Historian says World War II transformed Washington press corps
Submitted on August 11, 2004 - 12:00am.
Elizabeth Owens - Summer 2004
WASHINGTON - World War II changed the face of the Washington press corps, according to a congressional historian.
Donald Ritchie, associate historian of the U.S. Senate, said Wednesday in his lecture hosted by the U.S. Capitol Historical Society that the second world war “transformed the Washington press corps totally.”
Ritchie's lecture was based on material from his book “Reporting from Washington: The History of the Washington Press Corps,” which is scheduled to be released by Oxford University Press in early 2005.
Prior to the war, the Washington press corps was white, male and newspaper-oriented, and female reporters usually did social reporting, Ritchie said. But the war created a demand for political reporters.
Donald Ritchie, associate historian of the U.S. Senate, said Wednesday in his lecture hosted by the U.S. Capitol Historical Society that the second world war “transformed the Washington press corps totally.”
Ritchie's lecture was based on material from his book “Reporting from Washington: The History of the Washington Press Corps,” which is scheduled to be released by Oxford University Press in early 2005.
Prior to the war, the Washington press corps was white, male and newspaper-oriented, and female reporters usually did social reporting, Ritchie said. But the war created a demand for political reporters.
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