Reflecting On The First Woman TV News Star
Nancy Dickerson Courtesy John Dickerson hide caption
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Courtesy John Dickerson
Before Katie Couric and Diane Sawyer, there was Nancy Dickerson. In 1960, Dickerson broke through TV journalism's all-male fortress to become the first female reporter on television. In his book On Her Trail: My Mother, Nancy Dickerson, the first female TV news star's youngest son, John Dickerson, chronicles his mother's impressive career and her troubled family life.
Read an excerpt here and listen to President's secret phone call with Nancy Dickerson here.
This piece originally aired Oct. 19, 2006. John Dickerson is chief political correspondent for Slate.com.
FAQs
Nan Winton looks back to 1960 when she became the BBC's first female television newsreader. BBC Archive: Originally broadcast 15 March 1997.
Who was the first female reporter on TV? ›
Dorothy Fuldheim (1893–1989) (USA), first woman in the US to anchor a television show, Often called the "First Lady of Television News".
Who was the first woman to anchor a nightly news broadcast? ›
Barbara Walters made television history in 1976 as the first woman to anchor a nightly newscast at a time when the three networks were the principal source of information for many Americans.
Who was the first female journalist in the world? ›
The first female journalist
Fredrika Runeberg, who wrote poems and articles in Helsingfors Morgonblad under the name of her spouse Johan Ludvig Runeberg in the 1830s.
Who was the first female lead in television? ›
Known as the "first lady of television" and "queen of the small screen," Betty White made her debut in 1939. She was the first woman to produce a national TV show and to star in a sitcom, both for her variety show, "Life with Elizabeth" (1953-1955).
Who was the first woman to co anchor a television news show? ›
In 1976, Barbara Walters became the first woman to co-anchor a national news show on prime time television. She was only in that role for two years, but her arrival changed news media.
Who was the world's first female news anchor? ›
Dorothy Fuldheim made national history as the first female news anchor right here in Cleveland, Ohio. She was very influential in broadcast news; as she had her very own weekly show on television. This was at a time when not a lot of women were working in the field of journalism.
Who was the first black female news anchor? ›
Simpson, a graduate of the University of Michigan, began her career on radio at WCFL in Chicago, Illinois, and was later hired at WBBM. She moved to television at Chicago's WMAQ and on to NBC News in 1975, becoming the first African-American woman to anchor a major network newscast.
Who is a famous reporter female? ›
Ida Tarbell, Nellie Bly, and Ethel Payne all contributed to the field of journalism by providing social commentary on major political and social events and reporting on controversial topics. These women's stamps were designed by Fred Otnes for the Women in Journalism Issue.
What is the most watched evening news? ›
Season to date, “World News Tonight” (7.868 million) is ranking No. 1 in Total Viewers for the 7th straight year, based on Most Current Data. “World News Tonight” is leading “NBC Nightly News” (6.699 million) by 1.169 million and “CBS Evening News” (4.713 million) by 3.155 million. “World News Tonight” is ranking No.
But if you were one of the few people in New York during 1941 with a television set, you could have watched his 15-minute program, Richard Hubbell and the News. Hubbell was one of the first television news anchors.
Who was the first woman Today show host? ›
Notable journalist Barbara Walters became the first woman to co-host TODAY in 1974.
Who was the first female news presenter? ›
Nancy Wigginton (6 November 1925 – 11 May 2019), known professionally as Nan Winton, was a British broadcaster, best known for being the first female newsreader to read the national news on BBC television.
Which first lady was a reporter? ›
Although Eleanor Roosevelt's career as a magazine journalist has been all but forgotten, it was an important part of her public activity while she was First Lady from 1133 to 1945.
Who was the first woman to own a newspaper? ›
Eliza Jane Nicholson (1843-1896)
Credited with being the first woman in the United States to own a major newspaper when she inherited the New Orleans Daily Picayune (Newspaper Microfilm #1167) in 1876 after the death of her husband, who had been the owner.
Who was the first woman to host a network news program solo? ›
On September 5, 2006, Katie Couric makes headlines—and TV history—with her highly publicized debut as the first female solo anchor of a weekday network evening news broadcast, CBS Evening News with Katie Couric.
Who was the first television news cast? ›
Origin of television news
Lowell Thomas hosted the first-ever, regularly scheduled news broadcast on American television in March 1940; it was a simulcast of his nightly 6:45 PM NBC network radio newscast, with the television broadcast seen only in New York City over what was then experimental TV station W2XBS.
Who is the pioneering woman journalist? ›
Final answer:
Anne O'Hare McCormick was a pioneering woman in journalism, a field that also includes notable figures such as Nellie Bly and Ida B. Wells.
