Martha Day Coman (1872 – November 27, 1959) was an American journalist. She was one of the first women reporters at the ''

New York Herald The ''New York Herald'' was a large-distribution newspaper based in New York City that existed between 1835 and 1924. At that point it was acquired by its smaller rival the '' New-York Tribune'' to form the '' New York Herald Tribune''. Hi ...

'', and the first president of the

Newswomen's Club of New York The Newswomen's Club of New York is a nonprofit organization that focuses on women working in the media in the New York City metropolitan area. Founded in 1922 as the New York Newspaper Woman's Club, it included Eleanor Roosevelt, Helen Rogers R ...

Early life and education

Coman was born in Wisconsin, and raised in

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

, the daughter of Edmund B. Coman and Marian W. Sexton Coman. Her father was born in Ireland. She graduated from

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

Career

Coman was one of the first women reporters at the ''New York Herald''. In 1916, she covered

Charles Evans Hughes Charles Evans Hughes (April 11, 1862 – August 27, 1948) was an American politician, academic, and jurist who served as the 11th chief justice of the United States from 1930 to 1941. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...

' presidential campaign. She reported on fashion, suffrage, and women in careers, but she also covered the

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB). It has been contested since between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winning team, determined through a best- ...

, and especially

Babe Ruth George Herman "Babe" Ruth (February 6, 1895 – August 16, 1948) was an American professional Baseball in the United States, baseball player whose career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanned 22 seasons, from 1914 through 1935. Nickna ...

, in 1921. She was the first president of the Newspaper Women's Club of New York when it was founded in 1922. She joined

Theodora Bean Theodora Bean (March 26, 1871 – August 5, 1926), born Edna Belle Bean, was an American journalist and suffragist. She was a founder and president of the Newspaper Women's Club of New York, and started her own news syndicate, the T-Bean Syndica ...

's T-Bean Syndicate in 1925, and was editor of the weekly '' Scarsdale Inquirer''. She became a publicist at Harper's Publishing in 1929. She also worked as a publicist for

Smith College Smith College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in Northampton, Massachusetts, United States. It was chartered in 1871 by Sophia Smit ...

. She remained active in leadership with the Newspaper Women's Club of New York through the 1930s, as its treasurer.

Publications

* "The Art of Camping: A Woman's View" (1902) * "Flowers a Bride Should Carry" (1902) * "Swimming Girls Making Big Splash in the World of Sports" (1922) * "Faith, Hope, and Parity for the Seven Colleges" (1930)

Personal life and legacy

Coman died in 1959, in her eighties, in New York City. The Newswomen's Club of New York gives the annual Martha Coman Front Page Award for Best New Journalist as part of its

Front Page Award The Front Page Award is an award given by the Newswomen's Club of New York to honor journalistic achievement by women.Newswomen's Club of New YorkThe Front Page Awards, Retrieved August 3, 2015, "...One of the Most Prestigious Awards in Journalism. ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Coman, Martha 1872 births 1959 deaths Stanford University alumni American journalists American publicists