Lynn Povich

Lynn Povich
Lynn Povich on 15 Oct 2024 at New York Historical Society
Povich on 15 Oct 2024 at New York Historical Society
Born1943 (age 80–81)
Washington D.C., United States
Occupation(s)Journalist, editor, author
Spouses
Jeffrey Young
​
​
(m. 1967; div. 1976)​
​
(m. 1979)​
[1]
FatherShirley Povich
RelativesMaury Povich (brother)
Websitelynnpovich.com

Lynn Povich (born 1943) is an American journalist. She began her career as a secretary in the Paris Bureau of Newsweek magazine, rising to become a reporter and writer in New York in the late 1960s. In 1970, she was one of a group of women who sued the magazine for sex discrimination. Five years later, she was appointed the first woman Senior Editor in Newsweek's history. Povich is the daughter of journalist Shirley Povich and the sister of Maury Povich.[2]

Personal life

Lynn Povich is the daughter of Ethyl and The Washington Post sports journalist Shirley Povich. She is of Jewish descent.[3] She majored in modern European history at Vassar College,[4] and upon graduating in June 1965, left to work as a secretary in the Newsweek's Paris bureau. There she worked with Elizabeth Peer, Newsweek's first female foreign correspondent, who Povich would later consider "[o]ne of the great influences of my life."[5] After a year and a half abroad, she returned to New York in November 1966 as a researcher for Newsweek and married Jeffery Young in June of next year. In March 1969, she became a junior writer.[citation needed]

Lawsuit

In 1970, Eleanor Holmes Norton represented 60 female employees of Newsweek (including Povich) who had filed a claim with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission that Newsweek had a policy of only allowing men to be reporters.[6][7] The women won, and Newsweek agreed to allow women to be reporters.[6] The day the claim was filed, Newsweek's cover article was "Women in Revolt", covering the feminist movement; the article was written by a woman who had been hired on a freelance basis since there were no female reporters at the magazine.[7]

Publications

In 2005, for the 100th anniversary of the Washington Post, she published a collection of Shirley Povich's sports journalism, All those mornings-- at the Post : the twentieth century in sports from famed Washington post writer Shirley Povich.[8] According to WorldCat, the book is held in 243 libraries.[9]

She also published in 2012 a book called The Good Girls Revolt: How the Women of Newsweek Sued their Bosses and Changed the Workplace detailing the lawsuits.[10] According to WorldCat, the book is held in 756 libraries.[11]

A series of interviews with her was published by the Washington Press Club Foundation in its oral history project, "Women in journalism".[12]

Awards

References

  1. ^ "Lynn Povich Is Married To Stephen B. Shepard". The New York Times. September 17, 1979.
  2. ^ "Lynn Povich - Biography". lynnpovich.com.
  3. ^ "Lynn Povich". Jewish Women's Archive. Retrieved December 8, 2022.
  4. ^ Povich, Lynn (2016). The Good Girls Revolt: How the Women of Newsweek Sued Their Bosses and Changed the Workplace. PublicAffairs. p. 52. ISBN 9781610397469.
  5. ^ Stivers, Cyndi (July–August 2012). "The sixth W". Columbia Journalism Review. Retrieved April 24, 2016.
  6. ^ a b "Newsweek Agrees to End Sex Discrimination Policy". Associated Press. August 28, 1970.
  7. ^ a b Lynn Povich (2013). The Good Girls Revolt: How the Women of Newsweek Sued their Bosses and Changed the Workplace. PublicAffairs. ISBN 978-1610393263.
  8. ^ New York : Public Affairs, 2005
  9. ^ WorldCat item record
  10. ^ New York : PublicAffairs, 2012 ISBN 9781610391733
  11. ^ WorldCat item record
  12. ^ Interviews with Lynn Povich recorded by Mary Marshall Clark; Washington : Washington Press Club Foundation, 1994. Worldcat.org
  13. ^ Feminist Task Force (January 13, 2017). "2014 Amelia Bloomer List". American Library Association. Retrieved April 29, 2021.