The Women's Pages: A Hard Look at "Soft News"

Program date: March 19, 2021

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, newspapers and magazines turned their gaze towards a new and potentially lucrative body of readers: women. A rising cadre of talented women journalists influenced generations of readers with popular new genres, from stunt reporting to celebrity gossip to advice columns. Explore the evolution of “soft news” journalism and the “women’s page" with our expert panel, and examine both its remarkable potential and its problematic legacies.

Julie Golia (moderator) is the Curator of History, Social Science, and Government Information at The New York Public Library (NYPL). Jean M. Lutes is a professor of English at Villanova University. Kathy Feeley is the associate dean of the college of arts and sciences and professor of history at the University of Redlands. Ayelet Brinn is a historian of American Jewish culture at the Katz Center at the University of Pennsylvania.

Diane and Adam E. Max Conference on Women’s History
2021 Conference

Breaking News, Breaking Barriers: Women in American Journalism

The Diane and Adam E. Max Conference on Women's History is the cornerstone of the Center for Women's History's public and scholarly programs. Our virtual 2021 conference features a mix of pre-recorded keynote conversations and live panels held via Zoom beginning in March 2021.

Today, as we scrutinize the production, polarization, and power of news, the Center for Women's History explores the complex history of women in journalism from the 19th century to the present day.

Since the early 19th century, women have made vital contributions to American journalism. Many extraordinary practitioners—including activist Ida B. Wells-Barnett, investigator Nellie Bly, photojournalist Margaret Bourke-White, foreign correspondent Dorothy Thompson, Washington insider Alice Dunnigan, and publishers such as Mary Ann Shadd Carey, Charlotta Bass, and Katharine Graham—made their marks on the profession while fighting against persistent, systemic sexism and racism.

In conjunction with the exhibition Cover Story: Katharine Graham, CEO—opening in the Joyce B. Cowin Gallery of Women’s History in May 2021—the wide-ranging conversations and panel discussions of the Diane and Adam E. Max Conference on Women’s History will take place as a series of programs throughout the run of the exhibition.

Learn more:
https://www.nyhistory.org/womens-hist...