ABSTRACT Title of Dissertation: MARGUERITE HIGGINS: AN EXAMINATION OF LEGACY AND GENDER BIAS Peter Noel Murray, Doctor of Philosophy, 2003 Dissertation directed by: Professor Maurine Beasley College of Journalism This study examined the hist orical legacy of journalist Marguerite Higgins. The core research question of this dissertation is whether the legacy of Higgins, as portrayed in history, accurately reflects the facts of her life. The thesis focuses on allegations in the literature rega rding unethical and immoral behavior by Higgins as she pursued her career, and addresses the degree to which these allegations may have been influenced by gender bias. The word ‘legacy,’ as used in this dissertation, is defined as that which has been han ded down from the past. This study examined archival material and analyzed information concerning Higgins’ life by searching the collections of Higgins’ papers and those of people who knew and worked with her during her career, as well as those of authors who wrote about her. The thesis then compared this information about Higgins obtained through primary research with the portrayal about Higgins that has been established over the years by scholars and other authors who have written about her since her death. The theoretical context of this study is the psychology of stereotypes and gender bias. The study considered whether the attitudes and behavior of Higgins’ male peers might have been influenced by bias. The work of other authors has described disc rimination against women journalists, including Higgins, by newspaper editors, for example, in their restriction of women to writing for the women’s section of newspapers, and by the U.S. military in its efforts to prevent women from covering combat. This study focuses on more subtle forms of possible discrimination, the attitudes and behavior of her male colleagues. The study found inaccuracies in Higgins’ historical legacy and determined that there were numerous gaps between information available in arch ival collections and the portrayal of her by authors who created the written record of her life. MARGUERITE HIGGINS: AN EXAMINATION OF LEGACY AND GENDER BIAS by Peter Noel Murray Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of the University of Maryland, College Park in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy 2003 Advisory Committee: Professor Maurine Beasley, Chairman/Advisor Assistant Professor Christopher Hanson Professor Emeritus Ray E. Hiebert Associate Professor Judith Paterson Professor Harold Sigall © Copyright by Peter Noel Murray 2003 DEDICATION To my son, Matthew In memory of my sister, Anne Peck With appreciation to Brahms ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS To Professor Maurine Beasley, my advisor, many thanks for taking on this project. Professor Beasley’s wisdom informed the ideas that follow, her guidance is seen in the structure of this work, and her good-natured patience with me is manifest in that this dissertation is now completed. I also want to thank the members of my committee, Professors Christopher Hanson, Ray E. Hiebert, Judith Paterson, and Harold Sigall, for their efforts on my behalf and the direction they provided. In addition, I wish to thank Dean Thomas Kunkel for supporting my goal to complete the requirements for my degree. I wish to acknowledge those who contributed to this research. I appreciate the efforts of the professionals in the Manuscripts and Archives Department of Yale University’s Sterling Library and the archivists at the Wisconsin Historical Society. Most especially I want to thank Christian Dupont, Director, and Carolyn Davis, Librarian, at the Special Collections Research Center at Syracuse University for providing access to the Marguerite Higgins Papers while the collection was being reprocessed. My thanks to those who responded to interview requests, especially Judith Crist, Paul Duke, Roger Mudd, and Andy Rooney. Very special thanks to my family and friends for their support and encouragement - first and foremost, my son, Matthew, who provided inspiration and advice; also my brother, Michael, who gave sage counsel during dark days, and my sister, Molly, who offered encouragement when it was needed. And finally, to Brahms, who got me away from the computer and out of the house four times a day. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Chapter 1: Scope and Purpose 1 Chapter 2: Literature Review 10 Historical perspective 10 Women war corre spondents 12 Higgins on Higgins 15 Higgins in journalism literature 21 Higgins in Korean War literature 56 Gender stereotyping 57 Conclusion 70 Chapter 3: Methodology 73 Primary Research 76 Res earch Design 83 Chapter 4: Marguerite Higgins’ Early Achievements 86 Growing up 86 Newspaper industry environment 93 Writing on the Herald Tribune 116 iv Early years at the Herald Tribune 118 Europe 121 Berlin 125 Korea 133 Chapter 5: Marguerite Higgins: Celebrity Journalist 150 Fame 150 Consequences of fame 160 Post -Korea 163 Turning point 172 Washington 177 Vietnam 189 Columnist and Newsday 193 Death 197 A lifetime of achievement 198 Historical legacy 204 Chapter 6: Findings and Analysis 206 Authors’ credentials and bias 206 Allegations about Higgins 218 Herald Tribune influence 245 Possible bias that Higgins confronted 264 v Chapter 7: Discussion and Conclusion 277 Contribution to journalism literature 278 Contribution to understanding gender bias 283 Conclusion 292 Direction for future research 294 Bibliography 296 vi CHAPTER 1. SCOPE AND PURPOS E The purpose of this dissertation is to examine whether the legacy of journalist Marguerite Higgins, as portrayed in history, accurately reflects the facts of her life. The legacy of Higgins not only includes accounts of her energetic and sometimes courageous coverage of wars in Europe, Korea and Vietnam, but a large portion of what has been written about her focuses on moral and ethical questions about her behavior. Discussion in the literature of Higgins’ character and conduct often distracts from an d undermines accounts of her professional accomplishments. This study examines the sources of these allegations and analyzes the facts supporting the claims that were made. This thesis considers possible causes for these allegations made about Higgins’ behavior, including the degree to which they may have been influenced by gender bias. There are two meanings of the word ‘legacy,’ and this thesis addresses both of them. First, legacy means that which has been handed down from the past. In this sense, the thesis researches the knowledge about Higgins that has been handed down over the years by scholars and other authors who have written about her since her death. Further, since the topic of this thesis is the ‘historical’ legacy of Higgins, the objecti ve is to develop an understanding of Higgins that accurately reflects the available facts concerning her life. Thus, the thesis uses archival research to identify what is known about Higgins at various points in time during her life, and applies that knowledge to an analysis of what has been written about her. Second, legacy has the connotation of a gift, and in this context the study considers the contributions made 1 by the life and career of Higgins to increasing the interest in and opportunities for women in journalism. The moral and ethical questions about Higgins’ behavior are considered in the context of the facts about her life that are identified through archival research. When an allegation is not supported by facts, the question is considered whether gender bias could have been a factor behind the assertion. Gender bias “involves unequal and harmful behavior toward women only because they are women.”1 Analysis of this archival material can identify behavior by Higgins’ colleagues that was unequal and harmful. In these instances, a criterion that is necessary for gender bias to have taken place can be applied. Consideration is then given to the degree to which the behavior might have been motivated by the fact that Higgins was a woman. Ther efore, this study analyzes Higgins’ historical legacy in the context of the facts known; identifies the factors that shaped that legacy, including gender bias; and creates a record of Higgins’ life that is informed through an understanding of the facts and factors identified and analyzed in this study. By analyzing Higgins’ established legacy in the context of new information, the study explores whether Higgins has been inaccurately portrayed and / or unfairly treated in journalism history. The history of women and journalism frequently has been conceptualized in two ways. First, the historical facts were presented through discussion of individuals who have played a role in the increased participation over the years by women in the journalistic endeavors. For example, in Taking Their Place , Beasley and Gibbons presented a history of women and mass media that started with the very foundation of 1 Angela R. Gillem, Radhika Sehgal, and Shiata Forcet, "Understanding Prejudice and Discrimination," in Issues in the Psychology of Women , ed. Maryka Biaggio and Michel Hersen (New York: Kluwer Academic / Plenum Publishers, 2000), p.55. 2 our country, the printing of the Declaration of Independence by Mary Katherine Goddard.2 The overall history was then developed with additional stories of women journalists participating in different jobs in print and broadcast journalism, with an eye toward the contributions made by each one along the way as the level of participation by women in the industry incre ased. Thus, Beasley and Gibbons included such women as Sara Willis Parton, who was a popular columnist at the time of the Civil War, 3 Ida Wells -Barnett, the noted African -American journalist who worked at the turn of the twentieth century, 4 Elizabeth Coch rane, famous as the stunt reporter “Nellie Bly” in the late 1880s, 5 investigative reporter Ida Tarbell in the early 1900s, 6 as well as other noted women journalists who were pioneers in their work as foreign correspondents, war correspondents and broadcast ers.