In 1918, when hundreds of thousands of American men donned uniforms to go "over there," American women were given an unprecedented opportunity to work in professions previously dominated by males. Prior to the war, female news reporters had, for the most part, been relegated to fashion columns, sob-sister pieces, and “stunts”–epitomized, three decades earlier, by the famed Nelly Bly. During the First World War, however, women reporters proved themselves just as capable of producing front page material as the men they replaced. Journey from the Star is the story of one of America's first and most successful "front page girls."
.....Ruth Finney started her career in 1918 with the fledgling Sacramento Star. In 1922, she was promoted to city editor--one of the first of her gender to hold that position at a California newspaper. Just one year later, she was chosen by Scripps-Howard news service to represent their Western newspapers in Washington D.C. She was, at the time, one of only eight women to hold press credentials for the House and Senate galleries.
.....In her 1936 book, Ladies of the Press, author Ishbel Ross called Ruth Finney "that rare and practically undiscoverable creature--the perfect woman reporter." Ross described Ruth as having intellectual vigor, masked behind quiet feminism. "She is retiring and contemplative by habit" Ross said, "but dauntless in her work."
.....Journey from the Star is the story of one of America's first "perfect woman reporters," and of her journey from reluctant cub reporter for a small California news paper, to distinguished Washington correspondent for one of America's premier news gathering organizations. It is also the story of her journey from a childhood of near-poverty, to a life of politics, parties, and praise in Washington's exclusive Georgetown social circle.

A complete formal proposal for Journey from the Star is available as a secure (password required) PDF document through the link below. Send your password request to O. Henry Mace via the

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