Abstract

Dr. Kimberly Voss tells the stories of significant women’s page journalists who contributed to the women’s liberation movement and the journalism community. Previous versions of journalism history had reduced the role these women played at their newspapers and with their readership—if they were mentioned at all. For decades, the only place for women in newspapers was the women’s pages. While often dismissed as fluff by management, these sections documented social changes and encouraged women’s roles in the public sphere.

These women’s page editors were smart, feisty and ahead of their time. They left a great legacy for today’s women journalists. The author of multiple books on this topic, Voss will discuss the significant roles these women played in the post-World War II years, laying the foundation for a changing role for women.

Biography

Kimberly Voss, Ph.D., is a tenured associate professor of journalism and the journalism program coordinator in the Nicholson School of Communication and Media at UCF. Her research interests include women’s studies, women and the media, journalism history, food history, media law and social media. She has published more than 30 articles about women and journalism history, including those in American Journalism, Journalism History and Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly.

She is former chair of the history division of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass communication. She is currently a member of the Publications Board for the American Journalism Historians Association.

She was the 2014 Winner of the Carol DeMasters Service to Food Journalism Award for my book and research blog about food journalism history.