The Historical Importance of Women in Journalism

It'd be easy to reflect on the impact men have made on journalism. There are countless of examples to choose from. Look at the two male journalists from the Washington Post that brought down the leader of the free world with their talents. In fact, sometimes men's efforts seem so big that the other gender’s efforts seem quite underwhelming. This is not the case. Like anything else in life, a woman's subtlety can be far more influential than a man's ostentatiousness. It's been a long and interesting journey that has ultimately paid off. And though in the early years of journalism, women took on light, fluff pieces or received no credit for their work, they have made great strides and broken through gender barriers in the field and continue to do so. 

Women in the Colonial era are most commonly pictured as serene housewives. Hard working, absolutely; but hard at work with things like helping out around the farm, educating her children, and cooking three nice, healthy meals for her boys. Her boys that were off creating the land that would become America. But that was only the surface. Beyond that, there were women who had a different idea of what they should be. Take Mistress Jose Glover, who owned the first printing press in America in 1638. In 1762, Sarah Updike Goddard started a tradition among the women in her family when she financed Providence Gazette, which was then passed on to her daughter. Ann Hoff Green took over her husband's newspaper after his death, and turned it into a controversial media that discussed pressing issues at the start of the Revolution against England.