Another of the four Fs of the women’s pages is being recognized as significant: fashion. (Last year, the Associated Press recognized food as news in its stylebook.) The new Associated Press Stylebook includes a new section about fashion. This is from the press release: “ The ABCs of fashion terminology, from A-line to zoot suit. The guidance aims to demystify commonly used terms and will set the standard for the language used to describe looks from the runways of New York and Paris to the aisles of big-box retailers near you. Samantha Critchell, AP’s fashion writer who led creation of the new chapter, has covered fashion for 12 years and runs https://twitter.com/ap_fashion on…

So far, I have heard back about two papers about women’s page journalists that have been accepted for presentation at N.C.A. in Orlando this coming fall. ·         “The Real Inventor of Food Journalism: The Story Behind the First New York Times Food Writer Jane Nickerson and Her Food Section, 1942-1957,” National Communication Association Convention, Orlando, November 2012. (Co-authored with Lance Speere.) This is the story of pioneering New York Times food editor Jane Nickerson and her work at the newspaper in the 1940s and 1950s. Despite being at the most widely researched newspaper in the country and a career that set the stage for food journalism, she has been largely…

Happy Memorial Day Weekend! We are at the beach – Baby Paul’s first visit at less than a month old. I am writing about women’s page editors, of course! As we remember Veterans, we give a special thanks to two men connected to the women’s pages and served our country during World War II – Curtis Castleberry and James Bellows – who are the namesakes of our first son, Curtis James.

I was thrilled to get an email from John Tiffany, the author of the book Still Here about  fashion public relations woman Eleanor Lambert. Miss Lambert worked with the fashion editors of the women’s sections to raise the stature of the industry and helped American designers become household names. I recently conducted an email interview with former Pittsburgh fashion editor Barbara Cloud who knew Lambert. I plan to speak with John Tiffany after I finish reading his book as part of my research on the intersection between women’s pages and public relations.

The Smithsonian Museum posted this photo to Facebook today which demonstrates the role of fashion as part of history: The clothing that Secretary Madeline Albright wore when she became Secretary of State. I was happy to see that clothing was a valued part of the historical record.The women’s pages of newspapers are an important part of social history – focusing on the details of people’s lives, such as what they wore or ate. This is as important to understanding the past as knowing about war or crime – the content of the front pages of newspapers. 

The abstract for my article in American Journalism about food editor Jeanne Voltz has been published: “Food Journalism or Culinary Anthropology? Re-evaluating Soft News and the Influence of Jeanne Voltz’s Food Section in the L.A. Times.” The abstract is available here. Jeanne first worked in the women’s pages of the Miami Herald and remained a lifelong friend with women’s page editors Dorothy Jurney and Marie Anderson.