Ethel L. Payne | |
|---|---|
 Payne and United States President Lyndon B. Johnson | |
| Born | August 14, 1911 Chicago, Illinois U.S. |
| Died | May 28, 1991 (aged 79) Washington, D.C. U.S. |
| Other names | Ethel Lois Payne |
| Occupation | Journalist |
| Years active | 1950-1991 |
Ethel Lois Payne (August 14, 1911 – May 28, 1991)[1][2] was an American journalist, editor, and foreign correspondent. Known as the "First Lady of the Black Press," she fulfilled many roles over her career, including columnist, commentator, lecturer, and freelance writer. She combined advocacy with journalism as she reported on the Civil Rights Movement during the 1950s and 1960s. Her perspective as an African American woman informed her work, and she became known for asking questions others dared not ask.[3]
First published in The Chicago Defender in 1950, she worked for that paper through the 1970s, becoming the paper's Washington correspondent and an editor for over 25 years.[4] She became the first female African-American commentator employed by a national network when CBS hired her in 1972. In addition to her reporting of American domestic politics, she also covered international stories, and worked as a syndicated columnist.[4][5]
In 2022, the White House Correspondents' Association created the Dunnigan-Payne Lifetime Achievement Award in memory of Payne and fellow White House reporter Alice Dunnigan.[6]
- ^ "Ethel Payne, 79, Dies; Was a Correspondent". The New York Times. 1991-06-01. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-05-20.
- ^ Levy, Claudia (1991-06-01). "JOURNALIST ETHEL PAYNE DIES". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2023-05-20.
- ^ Ifill, Gwen (February 26, 2015). "Black journalist Ethel Payne changed the national agenda with coverage of civil rights" (Video with transcript). PBS NewsHour.
- ^ a b Collins, Carrie; Payne, Ethel (March 20, 1987). "University of Mississippi's Covering the South: Interview with Ethel Payne" (Video interview). C-SPAN.
- ^ Morris, James McGrath (2015). Eye on the Struggle: Ethel Payne, the First Lady of the Black Press. New York: Amistad (HarperCollins Publishers). ISBN 978-0-062-19887-7. OCLC 903376010.
- ^ "First two Black women in White House press corps honored with lifetime achievement awards". CBS News. 2022-03-29. Retrieved 2022-05-01.