The year 2000 seems so distant now. Facebook didn’t exist. Cell phones weren’t yet “smart.” IPods hadn’t been released. We didn’t know what would happen to Harry Potter. And people had just started talking about these “web log” things.
Amidst that primordial Internet soup, Women’s eNews was born.
Rita Henley Jensen, a prize-winning journalist, launched the site on June 15, 2000 to provide coverage on women’s issues that couldn’t be found anywhere else. She’s also a former welfare mother and a survivor of domestic violence.
WeNews doesn’t just report on U.S. issues, but features stories from writers around the globe, including the Middle East, India and Africa. It has Spanish-language features, like “La dinámica de la diáspora: Las mujeres y la inmigración,” which is also available in English. Arabic Women’s eNews is the sister site launched in 2003 for Arabic readers.
Over the years, Women’s eNews has expanded the site and added video and social media tools to stay current, and boasts at least 55,000 daily mailing list members and 150,000 online readers a month.
As traditional media outlets remain stubbornly male-dominated–Politico pointed out on June 14 how scarce women are on Sunday morning news shows–Women’s eNews continues to provide a crucial perspective.
Watch the Women’s eNews anniversary video, starring founder Rita Henley Jensen:
Photo from http://www.flickr.com/photos/theresasthompson/2311733808/ CC BY 2.0
