Landmark Cases
Explore the major class-action lawsuits filed against news organizations including Newsweek, The New York Times, Reader's Digest, The Washington Post, and Associated Press.
About This Project
The 1970s marked a transformative era in the American workplace, particularly for women in the media. Empowered by new anti-discrimination laws, women at newspapers, magazines, wire services, and broadcast networks filed charges and lawsuits that exposed discriminatory practices in hiring, pay, and promotion.
This digital archive explores the explosion of lawsuits filed against news organizations during the 1970s and their legal and social impact on the status of women in the workplace, the media, and public life. It brings together oral histories and related primary materials and serves as the foundation for the forthcoming book Settling: Women Who Sued the News by Ashley Walter, PhD, which tells the story of the women who challenged entrenched patterns of sex discrimination in America's most powerful news organizations and changed the industry forever.
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Settling: Women Who Sued the News
This is a history of courage and collective action by women inside America's most powerful newsrooms. In the 1970s, newswomen sued for equality at Reader's Digest, Newsweek, The Washington Post, The New York Times, among others—and transformed journalism itself. Their victories reshaped coverage and helped build women's power across American society.
Explore the Archive
Oral Histories
First-person accounts from the women who challenged discrimination, including interviews, transcripts, and personal narratives.
Timeline
Follow the key events in the fight against workplace discrimination, from the first EEOC complaints to the consent decrees that reshaped the newsroom.
About the Author
Ashley Walter, Ph.D. is an assistant professor of journalism and media at Saint Louis University, where she teaches courses on media ethics, feature writing, and contemporary issues in media. She is an expert in women's media history and is the co-author of How America Gets the News: A History of U.S. Journalism (2024). Her work has been published in American Journalism, Journalism History, Media Report to Women, and the Women's Media Center. A native of Williamsport, Pennsylvania, Walter received her B.A. and M.S. from Duquesne University and her Ph.D. from Pennsylvania State University. Prior to her academic career, she worked in Pittsburgh media. More
