As John S. Hart wrote in The Female Prose of Writers in America, “Women, far more than men, write from the heart.”

While this quote from the nineteenth century could be interpreted as demeaning, what Hart intended to convey was that women often bring an authentic quality to their work which often makes it more impactful. For centuries, journalism was a profession– like most other professions– that women were largely excluded from.

During the 1800s and early 1900s in America some women were welcomed into the field, yet they were restricted to writing about traditionally feminine topics: fashion, food, home decor, etc. Yet over time certain trailblazers in the industry would not only change the field of journalism, but in many instances, American society as a whole.

Today it's estimated that 46% of American journalists are women (according to the Pew Research Center), and while there's still progress to be made (women are underrepresented in covering sports, technology, science, and politics), over the last 200 years monumental change has been made in the field.

In honor of March being Women's History Month, it's important to honor the women who shaped our world as we know it today, and how their legacies impact many corners of life.

Anne Royall

(1769-1854)

Considered to be America's first female journalist, Anne Royall's journey began as a servant, where her employer William Royall gave her access to his library and she read the works of Voltaire and Shakespeare. The two married, and the two were together for almost two decades before his death. However, after a long battle between her and her husband's family over his will, she was left penniless.

Royall spent the next years of her life documenting her travels around Alabama which she published along with a novel. She then went to Washington DC and was the first woman to interview a president when she spoke with John Quincy Adams. In 1831 she and Sally Stack created Paul Pry, a newspaper that exposed political corruption and fraud.

Slashme via Wikimedia

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Ida Tarbell

(1857-1944)

After a brief teaching career, Ida Tarbell took to writing and was part of a movement of writers known as "muckrakers" who exposed corruption. After years of research she published The History of the Standard Oil Company which documented the history and misdeeds of Standard Oil Company, the largest oil company at the time, and its owner John D. Rockefeller.

She covered how Rockefeller used monopolies to grow his business while putting smaller businesses out of business, and how this went against the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890 (which prohibits activities that restrict marketplace competition). The outrage from this book grew so much that President Theodore Roosevelt intervened and split up the Standard Oil Company into 34 smaller companies. She continued to write investigative journalism and biographies, but her takedown of one of the most popular companies in America, and one of America's richest men remains the biggest achievement in her legacy.

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Ida B. Wells

(1862-1931)

Ida B. Wells was born into slavery before attending Rust University and becoming a teacher by 16. After writing a newspaper article which criticized the education available to African American children, her teaching contract was not renewed and she turned to journalism full-time.

After three of her friends were lynched, Ida began a campaign against lynching and documenting statistics and the history of the crime. When she wasn't writing she was organizing African American women to campaign for anti-lynching causes as well as the suffrage movement. She was also a member and leader of many civil rights organizations such as the League of Colored Women and the National Association of Colored Women.

Adam Cuerden via Wikimedia

Nellie Bly

(1864-1922)

Born Elizabeth Cochrane Seaman, she struggled financially and was trying to support her family when she saw an article in Dispatch which criticized women with jobs. Upon reading this article, she wrote an open letter to the editor which advocated for more oppurtunities for women. The editor saw potential in her writing and hired her as a reporter, her pen-name being Nellie Bly.

She is best remembered for her 1887 six-part series called Ten Days in the Madhouse, documenting her time going undercover at a mental asylum. This piece of investigative journalism exposed the inhumane conditions that took place in such institutions. Nellie continued investigative journalism, exposing corruption in New York politics, the black market for buying children and shady employment agencies. Later in her career she reported on the conditions of World War 1 in Europe, and after her death Arthur Brisbane declared she’d been “the best reporter in America.”

H. J. Myers via Wikimedia

Dorothy Thompson

(1893-1961)

Dorothy Thompson’s career began by writing pieces for The New York Times and New York Herald Tribune before moving to Europe as a reporter. She briefly returned to America before going back to Europe and reporting on the Nazi movement. Her writing offended Adolf Hitler so much that in 1934 she became the first American journalist to be expelled from Germany.

Two years later, she began a newspaper column called “On the Record” for the New York Herald Tribune, and she continued to speak out against Hitler on radio broadcasts. Time magazine rated her the country’s second most popular woman, only behind the First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt.

Harris & Ewing via Wikimedia

Ethel Payne

(1911-1991)

Dubbed the First Lady of the Black Press, Ethel Payne's career spanned decades and her writing focused primarily on politics in America. Her career started by documenting the discrimination faced by African American soldiers in the Korean War, as well as issues surrounding adoption and a lack of resources for young mothers. During Eisenhower's presidency, Payne became the first African American woman to join the White House Press Corps, and she used this position to push him regarding civil rights.

She covered the then Vice President Richard Nixon's trip to Ghana, as well as Rosa Parks, the Montgomery bus boycotts, and an interview with Martin Luther King Jr. before he was well known. She later covered the atrocities of the Vietnam War and advocated for the release of Nelson Mandela when he was incarcerated in 1962 for inciting a strike in South Africa.

Ethel Payne's press pin from the 1955 Asian-African Conference

Anacostia Community Museum, Smithsonian Institution via Wikimedia

Katharine Graham

(1917-2001)

Katharine Graham was educated at Vassar College and the University of Chicago before becoming a reporter for the San Francisco News and then the Washington Post, which her father had bought in 1933. After taking a break from writing to focus on her family, she was still heavily involved in the business aspect of running the Post, acquiring the rival Times-Herald, Newsweek and numerous other radio and television stations. In 1963 she became the President of the Washington Post and committed it to investigative journalism.

During the Watergate scandal during President Richard Nixon's second term, Katharine ensured that the Post kept the story alive, and in 1972 she became the chief executive officer, the first woman to hold the position until 1991. The Washington Post continued to circulate stories about Watergate until Nixon's resignation in 1974. In 1998 Katharine Graham was the recipient of the Pulitzer Prize following her autobiography Personal History.

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Conclusion

Throughout history, many women have shaped the field of journalism, too many – to cover in one article. Despite the many differences between these women, like their backgrounds and the topics they covered, they each played an integral role in opening up oppurtunities for women.

Through prioritizing their education, remaining honest and being unafraid to use their voice for good, they not only influenced writing but influenced American society as a whole. While March might be Women's History Month, the time to honor the achievements of women that are so often overlooked, should be year round.