. The St. Petersburg Times’ Ruth Gray, for example, felt so badly about writing a negative restaurant review that she would leave town for a few days after it was published. Yet other editors were not quite so concerned about kindness. Brownstone said about herself: “Someone told me I was bitchy. I could be bitchy occasionally.” Charlotte Observer food editor…
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Green Bean Casserole & Food Editor Cecily Brownstone
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New Discovery: Ruth Gorrell is Ruth Gray
My thanks to Carol DeMasters for helping me to solve a food journalism mystery. As I had suspected, food editor Ruth Gorrell was also Ruth Gray. I could not find a wedding announcement and there was no reference to a maiden name in Ruth Gray’s obituary. Ruth Gorrell earned a bachelor’s degree in home economics from Kansas State University. She was the food editor at the Detroit Times in the early 1950s and later at the St. Petersburg Times. Her recipes are included in the 1952 Coast to Coast cookbook and she attended the annual food editors meetings. As Ruth Gray, she began reviewing restaurants in 1974. One restaurant that…
- food editors, food history, food journalism, journalism ethics, journalism history, Peggy Daum, ruth gray
Our Gatronomica Article Is Out
Our article about newspaper food sections and journalism is out. Our investigation looked at the accusations against food editors by Senator Frank Moss and found them baseless. It also highlights the work of food journalists Peggy Daum, at the Milwaukee Journal, and Ruth Gray, of the St. Pete Times, as well as the creation of what is now called the Association of Food Journalists. Here is a link to it.
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Food Studies Presentation: Ohio Food Editor History
- Florida Women's Pages, food editors, food journalism, journalism ethics, journalism history, Peggy Daum, restaurant critics, restaurant reviewing, ruth gray, women's page history
Our Article to be Published in Gastronomica
Lance & I have been going over page proofs for our article. It’s called “Food Fight: Accusations of Press Agentry: A Case for Ethics and the Development of the Association of Food Journalists.” It will be in the Summer 2013 issues of Gastronomica: Journal of Food & Culture. It is a history of newspaper food pages and a case study of Peggy Daum & Ruth Gray’s work. In our paper, we explained:“A regular part of these women’s sections were food pages. These sections were made thick with grocery store and kitchen product advertisements in the 1950s and 1960s. And the food editors had influence. According to a 1953 article in…
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Writing Women into the Curriculum
- 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…
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Food Studies Presentation: Ohio Food Editor History
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Food critics in the women’s pages
The Los Angeles Times published an interesting piece in its food section yesterday. This is the lead:”Well, that was interesting. A couple of days before Christmas, one of the owners of the new Beverly Hills restaurant Red Medicine created a firestorm by confronting Times restaurant critic S. Irene Virbila while she was waiting for a table, snapping her picture, kicking her and her party out of the restaurant and then posting the picture on the Internet for all to see. By the next morning, more than 15 years of working to remain anonymous were ruined.” Typically, food critics remain anonymous. (These reviews were found in the women’s pages.) Here are…
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Food Studies Presentation: Ohio Food Editor History
