Writing about Betty Ewing

Today I am making revisions and adding some new information to my article about Houston society writer Betty Ewing. (Society news was a mainstay of women's sections.) She was another example of a woman who covered the news side during World War II and was then sent back to the women's pages during peace time.

I went through Betty's papers at Texas Woman's University in 2005. My initial manuscript has been under review for several years. I am pulling it and sending it off somewhere else.

Betty was a colorful character - in person and in her writing.

New women's page thesis

I just received this thesis about women's page content and editor training through ILL. It was done at the University of Wisconsin in 1967. It has some interesting results about the background of women's page journalists - especially the formal education that many had in home economics.

In the content analysis, the author reports that at larger circulation newspapers devoted the most space to food. The smaller devoted the most space to family news - this included columns like "Dear Abby."

Searching for Koky Dishon images

I am on the lookout for Colleen "Koky" Dishon images. Dishon was an influential women's page editor in Ohio, Milwaukee and Chicago. She went on to be the first woman on the masthead of the Chicago Tribune.

The above image is from the Penney-Missouri Award papers at the Western Historical Manuscript Collection - my favorite archive. In the photo, she is judging the Awards.

I have been frustrated that no one at the Tribune has returned emails or phone calls over the last year in my search for Koky images.

New Jeanne Voltz cookbook

I just received another Jeanne Voltz cookbook. She was a food editor in the women's pages of the Miami Herald in the 1950s and the Los Angeles Times in the 1960s.



I love this dedication to her parents. She has mentioned her parents in relation to her cooking in a few interviews.


I have been collecting information on Jeanne for years - most recently in Helen Muir's papers at the University of Miami. I plan to write a conference paper about her this Spring.

Anne Rowe Goldman article

My thanks to the archivist who tracked down this article about St. Petersburg Times women's page journalist Anne Rowe Goldman in the Poynter Papers at the University of South Florida. This article describes her experiences as an ombudsman.

It also answers some questions I had in terms of child care. I love the story about the tail-less cat.

I am revising my conference paper about Anne to turn into a journal article.

Florida Conference of Historians

We just got back from Wakulla Springs - up near the panhandle. It was Curtis's first overnight trip. The area was truly beautiful.

I presented my paper about St. Petersburg women's page editor Anne Rowe Goldman at the Florida Conference of Historians. I got great feedback and am making revisions. I plan to send it off to a journal or history magazine in the near future.

It is always a great feeling to talk about my women's page editors. They are an amazing group of women who need to be part of the historical record.

We met Helen Thomas

On our way to Wakulla Springs, we went to a book signing and met Helen Thomas. It was amazing to speak with her. I gave her a copy of my article about Eleni Epstein who Helen mentioned in her autobiography. Helen seemed pleased to get the article and the pictures of Eleni. Helen said that Eleni was one of her best friends!

Eleni was the fashion editor of the Washington Star in the 1950s and 1960s.

Anne Rowe Goldman presentation

We are on our way to Wakulla Springs for the Florida Conference of Historians this weekend. I am presenting a paper about St. Petersburg Times women's page editor Anne Rowe Goldman. She was a multiple Penney-Missouri Award winner and trailblazer in transforming a women's section into a substantial newsfeature section.

Thesis about women's pages

I just came across a thesis from the University of Wisconsin that looks at women's page content from a public relations perspective.



The thesis includes a strong lit review including some comments from the Chicago Tribune women's page editor Colleen "Koky" Dishon. It also includes new information about the criticism of food journalism in the early 1970s.



Overall, the thesis reinforces the concept that the editors were not swayed by advertisers despite what some critics have charged.

Meeting Helen Thomas

Tomorrow, we're going to meet legendary journalist Helen Thomas at a book signing. (This image is of Helen from 1976.) Helen was a good friend of one of the woman I study - Eleni Epstein. In fact, Eleni is mentioned in Helen's autobiography. They were both working in Washington together in the 1950s through 1970s. Helen was a political reporter and Eleni was a fashion editor at the Washington Star.

Today I am working on revisions of my Eleni manuscript so I can give a copy to Helen. I have collected materials about Eleni from numerous archives.

Aileen Ryan articles

Thanks to new Google News scans, I found found several newspaper articles written by and about Milwaukee Journal women's page editor Aileen Ryan. She won three Penney-Missouri Awards in the 1960s and was a national expert on fashion. She was the first newspaper reporter to attend the New York Fashion shows in the 1940s.

I published a journal article about Ryan in 2004. These recent discoveries have validated what I had published and reinforced the important role Ryan played in fashion journalism. I hope to explore more about fashion coverage in the women's pages and what it tells us about history.

Dorothy Jurney and Michigan

Yesterday I received this back issue of Michigan History Magazine.



The issue features the following letter to the editor in response to my article about women's page journalist Roberta Applegate. The writer gives kudos to another great Michigan women's page editor: Dorothy Jurney. (My article featured a photo of Roberta and Dorothy together.) These women were pioneers in redesigning women's page content.



My article about Dorothy comes out this Spring. Here is a link to speech at Roberta's induction into the Michigan Journalism Hall of Fame.

Grant money & Kay Clarenbach research

I learned yesterday that I received the $6,500 UCF Internal Grant to research the work of feminist leader Kathryn "Kay" Clarenbach. I am interested in how she worked with the media and especially women's page editors.

Many women's page editors worked with feminist leaders and wrote women's liberation stories before the news side became aware of the issues.

I will visit UW-Madison this summer to go through her papers. I am so thankful to UCF for this opportunity.

Catherine East tribute

I just received a wonderful package from Duke Library. Among the papers was this DVD of a tribute to Catherine East. She was a great feminist leader who often worked with women's page editors - especially Marie Anderson and Vera Glaser.

I hope to watch the DVD later today.

Marjorie Paxson booklet

Over the weekend, I received a booklet that women's page editor Marjorie Paxson wrote. She wrote it about her travels in her early years of retirement. I found it at an online used bookstore.

I have been lucky enough to exchange a few letters with Marjorie. She is a great woman.

Maggie Savoy reference

I found this article announcing that women's page editor Maggie Savoy is going to join the Los Angeles Times. It's interesting that she is listed as "Miss Savoy" because she had been married for several years to Jim Bellows - an editor at the L.A. Times. At one point, Maggie was publishing under the byline "Maggie Bellows."

My article about Maggie came out earlier this year. Our son's middle name is James in honor of Bellows.

Colleen "Koky" Dishon's brother

Above is video of women's page editor Colleen "Koky" Dishon's brother, Bob Kocher. Bob was very helpful in my research about Koky. He sent me a family history that Koky wrote and video of the memorial for Koky that the Chicago Tribune created. I appreciate his help.

Colleen "Koky" Dishon

I am working on collecting images for my article on women's page editor Colleen "Koky" Dishon that is now scheduled to run this summer in a Ohio history publication. Koky, who went on to become the first woman on the Chicago Tribune's masthead, created the WomaNews section in the 1990s - pictured above. It was a revised, modern section that was also controversial.

I wrote for the section several times in the 1990s and loved reading it. The section was later eliminated.

IWMF : International Women's Media Foundation - Colleen "Koky" Dishon

IWMF : International Women's Media Foundation - Colleen "Koky" Dishon

Anne Rowe Goldman images

I just received the book, Elvis: The Cool King. It is a collection of photos shot by Bob Moreland. There are several pages devoted to St. Pete women's page editor Anne Rowe Goldman, one of my current research subjects.

Anne Rowe Goldman clips

The UCF ILL has been wonderful about helping me track down articles about and by Anne Rowe Goldman, a women's page journalist and later ombudsman at the St. Pete Times. (She won several Penney-Missouri Awards.)

This article announces her promotion to ombudsman. I am happy that of the three promotions, Anne was named in the headline.

I am finishing up a conference paper about Anne for presentation later this month.

Husband of Helen Gurley Brown dies

David Brown, husband of Helen Gurley Brown, died over the weekend. HGB was best known as the editor of Cosmopolitan magazine. (Her husband wrote the headlines on the cover of the magazine. They were quite a pair.) She also had a column in the women's pages based on her best-selling book Sex and the Single Girl.

Here is my review of a book about HGB which includes information about David Brown and his influence on her career. I hope to go through her papers at some point as part of a project that redefines feminism and the media.

Final Dorothy Jurney edits

This morning I am finishing my final edits on my article about Dorothy Jurney. Her career was amazing. She completely redefined the women's sections of the Miami Herald and the Detroit Free-Press yet has been largely forgotten. She did not even garner an obit in the Herald.