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The Edge of Change

The Edge of Change

Women in the Twenty-First-Century Press

Edited by June O. Nicholson, Pamela J. Creedon, Wanda S. Lloyd and Pamela J. Johnson

Foreword by Ellen Goodman

Contributions by Catalina Camia, Kathleen Carroll, Pamela J. Creedon, Paula Lynn Ellis, Helen E Fisher, Dorothy Butler Gilliam, Ellen Goodman, Sharon Grigsby, Carol Guzy, Kirsten Hampton, Cathy Henkel, Pamela J. Johnson, Jane Kirtley, Jan Leach, Caroline Little, Wanda S. Lloyd, Arlene Notoro Morgan, June O. Nicholson, Geneva Overholser, Marty Petty, Deb Price, Donna M Reed, Sandra Mims Rowe, Peggy Simpson, Margaret Sullivan, Julia Wallace and Keven Ann Willey

Published by: University of Illinois Press

Imprint: University of Illinois Press

14 black & white photographs

  • Digital download
  • 9780252056079
  • Published: December 2023
  • Description
  • Contents
  • Authors
  • Praise
Containing nearly three dozen original essays penned by the nation's leading newspaper journalists, editors, and executives, this book advances current discussions regarding women in journalism. Surveying the past quarter century, the book's contributors highlight the unprecedented influence American women have had on the news industry, especially newspapers, and look ahead to the future for women in news. Acclaimed anthropologist and author Helen E. Fisher adds her perspective in examining the role of women across millennia and how the talents of women are changing social and economic life in this global age.

Prominent female voices in journalism provide critical perspectives on the challenges women face in today's news organizations, such as connecting with diverse audiences, educating readers about international issues and cultures, maintaining credibility, negotiating media consolidation and corporate pressures, and overcoming the persistent barriers to professional advancement. A powerful and complex assessment of how women are transforming the news industry, The Edge of Change explores how the news industry might implement further reforms aimed at creating a more inclusive journalistic community.

Contributors are Catalina Camia, Kathleen Carroll, Pamela J. Creedon, Paula Lynn Ellis, Helen E. Fisher, Dorothy Butler Gilliam, Ellen Goodman, Sharon Grigsby, Carol Guzy, Kirsten Scharnberg Hampton, Cathy Henkel, Pamela J. Johnson, Jane Kirtley, Jan Leach, Caroline Little, Wanda S. Lloyd, Arlene Notoro Morgan, June O. Nicholson, Geneva Overholser, Marty Petty, Deb Price, Donna M. Reed, Sandra Mims Rowe, Peggy Simpson, Margaret Sullivan, Julia Wallace, and Keven Ann Willey.

Acknowledgments   xiii

Foreword   xvii
Ellen Goodman

Introduction   1
June O. Nicholson

1. The Female Mind: Biology of the Twenty-First-Century Woman   27
Helen E. Fisher

Part 1. Historical and Contemporary Perspectives
2. Starting on the Cusp of Feminism with Dark Brown Skin   45
Dorothy Butler Gilliam

3. Interview with Gloria Steinem   62
Dorothy Butler Gilliam

4. Interview with Nan Robertson   68
Dorothy Butler Gilliam

5. Learning about Discrimination   75
Peggy Simpson

6. Moving from Women's Pages to the Editor's Office   77
Sandra Mims Rowe

Part 2. How Women are Shaping Newsrooms and Companies
7. Facing Unexpected Challenges   89
Julia Wallace

8. Using New Media to Inform   97
Caroline Little

9. Credibility: Are Readers Still Buying Ours?   104
Donna M. Reed

10. Interview with Diane McFarlin   113
Donna M. reed

11. Women in Sports as the Final Frontier   116
Cathy Henkel

12. "Gender Genie"   126
Cathy Henkel

Part 3. Women as Op-Ed Columnists and Editors of Editorial Pages
13. Women Op-Ed Columnists: Why Aren't More of Them Published?   131
Keven Ann Willey

14. Finding Great Women Op-Ed Columnists   137
Sharon Grigsby

Part 4. Women in International Journalism
15. Covering War through a Woman's Eyes   143
Kirsten Scharnberg Hampton

16. Photography in Distant Lands   155
Carol Guzy

17. Women in News Photography   160
Carol Guzy

18. International Journalism in a New Ear   164
Kathleen Carroll

Part 5. Women Leaders in an Era of Corporate, Legal, and Commercial Pressures
19. The Imperiled Media: At Long Last, Promise?   171
Geneva Overholser

20. The Challenges for a Free Press in the Twenty-First Century   179
Jane Kirtley

Part 6. Women Making Choices
21. The Choice to Stay   191
Margaret Sullivan

22. Balancing News and Family   195
Jan Leach

23. Young Women Making Career Choices   203
Jan Leach

24. Women in Community Journalism   207
Jan Leach

Part 7. Beyond Gender Diversity
25. Civil Rights and Searching for Community Values   213
Wanda S. Lloyd

26. Finding Voice   224
Arlene Notoro Morgan

27. Coming Out   235
Deb Price

28. Covering Asian Americans   246
Catalina Camia

Part 8. The Future: Shifting Paradigms
29. Women in the Blogosphere   257
Pamela J. Creedon and Jan Leach

30. Interview with Denise Polverine   262
Jan Leach

31. Reaching the Changing Audience   265
Paula Ellis

32. The Future of Women in News and the Business of Journalism   274
Marty Petty

33. Interview with Gary Pruitt   294
Marty Petty

Afterword   297
Pamela J. Creedon and Pamela J. Johnson

Contributors   303
Index   311
Photographs follow page 154

June O. Nicholson is the associate director of the School of Mass Communication at Virginia Commonwealth University. Pamela J. Creedon is a professor and former director of the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Iowa. Wanda S. Lloyd is the executive editor of the Montgomery Advertiser and the founding executive director of the Freedom Forum Diversity Institute at Vanderbilt University. Pamela J. Johnson is the executive director of the Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute at the Missouri School of Journalism, University of Missouri.

"A much-needed update of existing books on women in the press. The richness of this work lies in its use of accomplished women's own voices to tell of their achievements and their struggles, even into the twenty-first century. Anyone interested in women's history will enjoy this fine book."--Kay Mills, author of Changing Channels: The Civil Rights Case That Transformed Television

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