Taking a Stand in the Newsroom and the War: Female Journalists in World War II

Bridgid Chanen

Junior Division

Word count: 2,349

When asked about someone who bravely took a stand during World War II, most people

would think of the veterans who fought in the war. While these people absolutely took a stand with

bravery; few know the story of the female war correspondents who took a stand by telling the truth

and helping the world to understand why and whom we needed to fight. These women put themselves

in extreme danger and risked their lives to tell people’s stories and help them. These women took a

stand not only in the war, but in the newsroom as well. It is time that these women get the respect

they are due and have their stories told.

Paving the Way in the Great Depression:

Until the late 1800s women weren’t allowed to be journalists. People thought it was too

dangerous and that a woman’s place was in the kitchen. Only the women who were willing to go out

there and prove themselves made it. Men were afraid that if women got “real jobs” they would leave

them and they even led riots against women getting jobs in journalism. When women finally could

get jobs as journalists they couldn’t cover front page stories or serious news. They wrote about issues

around the home and things that were considered “women’s issues.” They were known as “sob-

sisters.” Some women were content to write about these issues because that was the gender role they

were assigned and they didn’t mind, but some women wanted to cover front page stories and knew

there was more.

Someday this would change. During World War II, women had an opportunity to compete

with men in the newsroom. As news writers, women started, much like the war, with the Great

Depression. There are three ways that helped women cover more important stories in the

depression.The first way women advanced in journalism was through Eleanor Roosevelt. Eleanor

Roosevelt was a journalist herself and wrote a column called My Day. Eleanor Roosevelt was also the

first, First Lady to have weekly press conferences at the White House. The best thing about these

press conferences was that they were only open to female reporters. This caused all news

organizations to hire at least one female journalist. Eleanor Roosevelt’s weekly conferences got many

women started in the field of journalism and equalized there opportunities. This prepared many

women to cover World War II.

The second was being a field investigator. As part of Franklin Roosevelt’s program, FERA

(Federal Emergency Relief Administration), field investigators were hired to see what was happening

to normal people. Martha Gellhorn and Dorothea Lange were both field investigators. One used

writing and the other used photography, but they both made a difference by helping the president

understand what needed to be done and helping us to understand history today.

Some women took the more traditional angle, but still used the Depression as an opportunity.

Adela Rogers St. John wandered the streets for two weeks disguised as someone who is homeless.

Even though she wrote in the sob-sister style she was finally covering important news. Emily Hahn

wrote about the Depression from “the woman’s angle” or the human interest angle. These women

hadn’t eliminated sexism in the newsroom, and some weren’t even real journalists yet, but the

depression gave them an opportunity to learn valuable skills and cover important events.

The War and Their Stand:

During the war women took a stand in both journalism and the world. They also took a stand

before America was involved in the war. It is no secret that during World War II America was

hesitant to get involved in the war. Many of these women were skeptical of Hitler to begin with and

they wrote about it. One example of this is Sigrid Schultz, head of an American news bureau in

Germany and one of two women to do so at the time. In the year 1925 she got an interview with

Hitler and began to tell the world that Hitler should be feared. Dorothy Thompson was also skeptical

of Hitler before the U.S got involved in the war and a head of an American news bureau in Germany.

In 1925 she interviewed Hitler on his book Mein Kampf. After this interview she wrote a book called

I Saw Hitler, mocking Hitler and calling him an insignificant man. This got her banished from

Germany upon her return. While she was in Germany, she also saw what was happening. She used

her column, On The Record, to warn readers about the Nazis and to urge the U.S to get involved in

the war long before they thought it was necessary. Along with several other awards, in 1939, she was

named one of the most influential women in America by Time magazine.

Other women took a stand during the war such as Therese Bonney. She was awarded the medal of

the White Rose of Finland for bravery under fire. She risked her life to capture photos of the war. She was

one of the first to get photos inside a concentration camp. Yet at the same time her photos focused on

normal life, mostly children. She had one photo of a cow and war machines perfectly capturing the symbols

of war and peace. She published a book of her photos and they were so shocking that many Americans took

action, for example; donating to the American Red Cross. Dorothea Lange also photographed the war, but

she focused on the Japanese internment camps in the U.S. The government may have banned her from

redistributing her photos, but she helped us understand what had happened and not to do it ever again.

Martha Gellhorn wrote during the war. One of her famous writings was an interview with

three polish refugees. Several people had written about this, but journalism isn’t about finding

something new; it is about telling what needs to be told. Many of these women took a stand through

underground papers and radio stations. Tania Long worked for the New York Times. She wrote a

report called The Free Press of Enslaved Europe concluding, “Despite the very worst… the Nazis

have not been able to stamp out the free press-their most dangerous opponent.” The press was one of

few ways to stand up to the Nazis and one of the most powerful because it inspired people all over the

world to resist. These women and many others took a stand against the Nazis and helped others to do

the same.

The Newsroom and Their Stand:

Along with taking a stand in the War, these women also took a stand in the newsroom. As

https://archive.defense.gov said, “The women who cover today's news 24 hours a day should snap a

salute to their predecessors who covered World War II.” As you now know, the Great Depression and

Eleanor Roosevelt helped to pave the way for female journalists, but with the men gone at war

women can now truly come into their own. World War II showed the world for the first time that

women were tough and able to handle serious news. Despite the fact that after the war many women

yielded their jobs to men coming back from war; the few that stayed made a difference.

The “women’s pages” were gone from the paper. Many of the women who wrote in the war,

or were inspired by those who did, found the traditional women’s pages boring. They wanted to write

hard news and realized that the editors wouldn’t know what women were interested in. This changed

the face of the society page completely and eventually eradicated it. The women’s pages were read by

men as well and eventually just became part of the paper.

This wouldn’t have happened had it not been for the war giving women the power to

challenge their gender role and inspire other women to do the same. Marguerite Higgins was a war

correspondent not only during World War II, but in several other wars as well. She died from a

disease she got while on an assignment and is buried in Arlington National Cemetery. She also won

the Pulitzer Prize for international reporting. She did whatever she had to do to cover the war despite

people telling her no. This earned her immense respect in the field of journalism and inspired other

women. For example, when famous sports journalist, Denise McCluggage, graduated from college,

“she had set her sights on the New York Herald Tribune because Marguerite Higgins worked for that

newspaper.” (Gourley pg.166) Barbara Belford said, “‘I dreamed of being another Marguerite

Higgins.’”

These women also changed editors ideas of what a female journalist looks like. Stanley

Walker found women news writers to be “slovenly.” He claimed that the few women who entered the

newsroom failed, but Ishbel Ross changed his mind. Nothing upset her and she was, “‘the man’s idea

of what a newspaper woman should be.’” (Gourley pg.29) These women's’ brilliant writing got other

women interested in journalism and made them realize that they didn’t need to be “sob-sisters,” thus

changing the picture of a female journalist.

The Challenges They Faced:

As journalist Ruby Black said, “the toughest part of a woman’s work in Washington

journalism is to get a job.” This was true of all women in journalism not just in Washington. These

women dealt with mostly skirting, but other issues too. These women showed bravery in the front

lines of the war, and yet they wouldn’t call themselves brave. They would simply say they were doing

their job. This section is about the challenges that female journalists faced during World War II and

how they fought through them.

Men treated their female colleagues differently. Ruby Black was writing serious news for 20

years before she was accepted by her male colleagues. Women weren’t allowed to be members of the

National Press Club, so they formed the Women’s National Press Club in 1919. It didn’t merge with

the men’s press club until 1971.

`Many women tried to gain credibility through climbing the ranks traditionally, but they found

that they had to do a lot by themselves, such as the Women’s National Press Club, in order to prove

to the world they were credible. For example; Therese Bonney tried for a long time to get her book

published, but most publishers found her work to shocking for the American people. However, she

knew that the truth needed to be told and published it herself. She was taking a stand by telling saying

what needed to be said despite being told no. Therese Bonney and Dorothea Lange started out

working for no one but themselves and gained fame by doing things themselves. Many of these

women were pushed off to the side until the war gave them a chance to report and they had to beg

people to let them cover war stories. They had to prove themselves and good only get a job if they

were amazing writers and photographers. The women who played to the gender stereotype had made

it much harder for the serious newswomen.

Many women also faced dangers on the front lines of the war and chose not to back down

from them. A Jewish woman called Marie-Antoinette Morat took on the identity of Lucienne

Guezennec and reported for the underground French paper combat and did many missions for the

French resistance. Margaret Bourke-White, or “Maggie,” reported in Russia. It was suggested to her

that she go home, but she begged to stay. She went out on balconies when it was bombing and took

photographs of it. Some of these women were told to take the next boat or train back home because

women weren’t wanted on the front lines, but they stayed anyway. Yes the war scarred these women,

as it scared the soldiers. It was part of their job and still very thrilling. They did it to learn the truth,

take a stand against the Nazis, and take a stand by proving they could cover hard news.

In Conclusion:

During World War II there were 127 accredited American female war correspondents, and

many others who wrote in other countries or for underground papers. These women’s careers started

in the Great Depression and largely due to Eleanor Roosevelt. The war gave these women a chance to

shine and prove they could handle hard news. This planted seeds of change, removing women’s

society pages from the paper and inspiring many female journalists in the future.

However, there is still a lot of room for improvement today; women could still get more

respect in the newsroom. Research conducted by the WMC (Women’s Media Center) found that in

2015 women covered 37% of print news, are on film 32% of the time, and write 42% of the stories on

the internet. A landmark survey in 2011 found that in more than 500 worldwide media companies

women account for half of the workforce.

This doesn’t mean that the women in World War II didn’t make a difference it simply means

that they were the beginning of a long and complicated wave of change. After the war, Anne O’hare

McCormick was reporting on the cleanup of European cities. She found women with brooms,

sweeping the streets.

“A broom was a small thing for such a large task… And yet the women kept at it. Even

after the war had ended and Americans tried to return to normal lives, the women

correspondents kept sweeping, sweeping for change.” (Gourley pg.170)

These women did sweep for change with their words and photographs. Hopefully one

day no one will have to if we can take a stand like these women did.

Appendix:

Dorothea Lange’s photographs of Japanese internment camps.

Lange, Dorothea. “Survey Graphic.” Survey Graphic, archive.org/stream/surveygraphic31survrich#page/10/mode/2up. Accessed 3 Mar. 2017.

Therese Bonney’s photograph of a cow with War machines behind it.

Gourley, Catherine. War, Women, and the News: How Female Journalists Won the Battle to Cover World War II. New York: Atheneum for Young Readers, 2007. Print.

Annotated Bibliography

Primary Source Exhibits:Bonney, Therese. “Women Come to the Front Therese Bonney.” Therese Bonney - Women Come

to the Front | Exhibitions (Library of Congress), 27 July 2010, www.loc.gov/exhibits/wcf/wcf0007.html. Accessed 20 Feb. 2017.

This exhibit helped me to understand what Therese Bonney’s work looked like and how it was recognized. It helped me understand how it was recognized by showing me things that prove she got government exhibitions and solo spotlights in newspapers. It also showed me what the photos from her truth raids looked like. This exhibit gave me one of the photos used in the appendix.

Letters:Gellhorn, Martha. “Report, Gaston County, North Carolina, November 11, 1934.” Report, Gaston

County, North Carolina, November 11, 1934, Hopkins Papers FDRL, newdeal.feri.org/hopkins/hop08.htm. Accessed 28 Feb. 2017.

This letter was a report from Martha Gellhorn to Harry Hopkins and President Roosevelt on the Great Depression. It helped me to understand what type of writing go these women started and allowed me to understand the qualities that made Martha Gellhorn successful.

Magazines:Lange, Dorothea. “Survey Graphic.” Survey Graphic,

archive.org/stream/surveygraphic31survrich#page/10/mode/2up. Accessed 3 Mar. 2017.

This is a particular excerpt from Survey Graphic magazine. This showed me what magazine Dorothea Lange worked for and what some of her photographs looked like. A page of these photographs is used in the appendix.

Newspaper Articles: “Marguerite Higgins Hits Red Beach.” www.pulitzer.org , The Pulitzer Prizes ,

www.pulitzer.org/article/marguerite-higgins-hits-red-beach.

This website gave me an understanding of the achievements of Marguerite Higgins, and what awards she won. It helped me to better understand the difference made by women in journalism during World War II, especially those who continued as war correspondents.

Secondary SourcesBooks:Gourley, Catherine. War, Women, and the News: How Female Journalists Won the Battle to Cover World War II. New York: Atheneum for Young Readers, 2007. Print.

This book was about many of the women who were accredited war correspondents and how they managed to get their. It explained, in depth, the history of women in journalism starting in the Great depression and ending just after World War II. This book gave me many quotes, and was in many ways a basis for my whole paper. It caused me to change my topic from simply journalism in World War II to women in journalism during World War II. This book gave me a starting point and helped me decide what to research next. This book also gave me one of the images used in the appendix.

Websites:Admin. “Women in Journalism: A Triumph Over Time.” InfoRefuge, 31 May 2011,

www.inforefuge.com/women-in-journalism-a-triumph-over-time. Accessed 5 Mar. 2017.

This website helped me to understand how women developed in journalism over time. It helped me to understand what conditions were like for female journalists before World War II and what these women took a stand against.

Gilmore, Gerry J. “Women Journalists Came of Age Covering World War II.” United States Department of Defense, U.S Department of Defense , 13 Feb. 2001, archive.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=45716. Accessed 15 Feb. 2017.

This article was simply an addition to my other research that allowed me to better illustrate the point that World War II allowed women to advance in the world of journalism.

“Gender Disparities and Journalism: Research Perspectives.”Journalist's Resource, 8 June 2015, journalistsresource.org/studies/society/news-media/female-journalists-media-sexism-emerging-trends. Accessed 4 Mar. 2017.

This website gave me an understanding of the gender disparities in the newsroom today. This allowed me to compare and contrast them to that of the 1940s and therefore help anyone who reads this paper to understand what differences these women made and what still needs to be done to improve.

"Marguerite Higgins." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 5 March 2017. <http://biography.yourdictionary.com/marguerite-higgins>.

This website gave me a brief biography of Marguerite Higgins. This helped me to better understand what Marguerite Higgins did, how she got started and what she did after the war.