The National Federation of Press Women (NFPW) is a

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

-based organization of professional women and men pursuing careers in the field of communications, including electronic, broadcast and print

journalism Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the " news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree. The word, a noun, applies to the occupation (pro ...

, public relations, marketing, advertising, freelancing, graphic design, digital media and photography. They are also educators and authors of all genres. Part of the coalition founding the National Women's History Museum, the NFPW supports literacy and

women's rights Women's rights are the rights and entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st centuries. In some countries, ...

as well as freedom of information and advocates for

First Amendment First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and reco ...

issues.

History

The National Federation of Press Women (NFPW) was organized May 6, 1937, when Helen Miller Malloch and other members of the Illinois Woman's Press Association (IWPA organized in 1885), along with women from five other organized states and the

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, who met at the Chicago Women's Club in order to promote communication between women writers, and advance the interests and standards of women in the press. One of the major concerns of these women was that

copyright A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, educatio ...

legislation was not being applied equally to women's creative work. Among the 39 women attending were 24 from

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

, six from

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

, nine from

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

, New York,

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

, and Washington D.C.. Incorporation of the Federation was effected in 1938 in Illinois. By 1939 nine states had affiliated, including New York,

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

, Indiana, Illinois,

Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to th ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. T ...

, and

; and a New England press group. Of these new affiliates, the two oldest were Illinois (IWPA), 1885, and Texas, (the Texas Woman's Press Association) 1893 - the only two states organized prior to 1900.

Presidents (by term dates)

# Helen Miller Malloch, (Illinois) 1937–1938 #

Octavia Goodbar Octavia may refer to: People * Octavia the Elder (before 66 – after 29 BC), elder half sister of Octavia the Younger and Augustus/Octavian * Octavia the Younger (c.66–11 BC), sister of Augustus, younger half sister of Octavia the Elder and fou ...

, ( New York ) 1938–1939 #

Bertha Bliss Bertha is a female Germanic name, from Old High German ''berhta'' meaning "bright one". It was usually a short form of Anglo Saxon names ''Beorhtgifu'' meaning "bright gift" or ''Beorhtwynn'' meaning "bright joy". The name occurs as a theonym, s ...

, ( Missouri) 1940–1941 # Helen Miller Malloch, (Illinois) 1942–1943 #

Gertrude Puelicher Gertrude or Gertrud may refer to: Places In space *Gertrude (crater), a crater on Uranus's moon Titania *710 Gertrud, a minor planet Terrestrial placenames * Gertrude, Arkansas * Gertrude, Washington * Gertrude, West Virginia People *Gertrude ( ...

, (Wisconsin) 1943–1945 #

Marie Abels Marie may refer to: People Name * Marie (given name) * Marie (Japanese given name) * Marie (murder victim), girl who was killed in Florida after being pushed in front of a moving vehicle in 1973 * Marie (died 1759), an enslaved Cree person in Tr ...

, (Kansas) 1945–1947 #

Catherine Dines Prosser Katherine, also spelled Catherine, and other variations are feminine names. They are popular in Christian countries because of their derivation from the name of one of the first Christian saints, Catherine of Alexandria. In the early Christ ...

, (Colorado) 1947–1949 # Irene R. Bedard, (Minnesota) 1949–1951 # Mattie M. Dykes, (Missouri) 1951–1953 #

Helen Ankeny Helen may refer to: People * Helen of Troy, in Greek mythology, the most beautiful woman in the world * Helen (actress) (born 1938), Indian actress * Helen (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) Places * Helen, ...

, (Kansas) 1953–1955 #

Velma Price Velma may refer to: People * Velma Abbott (1929–1987), Canadian baseball player * Velma Barfield (1932–1984), American murderer * Velma Wayne Dawson (1912–2007), American puppet maker * Velma Demerson (1920-2019), Canadian woman imprison ...

, (Nebraska) 1955–1957 #

Mabel Temby Mabel is an English female given name derived from the Latin ''amabilis'', "lovable, dear".Reclams Namensbuch, 1987, History Amabilis of Riom (died 475) was a French male saint who logically would have assumed the name Amabilis upon entering th ...

, (Wisconsin) 1957–1959 # Helen Vanderburg, (Iowa) 1959–1961 # Roberta Martin, (Arkansas) 1961–1962 # Dr. Gertrude M. Hall, (acting) (Illinois) 1962 # Hortense P. Myers, (Indiana) 1962–1965 # Margaret Magee, (Oregon) 1965–1967 # Ulrich Troubetzkoy, (Virginia) 1967–1969 # Mildred Planthold Michie, (Missouri) 1969–1971 # Louise Shadduck, (Idaho) 1971–1973 # Naomi A. Whitesell, (Indiana) 1973–1975 # Jean Wiley Huyler, (Washington) 1975–1977 # Charlotte Tillar Schexnayder, (Arkansas) 1977–1979 # Martha S. Reed, (Texas) 1979–1981 # D. J. Cline, (South Dakota) 1981–1983 # Jo Cart, (Louisiana) 1983–1985 # Lois Jacobs, (Iowa) 1985–1987 # Mary Lou Webb, (Mississippi) 1987–1989 # Rosemary Carroll, (New Jersey) 1989–1991 # Marj Carpenter, (Kentucky) 1991–1993 # Gwen White, (North Carolina) 1993–1995 # Ruth Anna, (Colorado) 1995–1997 # Linn Rounds, (Wyoming) 1997–1999 # Vivian Sadowski, (Kansas) 1999–2001 # Ella Wright, (Alaska) 2001–2003 # Donna Penticuff, (Indiana) 2003–2005 # Meg Hunt, (South Carolina) 2005–2007 # Marsha Shuler, (Louisiana) 2007–2009 # Cynthia Price, (Virginia) 2009–2011 # Lori Potter, (Nebraska) 2011–2013 # Teri Ehresman, (Idaho) 2013–2015 # Marsha Hoffman, (Iowa) 2015–2017 # , arianne Wolf-Astrauskas, (Illinois) 2017–2019 # Gwendolynne Larson, (Kansas) 2019–present

Activity

The NFPW conducts annual surveys about women in communications jobs. NFPW also created its own publication, ''Press Woman''. AGENDA is the Federation's current publication.

Competitions

Professional Communications Contest

Each year NFPW sponsors competitions to reward excellence in communication. Winners are honored at the NFPW Professional Communications Contest Awards Banquet, which is held in conjunction with a yearly conference. The Federation's annual communications contest was established in 1940 during the presidency of Bertha I. Bless of Missouri. The presentation of honor award certificates to national winners and the announcement of the national sweepstakes winner remains a conference highlight. NFPW affiliates throughout the United States have annual communications contests that provide affiliate members an opportunity to compete against regional colleagues in a broad range of categories set by NFPW. All entrants to the national contest are required to be professional, student or retired members of NFPW. Where there is no state affiliate, the member is eligible to compete in the At-Large contest.

National High School Communications Contest

The NFPW High School Communications Contest honors excellence in student journalism and is the only nationwide communications competition for high school students. Winners at the national level are chosen by winning at the state level first. It is endorsed by the National Association of Secondary School Principals. Dow Jones announces first-place winners and promotes the competition in its publication distributed to journalism advisers across the nation, giving students and their teachers/advisers local and nationwide recognition.

Communicator of Achievement

Each year, a professional communicator is selected as the National Communicator of Achievement. This program was established during the presidency of

of Nebraska. NFPW started the program as the Woman of Achievement award which was first given at the 1957 convention in

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. The first honoree was Charlotte Paul of Washington. The award was renamed Communicator of Achievement in 1989. Today, the Communicator of Achievement Award is the highest honor bestowed by the National Federation of Press Women upon those members who have distinguished themselves within and beyond their profession. Virginia Driving Hawk Sneve, the 1975 Woman of Achievement, was an author of 20 books, numerous short stories and essays about Native American life and culture, a member of the

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux Native American tribes, who comprise a large porti ...

affiliate, and the recipient of the National Medal of Humanities. The Medal of Humanities was presented by President Bill Clinton and First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton on Dec. 20, 2000, at D.A.R. Constitution Hall in Washington DC. Randy Richardson, a member of the Illinois Woman's Press Association affiliate, was the 2017 Communicator of Achievement winner, becoming the first man to take the honor in 60 years.

Communicator of Achievement Honorees

The following individuals have been honored: * 1957 Charlotte Paul (Washington) * 1958 Margaret Dixon (Louisiana) * 1959 Emma C. McKinney (Oregon) * 1960 Roberta "Bobbie" Forster (Arkansas) * 1961 No Award * 1962 Agness Underwood (California) * 1963 Helen Waterhouse (Ohio) * 1964 Olive Burt (Utah) * 1965 Vada Carlson Rodridguez (Arizona) * 1966 Hortense Myers (Indiana) * 1967 Gladys Erickson (Illinois) * 1968 Mamie Boyd (Kansas) * 1969 Hilda Bryant (Washington) * 1970 Charlotte Schexnadyer (Arkansas) * 1971 Hazel Brannon Smith (Mississippi) * 1972 Marjorie Holmes (Virginia) * 1973 Ruth Carlson (Michigan) * 1974 Emily Ivanoff Brown (Alaska) / Katharine Graham (District of Columbia) * 1975 Virginia Sneve (South Dakota) * 1976 Lois Watkins (Virginia) * 1977 Margaret Woolfolk (Arkansas) * 1978 Kathy Piper (Colorado) * 1979 Joann Easley Arnold (Colorado) * 1980 Lynn Stewart (Louisiana) * 1981 Faye Plank (New Mexico) * 1982 Betzi Woodman (Alaska) * 1983 Ann McKay Thompson (South Dakota) * 1984 Marj Carpenter (Georgia) * 1985 Lois Lambley (Nebraska) * 1986 Joanne Zerkel (Illinois) * 1987 Kay Kennedy (Alaska) * 1988 Jean Wiley Huyler (Washington) * 1989 Donna Hunt (Texas) * 1990 D. J. Cline (South Dakota) * 1991 Dorothy Steinmeier (Indiana) * 1992 Olga Gize Carlile (Illinois) * 1993 Joan Burney (Nebraska) * 1994 Mary Rueter (Iowa) * 1995 Jan Ingram (Alaska) * 1996 Vivien Sadowski (Kansas) * 1997 Louise Seals (Virginia) * 1998 Marjorie Setter (Kansas) * 1999 No Award * 2000 Eva Marie Pearson (Arkansas) * 2001 Jane Brandt (North Dakota) * 2002 Kay Wood Bailey (Delaware) * 2003 Carole Eberly (Michigan) * 2004 Mary Kimbrough (Missouri) * 2005 Ree Strange Sheck (New Mexico) * 2006 Betty Packard (California) * 2007 Peggyann Hutchinson (Oregon) * 2008 Clara Cartrette (North Carolina) / Cary Herz (New Mexico) * 2009 Heloise (Texas) * 2010 Karen Stensrud (North Dakota) * 2011 Beth Miller Delaware) * 2012 Cynthia Price (Virginia) * 2013 Marianne Wolf-Astrauskas (Illinois) * 2014 Becky Funke (Kansas) * 2015 Barbara Gigone (Colorado) * 2016 Loretta Hall (New Mexico) * 2017 Randy Richardson (Illinois) * 2018 Billie Travalini (Delaware) * 2019 Eileen Wirth (Nebraska) * 2020 Sandy Michel Nance (Colorado)

References

Sources

* * *

External links

Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:National Federation of Press Women Women's organizations based in the United States Journalism-related professional associations Organizations established in 1937 1937 establishments in the United States Organizations for women writers