Women's pages or people's pages: The production of news for women in the Washington Post in the 1950s

Journalism and Mass Communication Quaterly

Volumn 73, Issue 2, 1996, Pages 364-378

  Yang, Mei Ling ^a  

^a University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill   (United States)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

EID: 0039612012     PISSN: 10776990     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1177/107769909607300208     Document Type: Review

References (79)

1. For the recent revival of women's pages, see Maria Braden, "Women: Special Again," Washington Journalism Review 13, June 1991, 30-32; James Cox, "Newspapers Court Women," USA Today, 24 November 1992, sec. B, p. 8; and Betsy Israel, "The Sexes; Pages of Their Own?" New York Times, 3 October 1993, sec. 9, p. 1.
2. For the recent revival of women's pages, see Maria Braden, "Women: Special Again," Washington Journalism Review 13, June 1991, 30-32; James Cox, "Newspapers Court Women," USA Today, 24 November 1992, sec. B, p. 8; and Betsy Israel, "The Sexes; Pages of Their Own?" New York Times, 3 October 1993, sec. 9, p. 1.
3. For the recent revival of women's pages, see Maria Braden, "Women: Special Again," Washington Journalism Review 13, June 1991, 30-32; James Cox, "Newspapers Court Women," USA Today, 24 November 1992, sec. B, p. 8; and Betsy Israel, "The Sexes; Pages of Their Own?" New York Times, 3 October 1993, sec. 9, p. 1.
4. See Lindsy Van Gelder, "Women's Pages: You Can't Make News Out of a Silk Purse," Ms., November 1974, 115, and Rose Mary Lentz, "What's This 'Women's Editor' to Do?" The Quill, February 1975, 29.
5. See Lindsy Van Gelder, "Women's Pages: You Can't Make News Out of a Silk Purse," Ms., November 1974, 115, and Rose Mary Lentz, "What's This 'Women's Editor' to Do?" The Quill, February 1975, 29.
6. Cox, "Newspapers Court Women."
7. Joanne Zerkel, "From Milady to Ms. - Changing Tastes and Techniques," Press Woman, April 1986, 9-10.
8. Cox, "Newspapers Court Women."
9. For the change from traditional women's pages to lifestyle sections, see Zena Beth Guenin, "Women's Pages in American Newspapers: Missing Out on Contemporary Content," Journalism Quarterly 52 (spring 1975): 66-69; Susan H. Miller, "Changes in Women's/Lifestyle Sections," Journalism Quarterly 53 (winter 1976): 641-47; Anne Geracimos, "Restyling the News: The Hard Question at Newspapers Today," Avenue, October 1988, 106-18; and Kay Mills, A Place in the News: From the Women's Pages to the Front Page (NY: Dodd, Mead & Co., 1988), 110-25. For a more comprehensive account of the evolution of women's pages, see Marion Marzolf, Up from the Footnote: A History of Women Journalists (NY: Hastings House, 1977), 199-218.
10. For the change from traditional women's pages to lifestyle sections, see Zena Beth Guenin, "Women's Pages in American Newspapers: Missing Out on Contemporary Content," Journalism Quarterly 52 (spring 1975): 66-69; Susan H. Miller, "Changes in Women's/Lifestyle Sections," Journalism Quarterly 53 (winter 1976): 641-47; Anne Geracimos, "Restyling the News: The Hard Question at Newspapers Today," Avenue, October 1988, 106-18; and Kay Mills, A Place in the News: From the Women's Pages to the Front Page (NY: Dodd, Mead & Co., 1988), 110-25. For a more comprehensive account of the evolution of women's pages, see Marion Marzolf, Up from the Footnote: A History of Women Journalists (NY: Hastings House, 1977), 199-218.
11. For the change from traditional women's pages to lifestyle sections, see Zena Beth Guenin, "Women's Pages in American Newspapers: Missing Out on Contemporary Content," Journalism Quarterly 52 (spring 1975): 66-69; Susan H. Miller, "Changes in Women's/Lifestyle Sections," Journalism Quarterly 53 (winter 1976): 641-47; Anne Geracimos, "Restyling the News: The Hard Question at Newspapers Today," Avenue, October 1988, 106-18; and Kay Mills, A Place in the News: From the Women's Pages to the Front Page (NY: Dodd, Mead & Co., 1988), 110-25. For a more comprehensive account of the evolution of women's pages, see Marion Marzolf, Up from the Footnote: A History of Women Journalists (NY: Hastings House, 1977), 199-218.
12. For the change from traditional women's pages to lifestyle sections, see Zena Beth Guenin, "Women's Pages in American Newspapers: Missing Out on Contemporary Content," Journalism Quarterly 52 (spring 1975): 66-69; Susan H. Miller, "Changes in Women's/Lifestyle Sections," Journalism Quarterly 53 (winter 1976): 641-47; Anne Geracimos, "Restyling the News: The Hard Question at Newspapers Today," Avenue, October 1988, 106-18; and Kay Mills, A Place in the News: From the Women's Pages to the Front Page (NY: Dodd, Mead & Co., 1988), 110-25. For a more comprehensive account of the evolution of women's pages, see Marion Marzolf, Up from the Footnote: A History of Women Journalists (NY: Hastings House, 1977), 199-218.
13. For the change from traditional women's pages to lifestyle sections, see Zena Beth Guenin, "Women's Pages in American Newspapers: Missing Out on Contemporary Content," Journalism Quarterly 52 (spring 1975): 66-69; Susan H. Miller, "Changes in Women's/Lifestyle Sections," Journalism Quarterly 53 (winter 1976): 641-47; Anne Geracimos, "Restyling the News: The Hard Question at Newspapers Today," Avenue, October 1988, 106-18; and Kay Mills, A Place in the News: From the Women's Pages to the Front Page (NY: Dodd, Mead & Co., 1988), 110-25. For a more comprehensive account of the evolution of women's pages, see Marion Marzolf, Up from the Footnote: A History of Women Journalists (NY: Hastings House, 1977), 199-218.
14. Although analyses of the content of women's pages have provided important information, both quantitative and qualitative approaches tend to isolate the text of women's pages from the context of production and consumption. See the studies by Zena Beth Guenin, Susan H. Miller, and Judith Paterson, "Among the Hats and Gloves: The Double Message on The Women's Pages" (paper presented at the convention of American Journalism Historians Association, St. Louis, MO, 1986); and Agnes Hooper Gottlieb, "Feminism and Femininity: An Analysis of The Washington Post's Women's Pages, 1940-1970" (paper presented at the annual meeting of AEJMC, Minneapolis, MN, 1990).
15. Although analyses of the content of women's pages have provided important information, both quantitative and qualitative approaches tend to isolate the text of women's pages from the context of production and consumption. See the studies by Zena Beth Guenin, Susan H. Miller, and Judith Paterson, "Among the Hats and Gloves: The Double Message on The Women's Pages" (paper presented at the convention of American Journalism Historians Association, St. Louis, MO, 1986); and Agnes Hooper Gottlieb, "Feminism and Femininity: An Analysis of The Washington Post's Women's Pages, 1940-1970" (paper presented at the annual meeting of AEJMC, Minneapolis, MN, 1990).
16. See, for example, Van Gelder, "Women's Pages," 112-26; "Flight from Fluff," Time, 20 March 1971, 52-53; and Nicholas von Hoffman, "Women's Pages: An Irreverent View," Columbia Journalism Review, July-August 1971, 52-54.
17. See, for example, Van Gelder, "Women's Pages," 112-26; "Flight from Fluff," Time, 20 March 1971, 52-53; and Nicholas von Hoffman, "Women's Pages: An Irreverent View," Columbia Journalism Review, July-August 1971, 52-54.
18. See, for example, Van Gelder, "Women's Pages," 112-26; "Flight from Fluff," Time, 20 March 1971, 52-53; and Nicholas von Hoffman, "Women's Pages: An Irreverent View," Columbia Journalism Review, July-August 1971, 52-54.
19. Susan Henry, "Changing Media History through Women's History," in Women in Mass Communication, ed. Pamela J. Creedon, 2d ed. (Newbury Park, CA: Sage, 1993), 348.
20. The Los Angeles Times was also revamping its women's pages at around the same time, but the Washington Post was more widely recognized for its move to a lifestyle section. See Mills, A Place in the News, 118-19.
21. See Marzolf, Up from the Footnote, 207; and Michael Schudson, Discovering the News: A Social History of American Newspapers (NY: Basic Books, 1978), 99-100.
22. See Marzolf, Up from the Footnote, 207; and Michael Schudson, Discovering the News: A Social History of American Newspapers (NY: Basic Books, 1978), 99-100.
23. For Pulitzer's approach to women's news, see Joseph Juergens, Joseph Pulitzer and the New York World (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1966), 133-51.
24. For the emergence of women's pages, see Marzolf, Up from the Footnote, 205-07.
25. Genevieve Jackson Boughner, Women in Journalism (NY: D. Appleton & Co., 1926), 283.
26. Schudson, Discovering the News, 100.
27. Boughner, Women in Journalism, 282.
28. von Hoffman, "Women's Pages," 54.
29. Gay Tuchman, "The Newspaper as a Social Movement's Resource," in Hearth and Home: Images of Women in the Mass Media, ed. Gay Tuchman, Arlene Kaplan Daniels, and James Benét (NY: Oxford University Press, 1978), 192.
30. Mills, A Place in the News, 110.
31. Marie Sauer, letter to the author, 19 October 1989.
32. Sauer, telephone interview by the author, 11 October 1989.
33. Sauer, letter to the author, 15 November 1989.
34. Sauer, letter to the author, 15 November 1989.
35. Sauer, letter to the author, 15 November 1989.
36. Eunice S. Grier, People and Government: Changing Needs in the District of Columbia, 1950-1970 (Washington, DC: Washington Center for Metropolitan Studies, 1973), 44-45.
37. Chalmers M. Roberts, In the Shadow of Power: The History of The Washington Post (Cabin John, MD: Seven Locks Press, 1989), 217.
38. Roberts, In the Shadow of Power, 257.
39. Roberts, In the Shadow of Power, 263-64.
40. Sauer, letter to the author, 15 November 1989.
41. Sauer, letter to the author, 15 November 1989.
42. Madeline Dix, "Invisible Beauty Strap Does Wonderful Things for You," Washington Post, 7 October 1952, p. 20.
43. Sauer, letters to the author, 15 November 1989 and 18 April 1991.
44. Sauer, letter to the author, 15 November 1989.
45. Sauer, letter to the author, 15 November 1989.
46. Sharyne Merritt and Harriet Gross, "Women's Page/Lifestyle Editors: Does Sex Make a Difference?" Journalism Quarterly 55 (autumn 1978): 508-14.
47. Meryl Secret, telephone interview by the author, 6 December 1989.
48. Sauer, letter to the author, 15 November 1989.
49. Sauer, letter to the author, 18 April 1991.
50. Sauer, letter to the author, 15 November 1989.
51. Friedan argued that the core of the gender ideology in this era was the feminine mystique, which prescribed the roles of wives and mothers as the only ways for women to fulfill themselves. See Betty Friedan, The feminine Mystique (NY: Norton, 1963).
52. Sauer, letter to the author, 15 November 1989.
53. Mary Ryan, Womanhood in America: From Colonial Times to the Present (NY: Franklin Watts, 1983), 279.
54. Ryan, Womanhood in America, 254.
55. William Henry Chafe, The American Woman: Her Changing Social, Economical, and Political Roles, 1920-1970 (NY: Oxford University Press, 1972), 218.
56. Dorothy McCardle, "All You Housewives Need Organization," Washington Post, 4 October 1952, p. 18.
57. D.C. Department of Public Health, Social and Economical Chacteristics (Washington, DC: D.C. Department of Public Health, 1960), 28.
58. Lasse Lemkow and Alfred Cheval, "Mrs. Ambassador and Madame Minister Both Popular Gals," Washington Post, 5 March 1950, sec. IV, p. 13(S).
59. Diane Woolley, "Teenager Picked As Top Cadet," Washington Post, 1 August 1954, sec. IV, p. 7(S).
60. Eileen Summers, "Topic Is Women in Politics," Washington Post, 6 August 1954, p. 59.
61. George Gallup, "Women Claim Equal Courage with Men, Survey Discloses," Washington Post, 4 March 1950, sec. B, p. 6.
62. Gallup, "Women Claim Equal Courage."
63. "Men? No, Indeed: Living Costs Chief Topic for Women," Washington Post, 13 September 1949, sec. B, p. 6.
64. "Men? No, Indeed."
65. Sauer, telephone interview, 11 October 1989.
66. Roberts, In the Shadow of Power, 242 and 400.
67. Sauer, letters to the author, 15 November 1989 and 18 April 1991.
68. Roberts, In the Shadow of Power, 400.
69. Secret, telephone interview, 6 December 1989.
70. Sauer, letter to the author, 15 November 1989.
71. Sauer, letter to the author, 15 November 1989.
72. Roberts, In the Shadow of Power, 345.
73. Glenda Riley, Inventing the American Woman: A Perspective on Women's History (Arlington Heights, IL: Harland Davidson, 1987), 240.
74. Sauer, letter to the author, 15 November 1989.
75. Roberts, In the Shadow of Power, 377-78 and 395.
76. Mills, A Place in the News, 118-19.
77. Sauer, letter to the author, 18 April 1991.
78. The Washington Post, News Release, 6 December 1968, Papers of the Women's National Press Club, Washington, DC.
79. Ishbel Ross, Ladies of the Press (NY: Harper, 1936), 427.