Containing nearly three dozen original essays penned by the nation's leading newspaper journalists, editors, and executives, this book advances current discussions regarding women in journalism. Surveying the past quarter century, the book's contributors highlight the unprecedented influence American women have had on the news industry, especially newspapers, and look ahead to the future for women in news. Acclaimed anthropologist and author Helen E. Fisher adds her perspective in examining the role of women across millennia and how the talents of women are changing social and economic life in this global age.

Prominent female voices in journalism provide critical perspectives on the challenges women face in today's news organizations, such as connecting with diverse audiences, educating readers about international issues and cultures, maintaining credibility, negotiating media consolidation and corporate pressures, and overcoming the persistent barriers to professional advancement. A powerful and complex assessment of how women are transforming the news industry, The Edge of Change explores how the news industry might implement further reforms aimed at creating a more inclusive journalistic community.

Contributors are Catalina Camia, Kathleen Carroll, Pamela J. Creedon, Paula Lynn Ellis, Helen E. Fisher, Dorothy Butler Gilliam, Ellen Goodman, Sharon Grigsby, Carol Guzy, Kirsten Scharnberg Hampton, Cathy Henkel, Pamela J. Johnson, Jane Kirtley, Jan Leach, Caroline Little, Wanda S. Lloyd, Arlene Notoro Morgan, June O. Nicholson, Geneva Overholser, Marty Petty, Deb Price, Donna M. Reed, Sandra Mims Rowe, Peggy Simpson, Margaret Sullivan, Julia Wallace, and Keven Ann Willey.

|Acknowledgments xiii

Foreword xvii
Ellen Goodman

Introduction 1
June O. Nicholson

1. The Female Mind: Biology of the Twenty-First-Century Woman 27
Helen E. Fisher

Part 1. Historical and Contemporary Perspectives
2. Starting on the Cusp of Feminism with Dark Brown Skin 45
Dorothy Butler Gilliam

3. Interview with Gloria Steinem 62
Dorothy Butler Gilliam

4. Interview with Nan Robertson 68
Dorothy Butler Gilliam

5. Learning about Discrimination 75
Peggy Simpson

6. Moving from Women's Pages to the Editor's Office 77
Sandra Mims Rowe

Part 2. How Women are Shaping Newsrooms and Companies
7. Facing Unexpected Challenges 89
Julia Wallace

8. Using New Media to Inform 97
Caroline Little

9. Credibility: Are Readers Still Buying Ours? 104
Donna M. Reed

10. Interview with Diane McFarlin 113
Donna M. reed

11. Women in Sports as the Final Frontier 116
Cathy Henkel

12. "Gender Genie" 126
Cathy Henkel

Part 3. Women as Op-Ed Columnists and Editors of Editorial Pages
13. Women Op-Ed Columnists: Why Aren't More of Them Published? 131
Keven Ann Willey

14. Finding Great Women Op-Ed Columnists 137
Sharon Grigsby

Part 4. Women in International Journalism
15. Covering War through a Woman's Eyes 143
Kirsten Scharnberg Hampton

16. Photography in Distant Lands 155
Carol Guzy

17. Women in News Photography 160
Carol Guzy

18. International Journalism in a New Ear 164
Kathleen Carroll

Part 5. Women Leaders in an Era of Corporate, Legal, and Commercial Pressures
19. The Imperiled Media: At Long Last, Promise? 171
Geneva Overholser

20. The...