This March, for Women’s History Month, the Ms. Blog is profiling Wonder Women who have made history—and those who are making history right now. Join us each day as we bring you the stories of iconic and soon-to-be-famous feminist change-makers. Feminist and community organizer Roxcy Bolton has rarely found a problem or issue regarding women that she […]
Author: Kimberly Wilmot Voss
Kimberly Wilmot Voss, PhD, is an assistant professor of journalism at the University of Central Florida. She studies women and newspapers in the 1950s through the 1970s. She examines the women who worked in journalism at that time, as well as the media’s representation of women. This often means looking at the early years of the women’s liberation movement. She has published numerous academic articles in these areas. She is currently writing a book about Dallas women’s page editor Vivian Castleberry.
Carol Sutton: Newspaper Pioneer
This March, for Women’s History Month, the Ms. Blog is profiling Wonder Women who have made history—and those who are making history right now. Join us each day as we bring you the stories of iconic and soon-to-be-famous feminist change-makers. As a women’s page editor at the Louisville Courier-Journal in the 1960s, Carol Sutton was quick to […]
Remembering the Real Pioneers of Lifestyle Journalism
When Washington Post editor Ben Bradlee died last week, he was, rightfully so, lauded for many things, including the Watergate investigation. He was also recognized for his creation of the Style section in 1969 and its groundbreaking role in lifestyle journalism. Yet, when looked at through the lens of journalism history, this accomplishment becomes something […]
Kay Mills: Reporter, Author, Mentor, Hero
For many journalism historians like myself, Kay Mills’ first book, A Place in the News: From the Women’s Pages to the Front Pages, modeled how to, finally, write women into the story of journalism. And she did it in a way that translated so well–she began each chapter with a personal story about discrimination endured […]
In Memory of Louise Raggio
Married, single or divorced, you should know the name Louise Raggio. Chances are you don’t. Raggio, a pioneer in family law who died last weekend at age 91, was the driving force behind many of the legal rights you have today. Gloria Steinem wrote of Raggio: “Hers is a story that every law school, every […]
Mikulski Quietly Makes History
Largely lost in the coverage of the wave of new congresswomen who arrived in Washington two weeks ago was the story of re-elected Democratic Sen. Barbara Mikulski of Maryland. When she was sworn in, she became the longest-serving woman senator in U.S. history. The previous female record-holder was Republican Sen. Margaret Chase Smith, who represented […]
Bye Bye Broadsheet: Sad Demise of “Rabble Rousing Lady Site”
For five years, Salon’s Broadsheet championed women’s causes, lampooned the media for sexist coverage and took a nuanced approach to women’s news. It was where you could read about the dwindling options for late abortions following the murder of Dr. George Tiller. It was where you could read about the mixed messages and thorny issues […]
Thank You, Justice Scalia, for Helping Revive the ERA
Two important events in Washington, D.C., last week illustrate and magnify the continued need to push for passage of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) in this country. Following the reading of the Constitution in the U.S. House of Representatives Thursday morning, several representatives and leaders from women’s organizations led a press conference on the east […]
Hey, Don’t Knock the “Women’s Pages”!
I cringed when I read Ruth Rosen’s post “The ‘Women’s Pages’ Go Online.” While I deeply respect Rosen’s work and I appreciate her argument about women’s news being part of mainstream news, I was disappointed in her quick dismissal of the women’s pages. She wrote that the former women’s pages simply featured fashion, society and […]