http://www.gift-economy.com/wedo_12.html
Video of Mal Johnson - Media Linx, Washington, DC
Training women to utilize the Media. Interviewed by Trella Laughlin
Interviewed at the World Women's Congress for a Healthy Planet in Miami, Florida, in 1991
Monday, November 28, 2011
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Mal's dream of a US IAWRT Chapter realized
Arshiya Ahsan has just convented the first meeting of a US chapter of the International Association of Women in Radio & TV! This was a longtime dream of Mal Johnson's. Her close friends Catherine White and Leila Doss were involved in helping get this chapter started. Here are two communications from Arshiya about the meeting. I the second, she says "This is for Mal." - Frieda
Dear Olya,
It is my pleasure to announce that today, May 24th, 2010, seven lovely women with the blessing of Ms. Leila Doss, met in New York in a very simple setting and signed on a simple consent document to form IAWRT-USA Chapter:)
We really enjoyed our meeting and what we accomplished tonight as a really diverse team. This is our first step...
Official details will be sent soon in our May update to the IAWRT international board.
Thank you all for all the support.
Kind regards,
Arshiya Ahsan
IAWRT-USA member
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Knowing Mal Johnson--
My association with IAWRT started at the IAWRT Asian Women's Film Festival in New Delhi organized by Jai Chandiram in 2005. It was a very good first impression of the organization and of an interesting chapter. I was not able to participate much in India because of my work in East-Africa. In the same year, my personal contact with Mal Johnson started which was both wonderful and sad at the same time.
The wonderful part was when I interacted with her briefly during 2005--Mal was organizing the Williamsburg conference that time and I was in Kampala, Uganda. During this short period of intense interaction, I saw her commitment for IAWRT and she really tried her best to bring me to the conference. I had written to her about my ideas of creating awareness about a network like IAWRT in East-Africa and how important it can be for women in the region. I also talked about my travels to Rwanda for IAWRT and she was happy that there were members who wanted to expand IAWRT network.
The sad part was when I came to the US in 2007, Mal was sick, and I tried to meet her but could not:(
Many of us have personal stories and dreams regarding the formation of IAWRT-USA-- I guess, my destiny maybe, just allowed me to bring all these amazing stories together--nothing more, nothing less.
This is for Mal--
Love,
Arshiya
Dear Olya,
It is my pleasure to announce that today, May 24th, 2010, seven lovely women with the blessing of Ms. Leila Doss, met in New York in a very simple setting and signed on a simple consent document to form IAWRT-USA Chapter:)
We really enjoyed our meeting and what we accomplished tonight as a really diverse team. This is our first step...
Official details will be sent soon in our May update to the IAWRT international board.
Thank you all for all the support.
Kind regards,
Arshiya Ahsan
IAWRT-USA member
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Knowing Mal Johnson--
My association with IAWRT started at the IAWRT Asian Women's Film Festival in New Delhi organized by Jai Chandiram in 2005. It was a very good first impression of the organization and of an interesting chapter. I was not able to participate much in India because of my work in East-Africa. In the same year, my personal contact with Mal Johnson started which was both wonderful and sad at the same time.
The wonderful part was when I interacted with her briefly during 2005--Mal was organizing the Williamsburg conference that time and I was in Kampala, Uganda. During this short period of intense interaction, I saw her commitment for IAWRT and she really tried her best to bring me to the conference. I had written to her about my ideas of creating awareness about a network like IAWRT in East-Africa and how important it can be for women in the region. I also talked about my travels to Rwanda for IAWRT and she was happy that there were members who wanted to expand IAWRT network.
The sad part was when I came to the US in 2007, Mal was sick, and I tried to meet her but could not:(
Many of us have personal stories and dreams regarding the formation of IAWRT-USA-- I guess, my destiny maybe, just allowed me to bring all these amazing stories together--nothing more, nothing less.
This is for Mal--
Love,
Arshiya
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Mal Johnson and National Council of Women's Organizations
Mal was a longtime member of the NCWO and served on their board. Here's their most recent flier - Mal is the left of the three faces on the front.
Monday, January 21, 2008
A colleague of Mal's has also passed on
Mal's memorial service was held at the National Press Club - where Mal's memorial service in Washington Was held. Frances Lewine was a leader in the fight to open the Press Club to women. Like Mal, she was a longtime White House correspondent. Thanks to Sonia Pressman Fuentes and Laura X for passing this along. - FW
From CNNPolitics.com Jan 21, 2008
Francis Lewine, trailblazing journalist, dies
Frances Lewine, who died at age 86, battled for women's rights in journalism
In 1965, she became AP's first full-time female White House correspondent
For nearly three decades, she was a CNN assignment editor and field producer
Was part of sex discrimination suit against AP that led to changes at news group
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Frances Lewine, who covered the White House for the Associated Press during the administrations of six presidents and spent nearly three decades as a CNN assignment editor and field producer, died Saturday of an apparent stroke. She was 86.
Jacqueline Kennedy, right, pours tea for AP correspondent Frances Lewine, left, in 1960.
Lewine was regarded as a trailblazer who battled for women's rights in journalism, fighting to open the National Press Club and the Gridiron Club -- a Washington journalists' organization -- to women.
She was assigned to the White House in 1956 to cover the activities of first ladies and the Washington social scene, but in 1965 became the AP's first full-time female White House correspondent.
"She through perseverance and dedication expanded her role to include presidents," Lewine wrote in a personal account of her life.
In 1977, she left AP to join the administration of President Jimmy Carter, and became the Department of Transportation's deputy director of public affairs. When Carter left office in 1981, Lewine moved to the newly created Cable News Network -- at age 60 -- as an assignment editor and field producer.
Sunday would have been Lewine's 87th birthday, co-workers said. She had been recovering from surgery, but was expected to return to the office as soon as this week.
Lewine was born in 1921 in New York and grew up in Far Rockaway, Long Island. She graduated from New York's Hunter College, where she edited the college newspaper and worked as a reporter for the Plainfield, New Jersey, Courier-News before moving to the Newark AP bureau.
Lewine wrote that she began covering the White House full time "with the arrival of the glamorous young Kennedys" and recalled that her working attire often was an evening dress.
She accompanied the family to Vienna, Paris, Rome and followed first lady Jacqueline Kennedy on a vacation trip to India and Pakistan, as well as two yachting excursions in the Mediterranean.
On one of those trips, the first lady's staff attempted to keep reporters in Athens, Greece, Lewine recalled. But she and several other journalists on a rented yacht followed her from island to island and, "much to the anger of the White House," kept track of the first lady's activities by listening in on ship-to-shore radio.
Lewine's wrote that she was often frustrated at being "relegated to social and family stories and sidebars while male colleagues covered the president."
She wrote that it was a "source of disappointment and anger" that the AP never considered her an equal to male White House colleagues.
That anger, she wrote, energized her "to become a leader in the movement of women journalists in the 1950s, 60s and 70s to protest discrimination against women in their jobs and assignments."
To protest the Gridiron Club's policy against women, Lewine founded the "Counter-Gridiron." A group of women reporters and sympathetic male reporters met regularly at her home to organize protests, she recalled. Eventually, she was the second woman invited to join the Gridiron.
Lewine was one of six plaintiffs in a sex-discrimination suit filed against the AP, which was settled out of court for $2 million and changed the news organization's policies.
Lewine was also a member of the National Press Club, Executive Women in Government and the Society of Professional Journalists. She was elected to the Washington Society of Professional Journalists' Hall of Fame and to the Hunter College Hall of Fame.
Last year, she was awarded the Missouri Honor Medal for Distinguished Service in Journalism, the highest honor bestowed by the Missouri School of Journalism.
From CNNPolitics.com Jan 21, 2008
Francis Lewine, trailblazing journalist, dies
Frances Lewine, who died at age 86, battled for women's rights in journalism
In 1965, she became AP's first full-time female White House correspondent
For nearly three decades, she was a CNN assignment editor and field producer
Was part of sex discrimination suit against AP that led to changes at news group
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Frances Lewine, who covered the White House for the Associated Press during the administrations of six presidents and spent nearly three decades as a CNN assignment editor and field producer, died Saturday of an apparent stroke. She was 86.
Jacqueline Kennedy, right, pours tea for AP correspondent Frances Lewine, left, in 1960.
Lewine was regarded as a trailblazer who battled for women's rights in journalism, fighting to open the National Press Club and the Gridiron Club -- a Washington journalists' organization -- to women.
She was assigned to the White House in 1956 to cover the activities of first ladies and the Washington social scene, but in 1965 became the AP's first full-time female White House correspondent.
"She through perseverance and dedication expanded her role to include presidents," Lewine wrote in a personal account of her life.
In 1977, she left AP to join the administration of President Jimmy Carter, and became the Department of Transportation's deputy director of public affairs. When Carter left office in 1981, Lewine moved to the newly created Cable News Network -- at age 60 -- as an assignment editor and field producer.
Sunday would have been Lewine's 87th birthday, co-workers said. She had been recovering from surgery, but was expected to return to the office as soon as this week.
Lewine was born in 1921 in New York and grew up in Far Rockaway, Long Island. She graduated from New York's Hunter College, where she edited the college newspaper and worked as a reporter for the Plainfield, New Jersey, Courier-News before moving to the Newark AP bureau.
Lewine wrote that she began covering the White House full time "with the arrival of the glamorous young Kennedys" and recalled that her working attire often was an evening dress.
She accompanied the family to Vienna, Paris, Rome and followed first lady Jacqueline Kennedy on a vacation trip to India and Pakistan, as well as two yachting excursions in the Mediterranean.
On one of those trips, the first lady's staff attempted to keep reporters in Athens, Greece, Lewine recalled. But she and several other journalists on a rented yacht followed her from island to island and, "much to the anger of the White House," kept track of the first lady's activities by listening in on ship-to-shore radio.
Lewine's wrote that she was often frustrated at being "relegated to social and family stories and sidebars while male colleagues covered the president."
She wrote that it was a "source of disappointment and anger" that the AP never considered her an equal to male White House colleagues.
That anger, she wrote, energized her "to become a leader in the movement of women journalists in the 1950s, 60s and 70s to protest discrimination against women in their jobs and assignments."
To protest the Gridiron Club's policy against women, Lewine founded the "Counter-Gridiron." A group of women reporters and sympathetic male reporters met regularly at her home to organize protests, she recalled. Eventually, she was the second woman invited to join the Gridiron.
Lewine was one of six plaintiffs in a sex-discrimination suit filed against the AP, which was settled out of court for $2 million and changed the news organization's policies.
Lewine was also a member of the National Press Club, Executive Women in Government and the Society of Professional Journalists. She was elected to the Washington Society of Professional Journalists' Hall of Fame and to the Hunter College Hall of Fame.
Last year, she was awarded the Missouri Honor Medal for Distinguished Service in Journalism, the highest honor bestowed by the Missouri School of Journalism.
Thursday, December 6, 2007
Mal Johnson's bio
Mal Johnson sent this resume to her friend Lyn Voss in 2006, to be used by Federally Employed Women:
MAL JOHNSON
7237 Worsley Way
Alexandria VA 22315
C A R E E R H I S T O R Y
Mal Johnson was employed by Cox Enterprises, Broadcast Division for 27 years in the Cox Washington News Bureau. After leaving the company in 2000, she created her own media consulting firm, Medialinx International, where she offers a variety of specialized media services, public service productions and training. Johnson continues to pursue her considerably active participation worldwide in the media and in the women’s movement.
Mal Johnson was the first female reporter employed in the Cox Washington News Bureau and their first correspondent assigned to the White House.. She covered five U.S. presidents, reporting extensively from numerous countries of the world. She was among the White House Press Corp when President Nixon made his historical visits to Russia and China, and his equally historic resignation from the Presidency. During her years as a reporter, she also covered Capitol Hill, the State Department and various Federal agencies. Before joining the Washington Bureau she worked at WKBS-TV, Philadelphia.
In 1980, Johnson was promoted to Senior Washington Correspondent and assigned additional duties as National Director of Community Affairs. In this management position, she established linkages with communities nationwide and produced programs reflecting community issues. Before turning to a broadcasting career, Johnson taught school, first in Philadelphia where she was born, grew up, was educated, and later taught in Europe and on Guam in the Marianas Islands of the Pacific.
Broadcasting, Civil Rights and the Feminist Movements have been the important elements of Mal Johnson’s professional career and activist work. Her service on several boards reflects her interests. She is past Vice President and current Main Representative at the United Nations of the International Association of Women In Radio and Television, an organization headquartered in India,. Johnson serves on the board of the Communications Consortium Media Center; the former Vice President of the board of the U.S. Committee for UNIFEM, Secretary of the board of the Hospital for Sick Children. Currently she is the Secretary of the board of the Gold Star Military Widows of America, and Co-chair of the National Women’s Conference. She serves on the Steering Committee of the National Council of Women’s Organizations. Johnson is a Founder of the National Association of Black Journalists and the National Broadcast Association for Community Affairs. She is a former National Chair of the American Women In Radio and Television Foundation and President of the Washington Chapter of AWRT..
Johnson participated in the U N World Conferences on Women in Mexico City, Houston, Copenhagen, Nairobi , Beijing and at the United Nations. She created Global Focus: Women In Art and Culture, a project of 880 art works that were exhibited, in Beijing, by women artists depicting issues concerning women. Johnson is a seasoned speaker and recipient of many media and civil rights activist awards. She was inducted in the Journalists Hall of Fame in 2000. A television Documentary of her life’s story is included in the Archives of the HistoryMakers of America. She is the author of numerous papers on media, co-author of “Moving History Forward: A Woman’s National Action Agenda and Co-editor of 50 Ways to Improve the Lives of Women.
Among her many awards, Johnson has been honored with the Foremothers of America Award, Trailblazer Award and the Woman of Strength Award.
Mal Johnson is the widow of an Air Force officer and shares her home with her Persian cat, Lady MacBeth..
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
audio online: Mal Johnson's interview of Wangari Maathai
To hear this, visit www.wings.org and click on Archives.
Then use your browser to search for Johnson, or just scroll down to #29-04. You need Windows Media Player. This was a really great interview Mal did for WINGS, which was re-issued when Wangari was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
Mal also gets a credit on #11-07, which was adapted down from a longer video that she helped me produce for the International Women's Roundtable. She speaks in the video, but not in the shorter radio piece.
Description of WINGS #29-04:
WANGARI MAATHAI RETROSPECTIVE Time: 29:00 From the WINGS archive, Wangari Maathai’s address to UNIFEM, September 7, 1990, recorded by Mal Johnson. Maathai explains with wit and candor the politics, the economics and the practical side of the Greenbelt Movement, including its origin in the Kenyan women’s movement. In an interview, Maathai tells Johnson about her struggle with the Kenyan ruling party over plans for a 62-story skyscraper in a public park. It was a pivotal moment for Maathai, who would go on to be beaten and jailed, then run for President, and then become Deputy Minister of Environment, Natural Resources and Wildlife when a new government finally arrived. On October 8, 2004, Maathai became the first African woman to win the Nobel Prize for Peace. Her selection reflects a new understanding in the Nobel Committee about the relationships between environment, democracy, women’s rights, and peace.
--Frieda Werden, producer, WINGS: Women's International News Gathering Service
Then use your browser to search for Johnson, or just scroll down to #29-04. You need Windows Media Player. This was a really great interview Mal did for WINGS, which was re-issued when Wangari was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
Mal also gets a credit on #11-07, which was adapted down from a longer video that she helped me produce for the International Women's Roundtable. She speaks in the video, but not in the shorter radio piece.
Description of WINGS #29-04:
WANGARI MAATHAI RETROSPECTIVE Time: 29:00 From the WINGS archive, Wangari Maathai’s address to UNIFEM, September 7, 1990, recorded by Mal Johnson. Maathai explains with wit and candor the politics, the economics and the practical side of the Greenbelt Movement, including its origin in the Kenyan women’s movement. In an interview, Maathai tells Johnson about her struggle with the Kenyan ruling party over plans for a 62-story skyscraper in a public park. It was a pivotal moment for Maathai, who would go on to be beaten and jailed, then run for President, and then become Deputy Minister of Environment, Natural Resources and Wildlife when a new government finally arrived. On October 8, 2004, Maathai became the first African woman to win the Nobel Prize for Peace. Her selection reflects a new understanding in the Nobel Committee about the relationships between environment, democracy, women’s rights, and peace.
--Frieda Werden, producer, WINGS: Women's International News Gathering Service
Mal and the National Women's Conference Committee
Mal was very active with the National Women's Conference Committee, which works to implement the results of the US's only formally conducted National Women's Conference, held in Houston in 1977. Mal isn't mentioned in this writeup of "How the National Plan of Action for Women Came Into Being," by Susanna Downie, but I'm sure she was involved.
Mal was also co-chair of the committee that organized the 20-year anniversary celebration of that Houston conference. The celebration took place in Washington DC in 1997. Bella Abzug and Betty Friedan were both still alive and they spoke and they physically passed the actual torch from the original conference to the younger generation. Mal was very wonderful at organizing events that had just enough pomp and ceremony and also time to talk. Here's a writeup about the 1997 conference, still to be found online at http://www2.edc.org/WomensEquity/edequity97/0302.html - it quotes Mal and credits her:
-----------------
Mal was really pleased to have been invited to this conference in Little Rock in October 2006, to share the podium with Bella Abzug's daughter Liz, among others. It was to plan the 30th anniversary of the 1977 Houston Women's Conference. I know Mal was very concerned about whether health would permit her to attend this Arkansas meeting for the 30th anniversary, and I can't remember if she attended or not. Perhaps a reader will post a comment about this.
http://www.nwhp.org/news/conference.php
-----------------
Note to researchers: If you start searching for "National Women's Conference Committee" as a term, you will find truly amazing activities that they have been involved in at not only national but also state levels, working to implement the National Plan of Action. A real must for any research on the impact of Mal Johnson, among others.
--------------
I first got to know Mal when I attended a meeting in St. Louis of the National Women's Conference Committee board, in I think the spring of 1992. I was looking for support for a radio project that I wanted to do. Mal and Sarah Harder liked the idea, and they put me in touch with Martha Burk as well. I think Sarah Harder, a very close friend of Mal's, was then President of what at that time was the Council of Presidents of Women's Organizations, but later evolved into the National Council of Women's Organizations. Martha Burk later became president of this group. Mal helped me design the radio project, and she worked for it, too. It wasn't possible to get any direct endorsement or support from the Council of Presidents, because it was just a coalition and not an organization in itself, but with the help of Sandy Suffian in Kansas City, we raised about $4,000 for the project from NCWO member groups, and the groups provided participants for the programs (it was a two-part series, but all recorded in one day). The project was a multi-city broadcast, with one studio a public radio studio in New York (where Marlene Sanders was the host), and one studio on Capitol Hill in Washington that was owned by the Democratic Party. We used an ISDN line that NPR owned to link those two cities, and then used the Public Radio Satellite Service to have the signal brought back live to the studio where I was monitoring and recording it, in Kansas City. I did a quick edit and released it on the Public Radio Satellite Service, as "National Women's Agenda 1992: What Women Want and How They Plan to Win It." Mal was the producer in the Washington studio.
Mal Johnson loved satellite links, and was very proud to have been involved in setting up an IntelSat satellite connection between the US and the UN's third World Conference on Women in Nairobi in 1995. (Later, she and I together toured the Worldspace satellite radio facility and also the XM satellite radio facility in Washington. And in 2005 we took the delegates from the International Association of Women in Radio & TV [IAWRT] conference on a tour of XM.)
The National Women's Agenda, referred to in the program's title, was (probably still is) an agenda agreed to annually among the various US women's organizations working in coalition - identifying, from the numerous goals in the National Women's Plan of Action, a few goals to be highlighted and worked on in the year ahead. I think the only gift Mal ever gave me (aside from her friendship and wisdom and conversation and sometimes a place to stay) was a copy of the National Women's Plan of Action, published by the US government shortly after the 1977 National Women's Conference. This was a very precious and rare treasure. Jimmy Carter, who was President in '77, was appalled by the very progressive and far-reaching conclusions in the plan, and so only a few copies were published and then the book largely disappeared. If you find a copy, and maybe in Mal's effects there will be several, don't throw it away! There was a partial version republished later, I think by WEDO (Bella Abzug's last NGO), to mark an anniversary of the conference. The Carter administration (much less the Reagan one and subsequent) refused to pony up any money for implementation of the National Women's Plan of Action, even though the Congress - thanks to Bella Abzug - had put up several million dollars to have the formal structure implemented: delegates elected at state conferences who then met in Houston and voted on the planks of the National Women's Plan of Action. It was the only formal mechanism ever put in place to determine the will of American women. Anyway, the National Women's Conference Committee went ahead and worked on implementation of the Plan every way they could given that there wasn't any money. In the end, they decided that the most cost effective way to work was at the state level. In 1992, there were committees in about 20 US states.
I'm writing this off the top of my memory - a real history needs to be written. Again, researchers, you have your work cut out for you! Mal was on the NWCC board, and as I recall in 1992 she was representing Federally Employed Women. Even though she wasn't federally employed herself, she had worked closely with women in government as she covered the federal government for Cox.
(Funny, I keep thinking that Mal will read this and that I'll call her up and she'll tell me what parts I got wrong!)
One of Mal's greatest frustrations was the inability to launch a media caucus of the National Council of Women's Organizations. She was always on the verge of doing it, but so far it never flew; she said she couldn't get it prioritized by the Council - from what I gather, they paid lip service, but they didn't put energy into mobilizing it. Mal would never usurp the President of any organization she worked with - she had a strong sense of appropriate protocol, which is probably one reason she was such a popular board member. That, and the fact that she worked like the dickens. She and I wrote a grant proposal a couple of years ago in response to a one-time Request for Proposals from the Women Donors' Network. If our plan had been funded, it would have provided $250,000 a year to put media at the top of the National Women's Agenda for four years, funding media events at the national level and local levels for the member organizations to work with the democratic media movement. What made it possible to even write NCWO into such a proposal was the fact that NCWO finally had an executive director, who could structurally make a decision to be part of a proposal without having to get separate approval from every group in the large coalition. We got some serious consideration from WDN for that proposal, but in the end the money went to a group that trains people to write and place op-eds for newspapers. Nevertheless, the fact that a substantial amount of money had been offered for a project related to women and media did raise the heads of the feminist leaders a bit to note this issue. Eventually, I believe media will reach the top level of priorities for the US women's movement. Mal would be pleased. In 2005, she arranged for IAWRT delegates to have a sit-down luncheon with NCWO member organization representatives, to discuss the value of media for women's organizations.
- Frieda Werden
Mal was also co-chair of the committee that organized the 20-year anniversary celebration of that Houston conference. The celebration took place in Washington DC in 1997. Bella Abzug and Betty Friedan were both still alive and they spoke and they physically passed the actual torch from the original conference to the younger generation. Mal was very wonderful at organizing events that had just enough pomp and ceremony and also time to talk. Here's a writeup about the 1997 conference, still to be found online at http://www2.edc.org/WomensEquity/edequity97/0302.html - it quotes Mal and credits her:
>NWC BRIEFING
>Volume I Number 1
>17 August 1997
>
>NWCC CELEBRATES 20th ANNIVERSARY OF HOUSTON
>
>The National Women's Conference Committee is planning a
>national conference to celebrate the historic 1977 Spirit of
>Houston Conference on Women. The Houston Conference attracted
>20,000 delegates and observers, the largest gathering of women
>ever held in the United States, hosted by three former First
>Ladies, Lady Bird Johnson, Betty Ford and Rosalynn Carter.
>The 20th Anniversary of that event will be held at The
>Georgetown University Conference Center in Washington D.C.
>November 20-23, 1997.
>
>Participants from throughout the United States will come
>together to assess the progress made toward implementing the
>National Plan of Action, the document of the Houston Conference.
>It will provide an opportunity to recognize the veterans of the
>women's movement and celebrate the successful efforts that serve
>to improve the lives of women and their families. The dialogue
>of the conference will produce a substantive report that will
>document the work of non-government organizations from Houston
>to Beijing and beyond.
>
>The President's Interagency Council on Women is in the process
>of producing a National Action Agenda that will guide the
>United States in follow-up and implementation of the Platform
>for Action, focusing on 12 general issues as described in the
>official document of the 1995 Fourth World Conference on Women
>held in Beijing in September, 1995. The National Action Agenda
>is a compilation of recommendations expressed by thousands of
>women nationwide during a White House satellite conference
>hosted by First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton one year after the
>Beijing conference. The report will be presented at the 20th
>Anniversary Conference for the first time in an open forum.
>
>Conference Committee Chair Mal Johnson says, "We view the
>20th Anniversary Celebration of the Houston Conference as an
>opportunity for the women of America to assess issues that
>require additional attention to further improve the status
>of women."
>
>Members of the National Women's Conference Committee,
>non-government organizations, students and federally-employed
>women are expected to participate in the Conference.
>
>For further information and registration, contact:
>
>Mal Johnson, Conference Co-Chair
>2020 Pennsylvania Avenue N.W., Suite 267
>Washington, DC 20006
>Phone/Fax: 703.922.4468
>Email: natwom@usa.net
>
>OR visit our Web site at http://www.natwom.org
>
-----------------
Mal was really pleased to have been invited to this conference in Little Rock in October 2006, to share the podium with Bella Abzug's daughter Liz, among others. It was to plan the 30th anniversary of the 1977 Houston Women's Conference. I know Mal was very concerned about whether health would permit her to attend this Arkansas meeting for the 30th anniversary, and I can't remember if she attended or not. Perhaps a reader will post a comment about this.
http://www.nwhp.org/news/conference.php
-----------------
Note to researchers: If you start searching for "National Women's Conference Committee" as a term, you will find truly amazing activities that they have been involved in at not only national but also state levels, working to implement the National Plan of Action. A real must for any research on the impact of Mal Johnson, among others.
--------------
I first got to know Mal when I attended a meeting in St. Louis of the National Women's Conference Committee board, in I think the spring of 1992. I was looking for support for a radio project that I wanted to do. Mal and Sarah Harder liked the idea, and they put me in touch with Martha Burk as well. I think Sarah Harder, a very close friend of Mal's, was then President of what at that time was the Council of Presidents of Women's Organizations, but later evolved into the National Council of Women's Organizations. Martha Burk later became president of this group. Mal helped me design the radio project, and she worked for it, too. It wasn't possible to get any direct endorsement or support from the Council of Presidents, because it was just a coalition and not an organization in itself, but with the help of Sandy Suffian in Kansas City, we raised about $4,000 for the project from NCWO member groups, and the groups provided participants for the programs (it was a two-part series, but all recorded in one day). The project was a multi-city broadcast, with one studio a public radio studio in New York (where Marlene Sanders was the host), and one studio on Capitol Hill in Washington that was owned by the Democratic Party. We used an ISDN line that NPR owned to link those two cities, and then used the Public Radio Satellite Service to have the signal brought back live to the studio where I was monitoring and recording it, in Kansas City. I did a quick edit and released it on the Public Radio Satellite Service, as "National Women's Agenda 1992: What Women Want and How They Plan to Win It." Mal was the producer in the Washington studio.
Mal Johnson loved satellite links, and was very proud to have been involved in setting up an IntelSat satellite connection between the US and the UN's third World Conference on Women in Nairobi in 1995. (Later, she and I together toured the Worldspace satellite radio facility and also the XM satellite radio facility in Washington. And in 2005 we took the delegates from the International Association of Women in Radio & TV [IAWRT] conference on a tour of XM.)
The National Women's Agenda, referred to in the program's title, was (probably still is) an agenda agreed to annually among the various US women's organizations working in coalition - identifying, from the numerous goals in the National Women's Plan of Action, a few goals to be highlighted and worked on in the year ahead. I think the only gift Mal ever gave me (aside from her friendship and wisdom and conversation and sometimes a place to stay) was a copy of the National Women's Plan of Action, published by the US government shortly after the 1977 National Women's Conference. This was a very precious and rare treasure. Jimmy Carter, who was President in '77, was appalled by the very progressive and far-reaching conclusions in the plan, and so only a few copies were published and then the book largely disappeared. If you find a copy, and maybe in Mal's effects there will be several, don't throw it away! There was a partial version republished later, I think by WEDO (Bella Abzug's last NGO), to mark an anniversary of the conference. The Carter administration (much less the Reagan one and subsequent) refused to pony up any money for implementation of the National Women's Plan of Action, even though the Congress - thanks to Bella Abzug - had put up several million dollars to have the formal structure implemented: delegates elected at state conferences who then met in Houston and voted on the planks of the National Women's Plan of Action. It was the only formal mechanism ever put in place to determine the will of American women. Anyway, the National Women's Conference Committee went ahead and worked on implementation of the Plan every way they could given that there wasn't any money. In the end, they decided that the most cost effective way to work was at the state level. In 1992, there were committees in about 20 US states.
I'm writing this off the top of my memory - a real history needs to be written. Again, researchers, you have your work cut out for you! Mal was on the NWCC board, and as I recall in 1992 she was representing Federally Employed Women. Even though she wasn't federally employed herself, she had worked closely with women in government as she covered the federal government for Cox.
(Funny, I keep thinking that Mal will read this and that I'll call her up and she'll tell me what parts I got wrong!)
One of Mal's greatest frustrations was the inability to launch a media caucus of the National Council of Women's Organizations. She was always on the verge of doing it, but so far it never flew; she said she couldn't get it prioritized by the Council - from what I gather, they paid lip service, but they didn't put energy into mobilizing it. Mal would never usurp the President of any organization she worked with - she had a strong sense of appropriate protocol, which is probably one reason she was such a popular board member. That, and the fact that she worked like the dickens. She and I wrote a grant proposal a couple of years ago in response to a one-time Request for Proposals from the Women Donors' Network. If our plan had been funded, it would have provided $250,000 a year to put media at the top of the National Women's Agenda for four years, funding media events at the national level and local levels for the member organizations to work with the democratic media movement. What made it possible to even write NCWO into such a proposal was the fact that NCWO finally had an executive director, who could structurally make a decision to be part of a proposal without having to get separate approval from every group in the large coalition. We got some serious consideration from WDN for that proposal, but in the end the money went to a group that trains people to write and place op-eds for newspapers. Nevertheless, the fact that a substantial amount of money had been offered for a project related to women and media did raise the heads of the feminist leaders a bit to note this issue. Eventually, I believe media will reach the top level of priorities for the US women's movement. Mal would be pleased. In 2005, she arranged for IAWRT delegates to have a sit-down luncheon with NCWO member organization representatives, to discuss the value of media for women's organizations.
- Frieda Werden
Philadelphia Association of Black Journalist memorial
I've reprinted the text below, but you should go to the original website, which includes a slide show and other links http://pabj.blogspot.com/
PABJ is mourning, and remembering the proud spirit, ingenuity, and legacy of Mal Johnson, who passed away last month at the age of 85. Mal was one of the original founders of the Philadelphia Association of Black Journalists, and like many of her group, later help to found the National Association of Black Journalists. Although Mal worked and lived in Washington D.C. during her later years, many of our members will have memories of her from our 2006 Banquet from our 2006 Banquet, where she received a PABJ Trailblazer Award.
PABJ President Monique Oliver shared her memories upon learning of her passing. "Mal was a wonderful person and a 2006 PABJ Trailblazer. She taught me a few things about broadcasting while I talked with her in preparation for the 2006 banquet. I am glad to have known her." Her feelings were shared by PABJ Parliamentarian Melanie Burney, "I'm so glad that we honored her when we did. I wish I had spent more time with her.". I'm sure many of PABJ's membership feels the same. As Monique and Melanie already have, please share your memories of Mal by leaving a personal message or memory about Mal in the comments section.
We'll share some of the best of these at November's meeting.
PABJ is mourning, and remembering the proud spirit, ingenuity, and legacy of Mal Johnson, who passed away last month at the age of 85. Mal was one of the original founders of the Philadelphia Association of Black Journalists, and like many of her group, later help to found the National Association of Black Journalists. Although Mal worked and lived in Washington D.C. during her later years, many of our members will have memories of her from our 2006 Banquet from our 2006 Banquet, where she received a PABJ Trailblazer Award.
PABJ President Monique Oliver shared her memories upon learning of her passing. "Mal was a wonderful person and a 2006 PABJ Trailblazer. She taught me a few things about broadcasting while I talked with her in preparation for the 2006 banquet. I am glad to have known her." Her feelings were shared by PABJ Parliamentarian Melanie Burney, "I'm so glad that we honored her when we did. I wish I had spent more time with her.". I'm sure many of PABJ's membership feels the same. As Monique and Melanie already have, please share your memories of Mal by leaving a personal message or memory about Mal in the comments section.
We'll share some of the best of these at November's meeting.
Mal spoke to the Clearinghouse on Women's Issues
Mal spoke to all sorts of gatherings, from a gala NABJ dinner where she was given an award by President Bill Clinton, to this brown bag lunch at the Clearinghouse on Women's Issues described at www.womensclearinghouse.org/public/papers/news06jan.pdf:
Clearinghouse on Women's Issues
P.O. Box 70603, Friendship Heights, MD 20813 Tel: 202 338-4820
Website: www.womensclearinghouse.org
JANUARY 2006
_________________________________________________________________________
Women in the Media: At Home and Abroad
Whether we rely on newspapers, magazines, television or radio, we are all dependent on the media to provide information and keep us in touch with the world from domestic politics, science, health or fashion to international issues. The roles of reporters, editors and management in the media are of great importance in shaping what is covered and how it is transmitted to us and to governments around the globe. We need to be aware of the position of women and how they are faring in their careers in various fields of the media. Our speakers reflect widely diverse backgrounds and varied careers in journalism:
Bonnie Erbe is well known as founder, producer, and moderator of To the Contrary on public television and radio, a very popular weekend program discussing women's issues as viewed by an always lively panel of liberal and conservative women. She also writes a weekly column in 400 papers, has a law degree, and has covered major economic and political issues in the press.
Mal Johnson was the first African American female journalist employed by Cox Broadcasting and covered five US. Presidents for them over 27 years. She was the founder of the National Association of Black Journalists and has been a leader in many feminist organizations. She attended all the U.N. Conferences on Women and recently organized a conference for 58 women journalists from around the world.
SPEAKERS:BONNIE ERBE, Host, To the Contrary
MAL JOHNSON, Int’l Association of Women in Radio and Television
TOPIC:Women in the Media: At Home and Abroad
DATE/TIME:Tuesday, January 24, 2006 / 12 noon – 1:30 p.m.
PLACE: American Council on Education One Dupont Circle, 8thFloor, Kellogg Room
Bring brown bag lunch...
Clearinghouse on Women's Issues
P.O. Box 70603, Friendship Heights, MD 20813 Tel: 202 338-4820
Website: www.womensclearinghouse.org
JANUARY 2006
_________________________________________________________________________
Women in the Media: At Home and Abroad
Whether we rely on newspapers, magazines, television or radio, we are all dependent on the media to provide information and keep us in touch with the world from domestic politics, science, health or fashion to international issues. The roles of reporters, editors and management in the media are of great importance in shaping what is covered and how it is transmitted to us and to governments around the globe. We need to be aware of the position of women and how they are faring in their careers in various fields of the media. Our speakers reflect widely diverse backgrounds and varied careers in journalism:
Bonnie Erbe is well known as founder, producer, and moderator of To the Contrary on public television and radio, a very popular weekend program discussing women's issues as viewed by an always lively panel of liberal and conservative women. She also writes a weekly column in 400 papers, has a law degree, and has covered major economic and political issues in the press.
Mal Johnson was the first African American female journalist employed by Cox Broadcasting and covered five US. Presidents for them over 27 years. She was the founder of the National Association of Black Journalists and has been a leader in many feminist organizations. She attended all the U.N. Conferences on Women and recently organized a conference for 58 women journalists from around the world.
SPEAKERS:BONNIE ERBE, Host, To the Contrary
MAL JOHNSON, Int’l Association of Women in Radio and Television
TOPIC:Women in the Media: At Home and Abroad
DATE/TIME:Tuesday, January 24, 2006 / 12 noon – 1:30 p.m.
PLACE: American Council on Education One Dupont Circle, 8thFloor, Kellogg Room
Bring brown bag lunch...
Unity Journalists pick up NABJ obituary
http://www.unityjournalists.org/newsletter/unews110607.php
The Unity Journalists website repeats the article found early in this blog from the National Association of Black Journalists. Unity is a broader-based conference of minority journalists' organizations that meet together periodically, including the NABJ. Mal was very proud of this coalition-building of the NABJ.
The main website for Unity Journalists of Color is http://www.unityjournalists.org/
You can read there about their next conference coming up in Chicago in July 2008.
The partner groups are the Asian American Journalists Association, the
National Association of Black Journalists, the National Association
of Hispanic Journalists, and the Native American Journalists Association.
The Unity Journalists website repeats the article found early in this blog from the National Association of Black Journalists. Unity is a broader-based conference of minority journalists' organizations that meet together periodically, including the NABJ. Mal was very proud of this coalition-building of the NABJ.
The main website for Unity Journalists of Color is http://www.unityjournalists.org/
You can read there about their next conference coming up in Chicago in July 2008.
UNITY: Journalists of Color Inc., a strategic alliance representing more than 10,000 journalists of color, today selected Chicago as the tentative host city for its fourth joint conference in 2008...
The partner groups are the Asian American Journalists Association, the
National Association of Black Journalists, the National Association
of Hispanic Journalists, and the Native American Journalists Association.
Women's Lens notes Mal's passing
A repeat of the Feminist Majority obituary appears on the web blog:
WOMEN'S LENS
A modern American Sephardic Jewess examines her world
The posting is by Aimee Kligman, née Dassa
WOMEN'S LENS
A modern American Sephardic Jewess examines her world
The posting is by Aimee Kligman, née Dassa
Women's Institute for Freedom of the Press tribute
Mal was very very fond of Dr. Martha Allen, daughter of Mal's great friend and fellow feminist journalist, Dr. Donna Allen. Martha continues Donna's work with the Women's Institute for Freedom of the Press, of which Mal remained an associate until her death. Mal made a decision to give her papers to the Women Journalists collection at the University of Missouri, because they had a collection of Donna Allen's papers there. -FW
The original of the following can be found at:
http://www.wifp.org/associatesonlinenews.html#mj
Mal Johnson
We at WIFP are sad that Mal Johnson is no longer with us but I can't help remember how she used to speak of all the great women who went on to "feminist heaven." Well that certainly would be where Mal is right now.
Celebrate the Life of Mal Johnson: A Tribute and Memorial to Her Life and Accomplishments
Friday, November 30, 2007, 3 p.m.
National Press Club
First Amendment Lounge
13th Floor
529 14th Street NW
Washington, D.C.
Mal Johnson began her career as a television reporter at the former WKBS-TV in Philadelphia. The first female reporter hired by Cox Radio and Television News, she moved to Washington and traveled the world over the course of her 27 years with the company.
As Cox’s White House correspondent, Mal covered five presidents, Capitol Hill, the State Department and various federal agencies. Upon her retirement, Mal established a consulting firm, Medialinx International.
Mal dedicated her time to women's rights, and freedom of expression in the United States and around the world. She served on many boards, including all of the host organizations. She was a founding member of the National Association of Black Journalists.
Host Organizations:
National Council of Women’s Organizations
Communications Consortium Media Center
U.S. Committee for UNIFEM
International Association of Women in Radio and Television
Please R.S.V.P. to Donna Morris at (202) 715-0387 or dmorris@ccmc.org.
__________
The following is a release from the National Council of Women's Organizations where Mal was very in recent years. They have set up a "Sistership Program" in her honor.
NCWO Mourns the Loss of Pioneering Journalist and Feminist Leader Mal Johnson
October 30, 2007, Washington, DC – The National Council of Women’s Organizations is deeply saddened by the passing of Mal Johnson on Sunday, October 28. Ms. Johnson served on NCWO’s Executive Committee and chaired its Global Issues Task Force, where she was an exceptionally effective liaison for women’s rights to embassies from around the world. Ms. Johnson also edited NCWO’s recent publication, 50 Ways to Improve Women’s Lives: The Essential Women’s Guide to Achieving Equality, Health and Success.
Mal Johnson began her career as a television reporter at the former WKBS in Philadelphia. The first female reporter hired by Cox Radio and Television News, she moved to Washington and traveled the world over the course of her 27 years there. As Cox’s White House correspondent, Ms. Johnson covered five presidents as well as Capitol Hill, the State Department, and various Federal agencies. In 1980, she was promoted to Senior Washington Correspondent and assigned additional duties as National Director of Community Affairs.
In addition to her leadership role at the National Council, Ms. Johnson served on many boards, including the International Association of Women in Radio & Television and the Communications Consortium Media Center. She was a founding member of the Philadelphia Association of Black Journalists, the National Association of Black Journalists, and the National Broadcast Association for Community Affairs. She is the former National Chair of the American Women in Radio and Television Foundation. Inducted into the Journalists Hall of Fame in 2000, a television documentary of her life is in the archives of the History Makers of America. Upon her retirement, Ms. Johnson established a consulting firm, Medialinx International, and pursued a career as a volunteer leader for women’s rights, especially for women of color and international women.
NCWO Chair Susan Scanlan noted that, “The National Council of Women’s Organizations—and the world—has lost an important piece of our history. Even as an octogenarian and challenged by illness, Mal never retired from the fight for feminism and fairness. She was a dignified and forceful leader who inspired so many young women, especially women of color. For that reason, we are pleased to announce the creation of the Mal Johnson Sistership Program to provide a paid fellowship, or “sistership,” for young women of color at NCWO. How proud and delighted Mal would be to hand a deserving young woman the opportunity to participate in public policymaking at its source!”
Thanks go to Ms. Johnson’s many friends, especially Tesa Leon, for suggesting this leadership development initiative in her honor. More information on NCWO’s Mal Johnson Sistership Program will be provided at an upcoming press conference and memorial ceremony to be announced soon.
####
The National Council of Women's Organizations (NCWO) is a nonpartisan, nonprofit coalition of more than 230 women's organizations across the nation collectively representing over eleven million women. Since 1983, NCWO has convened the leadership of major women's organizations dedicated to focusing on national and international issues and public policy agendas affecting women and girls.
The original of the following can be found at:
http://www.wifp.org/associatesonlinenews.html#mj
Mal Johnson
We at WIFP are sad that Mal Johnson is no longer with us but I can't help remember how she used to speak of all the great women who went on to "feminist heaven." Well that certainly would be where Mal is right now.
Celebrate the Life of Mal Johnson: A Tribute and Memorial to Her Life and Accomplishments
Friday, November 30, 2007, 3 p.m.
National Press Club
First Amendment Lounge
13th Floor
529 14th Street NW
Washington, D.C.
Mal Johnson began her career as a television reporter at the former WKBS-TV in Philadelphia. The first female reporter hired by Cox Radio and Television News, she moved to Washington and traveled the world over the course of her 27 years with the company.
As Cox’s White House correspondent, Mal covered five presidents, Capitol Hill, the State Department and various federal agencies. Upon her retirement, Mal established a consulting firm, Medialinx International.
Mal dedicated her time to women's rights, and freedom of expression in the United States and around the world. She served on many boards, including all of the host organizations. She was a founding member of the National Association of Black Journalists.
Host Organizations:
National Council of Women’s Organizations
Communications Consortium Media Center
U.S. Committee for UNIFEM
International Association of Women in Radio and Television
Please R.S.V.P. to Donna Morris at (202) 715-0387 or dmorris@ccmc.org.
__________
The following is a release from the National Council of Women's Organizations where Mal was very in recent years. They have set up a "Sistership Program" in her honor.
NCWO Mourns the Loss of Pioneering Journalist and Feminist Leader Mal Johnson
October 30, 2007, Washington, DC – The National Council of Women’s Organizations is deeply saddened by the passing of Mal Johnson on Sunday, October 28. Ms. Johnson served on NCWO’s Executive Committee and chaired its Global Issues Task Force, where she was an exceptionally effective liaison for women’s rights to embassies from around the world. Ms. Johnson also edited NCWO’s recent publication, 50 Ways to Improve Women’s Lives: The Essential Women’s Guide to Achieving Equality, Health and Success.
Mal Johnson began her career as a television reporter at the former WKBS in Philadelphia. The first female reporter hired by Cox Radio and Television News, she moved to Washington and traveled the world over the course of her 27 years there. As Cox’s White House correspondent, Ms. Johnson covered five presidents as well as Capitol Hill, the State Department, and various Federal agencies. In 1980, she was promoted to Senior Washington Correspondent and assigned additional duties as National Director of Community Affairs.
In addition to her leadership role at the National Council, Ms. Johnson served on many boards, including the International Association of Women in Radio & Television and the Communications Consortium Media Center. She was a founding member of the Philadelphia Association of Black Journalists, the National Association of Black Journalists, and the National Broadcast Association for Community Affairs. She is the former National Chair of the American Women in Radio and Television Foundation. Inducted into the Journalists Hall of Fame in 2000, a television documentary of her life is in the archives of the History Makers of America. Upon her retirement, Ms. Johnson established a consulting firm, Medialinx International, and pursued a career as a volunteer leader for women’s rights, especially for women of color and international women.
NCWO Chair Susan Scanlan noted that, “The National Council of Women’s Organizations—and the world—has lost an important piece of our history. Even as an octogenarian and challenged by illness, Mal never retired from the fight for feminism and fairness. She was a dignified and forceful leader who inspired so many young women, especially women of color. For that reason, we are pleased to announce the creation of the Mal Johnson Sistership Program to provide a paid fellowship, or “sistership,” for young women of color at NCWO. How proud and delighted Mal would be to hand a deserving young woman the opportunity to participate in public policymaking at its source!”
Thanks go to Ms. Johnson’s many friends, especially Tesa Leon, for suggesting this leadership development initiative in her honor. More information on NCWO’s Mal Johnson Sistership Program will be provided at an upcoming press conference and memorial ceremony to be announced soon.
####
The National Council of Women's Organizations (NCWO) is a nonpartisan, nonprofit coalition of more than 230 women's organizations across the nation collectively representing over eleven million women. Since 1983, NCWO has convened the leadership of major women's organizations dedicated to focusing on national and international issues and public policy agendas affecting women and girls.
Mike McQueen remembers Mal's toughness from NABJ
This is from the Diversity Blog: http://www.spj.org/blog/blogs/diversity/archive/2007/11/03/9353.aspx
Dedicated to Mal Johnson, NABJ founder
I was a 25-year-old reporter for The Associated Press when I first heard about the National Association of Black Journalists. I was based in Tallahassee, Florida, as the state's chief political writer and correspondent for the AP, so I got invited to a number of journalism-related social events. One of them was a dinner with Bob McGruder, the late executive editor of The Detroit Free Press. He had just finished a speaking engagement at Florida A&M University's journalism school.
"Are you going to the convention," Bob asked me as I took a seat across from him in an Italian restaurant.
"Convention?"
"The NABJ convention. Don't tell me you're not a member."
"Never heard of it," I said.
"Well, now you have," Bob replied.
So my wife, who was in graduate school studying mass communication at the time, and I drove to New Orleans, site of the 1984 convention. I had never been to New Orleans -- yes, I was too "square" to go to Madri Gras when I was in college -- and was looking forward to the city's magic. It was one of the country's "Chocolate Cities," with a majority-black population, a black mayor, a powerful black political class, two black colleges and a large black middle class.
I pulled up to the front of the hotel. A short man, also black, looked at me with disdain as I got out of the car and handed him the keys.
"What the hell you want me to do with these," he said, handing the keys back to me.
He had on a shirt that indicated he worked for the hotel. And he was standing by a sign that said "Valet parking."
"Aren't you the valet?"
"You don't have money for a tip. Park across the street in the lot."
Whoa! That was pretty rude. Glenda, my wife, calmed me down and said let's just park the car and don't cuss that man out, Mike. I parked, walked into the hotel and found the NABJ registration desk. I was excited about going to my first convention. I was still pretty green as a journalist, even though I had been promoted often and early, and the only famous black journalist I knew up to that point had been Reg Stuart, then the Southern correspondent for The New York Times.
Another of those famous journalists was in front of me at the registration desk. I knew that Mal Johnson was a pioneering reporter in Washington, D.C. I didn't know at that moment that she was among the founders; heck, I barely knew the current officers (I didn't know at that moment that Mal was treasurer) let alone the founders.
I had mailed the registration fees for me and Glenda to the required address about two weeks earlier.
"McQueen," I announced. "Michael and Glenda McQueen."
Mal didn't bother to search the file. "Why are you telling me your name?" she asked.
"I thought you needed that to look up my registration material," I said.
"No need to. You're not registered. I know everyone who is and you're not. Now, when you're tired of playing games with me and want to pay your rightful money for you and your lady friend.."
"That's my wife!" I interrupted.
"..your little friend there, let me know. Otherwise, move aside while I handle the paying customers."
Then she turned her attention to someone else. I was fuming. I knew that I had sent the materials in. I walked toward a pay phone, although I had no idea who I could call, and then I came back to the registration desk.
"Look. I'm registered," I said, slowly. "Look through your list for my name."
"No," Mal said.
"No?"
"Yes, no. I know your name. It was on your check. The check bounced. As if you didn't know that. So we don't have any money from you. Now, I was trying not to call you out in front of all these people."
Mal said I would have to pay on the spot. I thought she was rude as hell and, combined with the reception I had received from the valet, I began to think that maybe I didn't belong in NABJ.
I found out that Mal Johnson was rough on everyone. She held NABJ together during his formative years by dealing sternly with threats to its revenue base. My returned check represented a threat to NABJ's revenue base. So as far as Mal was concerned, I was the enemy.
Mal was treasurer for eight years. Sadly, my first year with NABJ was Mal's last as treasurer. Members, perhaps a little fed-up with Mal's heavy-handed style, elected Tom Morgan of The New York Times for that position. Tom, an eloquent speaker with movie-star looks, promised member customer service and transparency. Mal promised to ward off all threats to NABJ's revenue base and reminded members -- many of whom were like me, young with no ties to the Old Guard -- that if it were not for her, there would not be an NABJ. The scoundrels that you people elected to office -- she said, no doubt shaking her head from side-to-side -- would have long since led this organization into bankruptcy.
Again, I had no attachment to the Old Guard. Tom was closer to our age and he represented the future. Mal slowly tapered off her activities with NABJ and by the time I joined the NABJ board of directors three years later as director for the Southeast, I had stopped seeing Mal. Maybe she was at the conventions, but I was too busy fronting as a big-shot to notice.
As many of you know, Mal died last week in Fairfax County, Virginia. She was suffering from diabetes. She was 85.
There are a lot of NABJ members who have far more star appeal than Mal. She was a worker, a field hand, if you will permit me to use that term in the context of a fellow African-American. She made the operation work. She knew that she would be unpopular, that some might even hate her. But she knew she had a larger obligation to ensure the future of the enterprise and to make sure young black journalists -- so many of whom, like me in 1984, needed to wrap ourselves in the warmth and love of fellow black journalists so that we could endure the travails of working in nearly all-white newsrooms -- had a place each year to call home, to say that hundreds, and now thousands, of fellow black journalists were "family."
Yes, I had a rude introduction to NABJ. But that lasted only an hour or so. Since then, I and thousands of other black journalists, have received so many blessings from NABJ. I personally received two job offers at conventions, following through on one. Many of us will never be able to repay our debt to the organization. I can go into any large city in this country, pick up the phone and call a fellow NABJ member. They won't make excuses about being too busy for a meal or a drink or just a quick visit to their office. We're family. NABJ family.
This is what Mal helped protect. And it is the legacy of Mal Johnson -- putting NABJ before self -- that continues to fuel the organization.
Rest in peace, Sister Mal.
Published Saturday, November 03, 2007 6:31 PM by MikeMcQueen
Dedicated to Mal Johnson, NABJ founder
I was a 25-year-old reporter for The Associated Press when I first heard about the National Association of Black Journalists. I was based in Tallahassee, Florida, as the state's chief political writer and correspondent for the AP, so I got invited to a number of journalism-related social events. One of them was a dinner with Bob McGruder, the late executive editor of The Detroit Free Press. He had just finished a speaking engagement at Florida A&M University's journalism school.
"Are you going to the convention," Bob asked me as I took a seat across from him in an Italian restaurant.
"Convention?"
"The NABJ convention. Don't tell me you're not a member."
"Never heard of it," I said.
"Well, now you have," Bob replied.
So my wife, who was in graduate school studying mass communication at the time, and I drove to New Orleans, site of the 1984 convention. I had never been to New Orleans -- yes, I was too "square" to go to Madri Gras when I was in college -- and was looking forward to the city's magic. It was one of the country's "Chocolate Cities," with a majority-black population, a black mayor, a powerful black political class, two black colleges and a large black middle class.
I pulled up to the front of the hotel. A short man, also black, looked at me with disdain as I got out of the car and handed him the keys.
"What the hell you want me to do with these," he said, handing the keys back to me.
He had on a shirt that indicated he worked for the hotel. And he was standing by a sign that said "Valet parking."
"Aren't you the valet?"
"You don't have money for a tip. Park across the street in the lot."
Whoa! That was pretty rude. Glenda, my wife, calmed me down and said let's just park the car and don't cuss that man out, Mike. I parked, walked into the hotel and found the NABJ registration desk. I was excited about going to my first convention. I was still pretty green as a journalist, even though I had been promoted often and early, and the only famous black journalist I knew up to that point had been Reg Stuart, then the Southern correspondent for The New York Times.
Another of those famous journalists was in front of me at the registration desk. I knew that Mal Johnson was a pioneering reporter in Washington, D.C. I didn't know at that moment that she was among the founders; heck, I barely knew the current officers (I didn't know at that moment that Mal was treasurer) let alone the founders.
I had mailed the registration fees for me and Glenda to the required address about two weeks earlier.
"McQueen," I announced. "Michael and Glenda McQueen."
Mal didn't bother to search the file. "Why are you telling me your name?" she asked.
"I thought you needed that to look up my registration material," I said.
"No need to. You're not registered. I know everyone who is and you're not. Now, when you're tired of playing games with me and want to pay your rightful money for you and your lady friend.."
"That's my wife!" I interrupted.
"..your little friend there, let me know. Otherwise, move aside while I handle the paying customers."
Then she turned her attention to someone else. I was fuming. I knew that I had sent the materials in. I walked toward a pay phone, although I had no idea who I could call, and then I came back to the registration desk.
"Look. I'm registered," I said, slowly. "Look through your list for my name."
"No," Mal said.
"No?"
"Yes, no. I know your name. It was on your check. The check bounced. As if you didn't know that. So we don't have any money from you. Now, I was trying not to call you out in front of all these people."
Mal said I would have to pay on the spot. I thought she was rude as hell and, combined with the reception I had received from the valet, I began to think that maybe I didn't belong in NABJ.
I found out that Mal Johnson was rough on everyone. She held NABJ together during his formative years by dealing sternly with threats to its revenue base. My returned check represented a threat to NABJ's revenue base. So as far as Mal was concerned, I was the enemy.
Mal was treasurer for eight years. Sadly, my first year with NABJ was Mal's last as treasurer. Members, perhaps a little fed-up with Mal's heavy-handed style, elected Tom Morgan of The New York Times for that position. Tom, an eloquent speaker with movie-star looks, promised member customer service and transparency. Mal promised to ward off all threats to NABJ's revenue base and reminded members -- many of whom were like me, young with no ties to the Old Guard -- that if it were not for her, there would not be an NABJ. The scoundrels that you people elected to office -- she said, no doubt shaking her head from side-to-side -- would have long since led this organization into bankruptcy.
Again, I had no attachment to the Old Guard. Tom was closer to our age and he represented the future. Mal slowly tapered off her activities with NABJ and by the time I joined the NABJ board of directors three years later as director for the Southeast, I had stopped seeing Mal. Maybe she was at the conventions, but I was too busy fronting as a big-shot to notice.
As many of you know, Mal died last week in Fairfax County, Virginia. She was suffering from diabetes. She was 85.
There are a lot of NABJ members who have far more star appeal than Mal. She was a worker, a field hand, if you will permit me to use that term in the context of a fellow African-American. She made the operation work. She knew that she would be unpopular, that some might even hate her. But she knew she had a larger obligation to ensure the future of the enterprise and to make sure young black journalists -- so many of whom, like me in 1984, needed to wrap ourselves in the warmth and love of fellow black journalists so that we could endure the travails of working in nearly all-white newsrooms -- had a place each year to call home, to say that hundreds, and now thousands, of fellow black journalists were "family."
Yes, I had a rude introduction to NABJ. But that lasted only an hour or so. Since then, I and thousands of other black journalists, have received so many blessings from NABJ. I personally received two job offers at conventions, following through on one. Many of us will never be able to repay our debt to the organization. I can go into any large city in this country, pick up the phone and call a fellow NABJ member. They won't make excuses about being too busy for a meal or a drink or just a quick visit to their office. We're family. NABJ family.
This is what Mal helped protect. And it is the legacy of Mal Johnson -- putting NABJ before self -- that continues to fuel the organization.
Rest in peace, Sister Mal.
Published Saturday, November 03, 2007 6:31 PM by MikeMcQueen
Feminist Majority on Mal Johnson
This was published on a very neat website called the Feminist Daily News Wire. Feminist Majority is the same outfit that now publishes Ms. Magazine. http://feminist.org/news/newsbyte/uswirestory.asp?id=10640
Feminist Daily News Wire
November 1, 2007
Pioneer Feminist Journalist Dies; Paid Sistership in Her Honor
Mal Johnson, who was the first woman reporter hired by Cox Radio and Television New, died over the past weekend. As Cox’s White House correspondent, Johnson covered five presidents, as well as Capitol Hill, the State Department, and various federal agencies. The National Council of Women’s Organizations (NCWO) announced that creation of the Mal Johnson Sisterhood Program, to provide a paid fellowship, or sister-ship, for young women of color at NCWO.
"I served with Mal Johnson on many a project, panel, and board. I never knew her age – only knew I could count on her to fight for women, people of color, and justice. She knew media and Washington inside out, and helped countless people," said Ellie Smeal, president of the Feminist Majority Foundation.
Johnson was a champion of women’s rights and civil rights. She served in the executive committee of the National Council of Women’s Organizations, the International Association of Women in Radio and Television and the Communications Consortium Media Center. She was a founding member of the National Association of Black Journalists and former national chair of the American Women in Radio and Television Foundation.
Media Resources: Feminist Majority Foundation
Feminist Daily News Wire
November 1, 2007
Pioneer Feminist Journalist Dies; Paid Sistership in Her Honor
Mal Johnson, who was the first woman reporter hired by Cox Radio and Television New, died over the past weekend. As Cox’s White House correspondent, Johnson covered five presidents, as well as Capitol Hill, the State Department, and various federal agencies. The National Council of Women’s Organizations (NCWO) announced that creation of the Mal Johnson Sisterhood Program, to provide a paid fellowship, or sister-ship, for young women of color at NCWO.
"I served with Mal Johnson on many a project, panel, and board. I never knew her age – only knew I could count on her to fight for women, people of color, and justice. She knew media and Washington inside out, and helped countless people," said Ellie Smeal, president of the Feminist Majority Foundation.
Johnson was a champion of women’s rights and civil rights. She served in the executive committee of the National Council of Women’s Organizations, the International Association of Women in Radio and Television and the Communications Consortium Media Center. She was a founding member of the National Association of Black Journalists and former national chair of the American Women in Radio and Television Foundation.
Media Resources: Feminist Majority Foundation
Mal Johnson honored as a Foremother
Here's a link to a pdf page - so I can't copy it into this blog. http://www.center4research.org/pdf/nwsltr10-fall06.pdf
It describes the honorees at the 2006 Foremothers luncheon. I remember Mal was very proud of this honor and mentioned it often in the last year. She's shown in a black and white group photo, and the details are a bit different than some of the other writeups. It mentions that she was friends with Barbara Walters, and that besides the White House she covered the State Department and other other federal agencies. She worked for Cox for 27 years starting in 1969 and was promoted to Senior Washington Correspondent in 1980. [She told me that she did both television and radio broadcasting, and also that she was very happy with the retirement benefits she got from Cox. I think she told me they let her take her desk and computer with her when she left. The pension she had, and the veterans' health benefits from her Air Force officer husband allowed her a tremendous independence to be the constant activist that she was in her retirement years. - FW]
About her earlier career, this article mentions that Mal taught in the Philadelphia school system, and also in England, Germany and Guam while traveling with her husband who served in the US Air Force. It says she returned to Philadelphia after her husband's death to work in the civil rights movement, and mentions something she used to reminisce about - that in her first TV job, at WKBS-TV in Philadelphia, she was the "Cash for Trash Girl," and then the first woman to host "Dialing for Dollars." She was inducted in the Journalists Hall of Fame, it says, in 2000.
The others who were honored are: Marguerite Cooper, Wilhelmina Cole Holladay, The Honorable Pat Schroeder, and Diana Zuckerman.
Mal always used to tell me that having a dinner to honour well known people was an excellent way for an organization to raise money!
It describes the honorees at the 2006 Foremothers luncheon. I remember Mal was very proud of this honor and mentioned it often in the last year. She's shown in a black and white group photo, and the details are a bit different than some of the other writeups. It mentions that she was friends with Barbara Walters, and that besides the White House she covered the State Department and other other federal agencies. She worked for Cox for 27 years starting in 1969 and was promoted to Senior Washington Correspondent in 1980. [She told me that she did both television and radio broadcasting, and also that she was very happy with the retirement benefits she got from Cox. I think she told me they let her take her desk and computer with her when she left. The pension she had, and the veterans' health benefits from her Air Force officer husband allowed her a tremendous independence to be the constant activist that she was in her retirement years. - FW]
About her earlier career, this article mentions that Mal taught in the Philadelphia school system, and also in England, Germany and Guam while traveling with her husband who served in the US Air Force. It says she returned to Philadelphia after her husband's death to work in the civil rights movement, and mentions something she used to reminisce about - that in her first TV job, at WKBS-TV in Philadelphia, she was the "Cash for Trash Girl," and then the first woman to host "Dialing for Dollars." She was inducted in the Journalists Hall of Fame, it says, in 2000.
The others who were honored are: Marguerite Cooper, Wilhelmina Cole Holladay, The Honorable Pat Schroeder, and Diana Zuckerman.
Mal always used to tell me that having a dinner to honour well known people was an excellent way for an organization to raise money!
Mal Johnson's Committee Work: Women and Social Security
This website contains a 1998 report Women and Social Security: Statement and Checklist produced by the National Council of Women's Organizations. Reprinted with permission from the Institute for Women's Policy Research. Mal Johnson is among those credited on the Women and Social Security Taskforce of NCWO. The checklist for evaluating the worthiness of any proposed changes to the Social Security system from women's perspective is still as good as ever - worth looking at again.
http://www.njfac.org/us22.htm
http://www.njfac.org/us22.htm
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
A few lines about Mal from a colleague
This was on a web page all by itself, found through Google. It seems to be a reply to the NABJ obituary.
http://www.maynardije.org/news/discuss/prince_columns/00001173/printable/
The adjectives describing Mal Johnson in your piece about her death made me smile. (tart-tongued, curmudgeon) I had the pleasure of working with Mal for 2 days as chaperones/mentors on a youth Journalism program in 1993, about 3 years after she retired from Cox. She told me some good stories of her scrapes with Richard Nixon. In 2 days of chats, she never even mentioned her work with NABJ--I had no idea. She truly was humble. I distinctly remember how she described her exit from Cox as White House correspondent. She said they told her they were moving in a different direction, and she leaned over to me and said, "the truth is, I think they didn't want any old ladies on the air any more!"
http://www.maynardije.org/news/discuss/prince_columns/00001173/printable/
Feminist Law Professors remember Mal
There's an obituary on the website http://feministlawprofs.law.sc.edu/?cat=33
They post it in a section called "Archive for the 'Firsts' Category." I don't reprint it here because I think it is copied from the NABJ site, but it's interesting to see how widely she was known and appreciated.
They post it in a section called "Archive for the 'Firsts' Category." I don't reprint it here because I think it is copied from the NABJ site, but it's interesting to see how widely she was known and appreciated.
"Mal Johnson, Boss and Friend"
Now, this is a wonderful memoir about Mal on a blog written by her former assistant. I'll just excerpt a part of it - go read the rest of it - the link is here: http://dailysally.blogspot.com/2007/11/mal-johnson-boss-and-friend.html
I worked as Mal's assistant at WKBS TV in Philly while still an Annenberg student. It was such a small station, we did everything. Reporting, directing, research, commercials, voice-overs, writing, editing.
Mal was my teacher, my mentor, my role model. I was a young white girl but I never thought of Mal as a "black woman." She made no distinctions, fit no stereotype, drew no lines. She simply set high standards and expected us both to meet them. Together.
Mal Johnson was the kind of consummate professional who's a force of nature. A leader and a trailblazer. But here's the thing: I knew her when that part of her life was just beginning.
Washington Post Obituary for Mal
I was saddened to see this fairly grudging little obituary from Friday November 9, 2007, in the Washington Post - and the same one linked to the TV Newsday site. Nothing at all about all the Presidents she covered as a White House Correspondent, which I'd have thought would interest them. And are they still requiring the term "Mrs." in women's obituaries? I'm sure she would have preferred Ms.! - FW
Mal JohnsonCox Employee, Society Founder
Mal Johnson, 84, who spent 20 years working for Cox Broadcasting in Washington and was a founding member of the National Association of Black Journalists, died Oct. 27 at Inova Fairfax Hospital. She had diabetes.
Mrs. Johnson retired from Cox in 1990, having covered the White House, Capitol Hill and other parts of the federal government. She anchored and produced a public affairs show for Cox in the late 1970s and afterward became the broadcasting company's national director of community affairs.
After retiring from Cox, she created a media consulting firm, Medialinx International.
Malvyn Hooser was born in West Virginia and raised in Philadelphia. She married an Air Force officer, Frank B. Johnson, and taught school while accompanying him on assignments to Europe and the Pacific.
After his death about 1960, she returned to Philadelphia and worked for a civil rights group. She also did public affairs work and news anchoring for a television station in Philadelphia before joining Cox.
She once said she was hired at Cox after impressing the company's chief executive with a speech to a group of female broadcasters. She had criticized their refusal of a federal loan to train minority women for broadcast jobs.
Mrs. Johnson helped form the Philadelphia Association of Black Journalists and was among the 44 founding members of the NABJ, organized in 1975. She served as treasurer of the national organization for eight years.
Wayne Dawkins wrote in his 1997 history of the group that Mrs. Johnson was "a curmudgeon who guarded NABJ's meager funds like a hen, often to the point of insulting members who became upset if their registration payment was misplaced or membership was not recorded."
Mrs. Johnson, an Alexandria resident, was a former national chairwoman of the American Women in Radio and Television Foundation and was a board member of the National Council of Women's Organizations, the Communications Consortium Media Center and the United Nations Development Fund for Women. She was inducted in the NABJ Journalists Hall of Fame in 1990.
Survivors include a sister.
-- Adam Bernstein
Mal JohnsonCox Employee, Society Founder
Mal Johnson, 84, who spent 20 years working for Cox Broadcasting in Washington and was a founding member of the National Association of Black Journalists, died Oct. 27 at Inova Fairfax Hospital. She had diabetes.
Mrs. Johnson retired from Cox in 1990, having covered the White House, Capitol Hill and other parts of the federal government. She anchored and produced a public affairs show for Cox in the late 1970s and afterward became the broadcasting company's national director of community affairs.
After retiring from Cox, she created a media consulting firm, Medialinx International.
Malvyn Hooser was born in West Virginia and raised in Philadelphia. She married an Air Force officer, Frank B. Johnson, and taught school while accompanying him on assignments to Europe and the Pacific.
After his death about 1960, she returned to Philadelphia and worked for a civil rights group. She also did public affairs work and news anchoring for a television station in Philadelphia before joining Cox.
She once said she was hired at Cox after impressing the company's chief executive with a speech to a group of female broadcasters. She had criticized their refusal of a federal loan to train minority women for broadcast jobs.
Mrs. Johnson helped form the Philadelphia Association of Black Journalists and was among the 44 founding members of the NABJ, organized in 1975. She served as treasurer of the national organization for eight years.
Wayne Dawkins wrote in his 1997 history of the group that Mrs. Johnson was "a curmudgeon who guarded NABJ's meager funds like a hen, often to the point of insulting members who became upset if their registration payment was misplaced or membership was not recorded."
Mrs. Johnson, an Alexandria resident, was a former national chairwoman of the American Women in Radio and Television Foundation and was a board member of the National Council of Women's Organizations, the Communications Consortium Media Center and the United Nations Development Fund for Women. She was inducted in the NABJ Journalists Hall of Fame in 1990.
Survivors include a sister.
-- Adam Bernstein
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