Dr. Maurine Hoffman Beasley, journalism professor emerita at the University of Maryland and author of numerous books on the media and on Eleanor Roosevelt, spoke about her latest book at last Tuesday’s meeting of the Woman’s Club of McLean.
Beasley recounted the history of women in Washington, D.C. journalism from the 1830s to the present, as set out in her latest book, Women of the Washington Press: Politics, Prejudice, and Persistence, published in August 2012.
Her story was one of women journalists’ gradual progress in professional acceptance and their ultimate achievement of equality with men in the field. Beasley’s account was punctuated with important milestones of progress, as well as amusing incidents, often reflecting historical events and changes in society, as well as the energy of individual women journalists.
During her tenure at the University of Maryland, Beasley specialized in the history, as well as the portrayal, of women in journalism. She is a former education editor of the Kansas City Star and a former staff writer for The Washington Post.
