Washington Press Club Foundation, Women in Journalism Oral History Project, Records, 1987-1994 (C3958)

4.4 linear feet

RESTRICTED

INTRODUCTION

Records of the Washington Press Club Foundation, Women in Journalism oral history project. The records consist of transcripts from oral history interviews of 53 female journalists.These papers are part of the National Women and Media Collection.

DONOR INFORMATION

A portion of the records were donated by Jean Gaddy Wilson on 16 June 1992 (Accession No. 5186) and on 23 November 1992 (Accession No. 5240). Another group of records was donated and purchased from the Washington Press Club Foundation through Fern Ingersoll on 2 March 1993 (Accession No. 5268), 18 May 1993 (Accession No. 5294), and 28 July 1993 (Accession No. 5341). An addition to the records was made with the purchase of another transcript from the Washington Press Club Foundation through Donita Moorhus on 23 December 1993 (Accession No. 5390). The final purchase of the records was arranged through the Washington Press Club Foundation on 26 May 1994 (Accession No. 5435), 6 December 1994 (Accession No. 5497), 17 April 1995 (Accession No. 5518) and 21 March 1997 (Accession No. 5706).

RESTRICTIONS

Consult the reference staff about the restrictions on this collection.

ORGANIZATIONAL SKETCH

The roots of the Washington Press Club Foundation go back to 1919 when its predecessor organization, the Women's National Press Club, was founded. In 1985 the club, then named the Washington Press Club, merged with the National Press Club and the Foundation was created. Its major goals are to promote equality and excellence in journalism and to educate the public on the role of a free press.

Since 1987 the Foundation's "Women in Journalism" oral history project has collected full-life interviews with 56 women. The women in the project represent three generations; their journalism careers span more than seven decades. The first phase focuses on twenty women who entered journalism before World War II. During this period men dominated most professions, including journalism. The second phase documents the experiences of sixteen women journalists whose careers began between World War II and the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In the early 1940's women filled newsrooms nearly emptied of men because of the war, and also assumed jobs as broadcasters and foreign correspondents. After the war and through the 1950s women struggled to retain their places in the profession. The last phase looks at twenty women who, between the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the present, helped to advance equal treatment for women in both broadcast and print journalism.

SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE

The Washington Press Club Foundation's Women in Journalism oral history project consists of 53 transcripts from interviews with women journalists whose careers span from the 1920s to the present. Please note that, although 56 women were interviewed for the project, only 53 transcripts have been released at this time. There is an index at the end of each transcript and several also contain sample writings and photocopied pictures of the journalists. The transcripts are arranged alphabetically. Following this inventory is a brochure from the Washington Press Club Foundation which contains short sketches of each of the interviewees.

FOLDER LIST

f. 1-3Anderson, Marie
f. 4-8Bartimus, Tad
f. 9-14Beebe, Katherine
f. 15-22Bluford, Lucile
f. 23-32Bulkeley, Christy
f. 33-38Butcher, Mary Lou
f. 39-41Campbell, Beth
f. 42-45Carter, Betty
f. 46-52Castleberry, Vivian
f. 53-59Chase, Sylvia
f. 60-64Chung, Connie
f. 65-70Cooke, Marvel
f. 71-72Cowan, Ruth
f. 73-78Davis, Belva
f. 79-82Eads, Jane
f. 83-87Garber, Mary
f. 88-92Gilliam, Dorothy
f. 93-95Goodman, Ellen
f. 96-101Harris, Fran
f. 102-105Howell, Deborah
f. 106-109Hunter-Gault, Charlayne
f. 110-114Johnson, Kathryn
f. 115-119Jurney, Dorothy
f. 120-124Katz, Tonnie
f. 125-131Kelso, Iris
f. 132-136Kirkpatrick, Helen
f. 137-140Leary, Mary Ellen
f. 141-143Leff, Deborah
f. 144-146Lewis, Flora
f. 147-150Lozano, Monica
f. 151-156Ludtke, Melissa
f. 157-160McClendon, Sarah
f. 161-164McGrory, Mary
f. 165-166Meserand, Edythe
f. 167-170Montgomery, Gladys
f. 171-176Mosby, Aline
f. 177-181Moulton, Charlotte
f. 182-188Murphy, Frances
f. 189-195Paxson, Marjorie
f. 196-201Payne, Ethel
f. 202-207Pitt, Virginia
f. 208-213Povich, Lynn
f. 214-218Richards, Margaret
f. 219-224Schultz, Marilyn
f. 225-235Shanahan, Eileen
f. 236-242Shelton, Isabelle
f. 243-247Shen, Catherine
f. 248-255Simpson, Carole
f. 256-259Skye, Harriett
f. 260-262Tanabe, Barbara
f. 263-268Taylor, Ruth
f. 269-281Wade, Betsy
f. 282-289Wille, Lois

INDEX TERMS

These index terms are the subjects, people, places, etc. under which this collection is listed in all available indexes at the Western Historical Manuscript Collection-Columbia. If you are interested in a specific index term, please contact the reference staff.

  • Davis, Belva
  • Eads, Jane
  • Garber, Mary (1916- )
  • Gilliam, Dorothy (1936- )
  • Goodman, Ellen (1941- )
  • Harris, Fran (1909-1998)
  • Howell, Deborah (1941- )
  • Hunter-Gault Charlayne (1942- )
  • Johnson, Kathryn (1928- )
  • Jurney, Dorothy Misener (1909- )
  • Katz, Tonnie (1945- )
  • Kelso, Iris Turner (1926- )
  • King, Martin Luther, Jr. (1929-1968)
  • Kirkpatrick, Helen (1909- )
  • Leary, Mary Ellen (1913- )
  • Leff, Deborah (1951- )
  • Lewis, Flora (1922- )
  • Lozano, Monica (1956- )
  • Ludtke, Melissa (1951- )
  • McClendon, Sarah (1910-2003)
  • McGrory, Mary (1918- )
  • Meserand, Edythe (1908- )
  • Oral history