National Federation of Press Women

The National Federation of Press Women (NFPW) was organized May 6, 1937, when Helen Miller Malloch and other members of the Illinois Woman's Press Association (IWPA organized in 1885), along with women from five other states and the District of Columbia, who met at the Chicago Women's Club in order to promote communication between women writers, and advance the interests and standards of women in the press. One of the major concerns of these women was that copyright legislation was not being applied equally to women's creative work.^[4] Among the 39 women attending were 24 from Illinois, six from Indiana, nine from Ohio, New York, Michigan, and Washington D.C.. Incorporation of the Federation was effected in 1938 in Illinois. By 1939 nine states had affiliated, including New York, New Jersey, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Iowa, Texas,^[5] Oregon, and Michigan; and a New England press group. Of these new affiliates, the two oldest were Illinois (IWPA), 1885,^[6] and Texas, (the Texas Woman's Press Association) 1893^[7] - the only two states organized prior to 1900.^[8]

The NFPW conducts annual surveys about women in communications jobs.^[10]

NFPW also created its own publication, Press Woman.^[11] AGENDA is the Federation's current publication.

Each year NFPW sponsors competitions to reward excellence in communication.^[12] Winners are honored at the NFPW Professional Communications Contest Awards Banquet, which is held in conjunction with a yearly conference. The Federation's annual communications contest was established in 1940 during the presidency of Bertha I. Bless of Missouri.^[13] The presentation of honor award certificates to national winners and the announcement of the national sweepstakes winner remains a conference highlight. NFPW affiliates throughout the United States have annual communications contests that provide affiliate members an opportunity to compete against regional colleagues in a broad range of categories set by NFPW. All entrants to the national contest are required to be professional, student or retired members of NFPW. Where there is no state affiliate, the member is eligible to compete in the At-Large contest.^[14]

The NFPW High School Communications Contest honors excellence in student journalism and is the only nationwide communications competition for high school students. Winners at the national level are chosen by winning at the state level first.^[15] It is endorsed by the National Association of Secondary School Principals. Dow Jones announces first-place winners and promotes the competition in its publication distributed to journalism advisers across the nation, giving students and their teachers/advisers local and nationwide recognition.^[16]

Each year, a professional communicator is selected as the National Communicator of Achievement. This program was established during the presidency of Velma Price of Nebraska. NFPW started the program as the Woman of Achievement award which was first given at the 1957 convention in San Antonio, Texas. The first honoree was Charlotte Paul of Washington. The award was renamed Communicator of Achievement in 1989. Today, the Communicator of Achievement Award is the highest honor bestowed by the National Federation of Press Women upon those members who have distinguished themselves within and beyond their profession.

Virginia Driving Hawk Sneve, the 1975 Woman of Achievement, was an author of 20 books, numerous short stories and essays about Native American life and culture, a member of the South Dakota affiliate, and the recipient of the National Medal of Humanities. The Medal of Humanities was presented by President Bill Clinton and First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton on December 20, 2000, at D.A.R. Constitution Hall in Washington DC.^[17]

Randy Richardson, a member of the Illinois Woman's Press Association affiliate, was the 2017 Communicator of Achievement winner, becoming the first man to take the honor in 60 years.

The following individuals have been honored:^[18]

• Burt, Elizabeth V., ed. (2000). Women's Press Organizations, 1881-1999. Greenwood. ISBN 9780313306617.
• Lesher, Tina (2000). "National Federation of Press Women, 1937–Present". In Burt, Elizabeth V. (ed.). Women's Press Organizations, 1881-1999. Greenwood Publishing Group. pp. 137–145. ISBN 978-0-313-30661-7.
• Wolf-Astrauskas, Marianne (2013). Leadership 1937-2013, The First Forty Presidents of the National Federation of Press Women. DreamersTapestry, Inc. ISBN 9780974587820.

• Official site