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Food writer Prudence Penny
I have been researching syndicated food writer Prudence Penny who penned a column in the women’s pages of the Hearst newspapers beginning after World War I. (It was a pen name for several writers – at least one was a man.) Above is a photo of one of the writers of the Prudence Penny columns. It was taken in Seattle in 1939. It can be found on this blog. This blog post refers to a Prudence located in L.A. This blog includes several great references to the history of Prudence Penny.
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Food Studies Presentation: Ohio Food Editor History
- A Simple Matter of Justice, Barbara Hackman Franklin, Catherine East, Jean Sharley Taylor, Vera Glaser
A Matter of Simple Justice
I have been re-reading this wonderful book, A Matter of Simple Justice. Here is a link to a website for the book. The book is about Barbara Hackman Franklin and her pioneering work in the Nixon Administration, along with several other government women. It is a good read and the research from primary sources is outstanding. I hope to track down some of the clips listed in the notes. My favorite parts of the book are about journalist Vera Glaser – whose work often ran in the women’s pages – and longtime government employee Catherine East – who often worked behind the scenes to sneak news to women’s page editors.…
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Sen. Moss’s “Attack” on Food Journalists
I recently received a copy of a speech that Sen. Frank Moss gave before a national meeting of newspaper food editors in 1971. The speech, called “Business, the Consumer and You,” was in his papers at the University of Utah. He was concerned about the influence of advertisers on the content of the food sections. I found the talk much milder than the way the press covered it – several reporters referred to it as an “attack” on food editors. His tone is polite and focuses more on overall consumer issues. The “food editors” are not addressed until page 25 of a 32-page speech. (He refers to the editors as…
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Food Studies Presentation: Ohio Food Editor History
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My Guest Post on The Feminist Kitchen
My guest post about food, feminism and Phyllis Diller was just posted to the blog, The Feminist Kitchen. In the post, I address the conflicts between cooking and feminism – a common but unspoken issue for women’s page editors. They had to walk a fine line between tradition and progress.
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Food Studies Presentation: Ohio Food Editor History
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Marjorie Paxson’s Papers Indexed
I was so happy to see that the papers of Marjorie Paxson had been inventoried. Here is a link to the finding guide. (I was thrilled to see my name on the list!) Marjorie was a progressive and influential women’s page editor at several newspapers before becoming a publisher in the Gannett newspaper chain. She established the National Women and Media Collection which includes the papers of several women’s page editors. The Collection is now housed at the State Historical Society of Missouri.
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Kitchen Literacy
I just started reading the book Kitchen Literacy: How We Lost Knowledge of Where Food Comes From and Why We Need to Get It Back. It is a great piece of culinary history. The author, Ann Vileisis, includes the usual sources like David Kamp and Laura Shapiro. Yet, she also does her own reporting – analyzing advertisements and archival materials. I was most impressed with her mixing of news and advertising since consumers obviously get food information from both sources. She does not write much about food reporting in newspapers and instead focusing on women’s magazines. (I was happy to find a Jane Nickerson reference – there is a footnote…
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Food Studies Presentation: Ohio Food Editor History
A website devoted to the history of newspaper women's pages
