JAWS Ambassador blog post: JAWS oral history project progresses

By Katherine Ann Rowlands, JAWS Ambassador

An exciting and important effort to memorialize the work and lives of JAWS members is well underway, thanks to researchers at the University of Missouri who are documenting the oral histories of many of our members.

The project is led by Dr. Yong Volz, an associate professor at the Missouri School of Journalism and a fellow at the Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute, through which this oral history project is funded. The project aims to record the rich and varied experiences of women who made inroads into the traditionally male-dominated field of journalism, serving as a resource for the next generation and those who seek to foster diversity in the field, according to Volz.

As the project progresses, these audio and video interviews will be archived on a website run by the Reynolds Institute — with a link to the JAWS site — so that they are easily accessible.

“We want to thank everyone who has participated in the project and shared so many precious memories about JAWS and personal stories about themselves and peer women journalists,” Volz said.

So far, the 40 JAWS members interviewed (in order of recording) for the project include:

Mary Kay Blakely
Pam Johnson
Glenda Crank Holste
Melissa Ludtke
Linda Deutsch
Judy Miller
Andrea Stone
Joy Cook
Diana Henriques
Maura Casey
Jodi Enda
Merrill Perlman
Nina R. Zacuto
Gina Setser
Connie Sage
Julie Dunlap
Katherine Rowlands
Mary C. Curtis
Heather Doyle
Cherise M. Newsome
Arielle Stevenson
Carole Vaporean
Birgit Rieck
Emily Tynes
Maya Shwayder
Nasrin Aboulhosn
Marie Tessier
Jean Gaddy Wilson
Jacqui Banaszynski
Rita Henley Jensen
Betsy Wade
Julia Kagan (Baumann)
Peggy Simpson
Peggy Sands Orchowski
Clare Crawford-Mason
Kathy Kiely
Jennifer Gavin
Kathy Bonk
Bonnie Rollins
Melinda Voss