Agness Underwood’s Historic Rise in an All-Male Newsroom: A Case Study

Stephanie A. Bluestein

SAGE Open, 2017, vol. 7, issue 2, 2158244017710290

Abstract: Agness Underwood (1902-1984) made history in 1947 when she was promoted from reporter to city editor, making her the first woman to oversee a major metropolitan U.S. newsroom. Employing a biographical research method, narrative analysis was used to examine Underwood’s professional and personal life through her journalism work, articles written about her, personal artifacts, and author interviews of people who knew her. The data were then analyzed in terms of sex roles, personality traits, and leadership styles to construct a deeper understanding of this maverick journalist’s accomplishments. The findings indicate the traditional masculine qualities she possessed, in combination with her personality traits and transformational leadership style, greatly contributed to her success.

Keywords: sex roles; leadership styles; personality traits; role congruity theory; women in management; 20th-century journalism; Los Angeles newspapers; Agness Underwood (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:sagope:v:7:y:2017:i:2:p:2158244017710290

DOI: 10.1177/2158244017710290

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