Ethics and Excellence in Journalism Foundation
Encyclopedia
The Ethics and Excellence in Journalism Foundation was established in 1982 by Edith Kinney Gaylord
(1916–2001). The Foundation is dedicated to upholding the values and interests of its founder. President and CEO Robert J. Ross
has led EEJF and the Inasmuch Foundation
since 2003. The Foundation is currently headquartered in Oklahoma City
, Oklahoma. In 2004 the foundation's assets were $88 million and $1.4 million was distributed in grants.
to parents Inez and E. K. Gaylord. Her father was editor and publisher of The Oklahoman
and The Oklahoma City Times. Edith attended Colorado College
in Colorado Springs before graduating from Wells College
in Aurora, New York in spring of 1939 with a Bachelor of Arts degree.
Edith began her journalistic career reporting for her father’s newspaper and radio station in Oklahoma City. In the summer of 1942, she was hired by the Associated Press in New York and was transferred five months later to their Washington, D.C. bureau. She was the first female employee on the general news staff.
She filed stories from New York, Hollywood, San Francisco and Chicago while following Madam Chiang Kai-shek on her tour of America. When first lady Eleanor Roosevelt
insisted the AP send a female reporter to cover her news conferences, Edith was assigned to the task.
In 1944, Edith was elected president of the National Women’s Press Club, and served as secretary of Mrs. Roosevelt’s press conference committee and media liaison between her and the press. She also covered other notable events, including the death of Franklin Roosevelt, the new first lady Bess Truman and the 1953 coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in London.
Edith returned to Oklahoma City and rejoined the family business in 1963, serving as a member of the board of directors and corporate secretary for The Oklahoma Publishing Company.
Edith quietly began her philanthropy efforts in the 1960s, often donating anonymously to those in need. In 1982 she founded both Inasmuch Foundation
and Ethics and Excellence in Journalism Foundation to carry out her giving. Robert J. Ross
is the current President and CEO of the foundations. Edith became a charter trustee at Colorado College in Colorado Springs and was awarded an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from the college in 1992. The University of Oklahoma also presented Edith with an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree in 1997 for her contributions
Edith Kinney Gaylord died Jan. 28, 2001, at St. Anthony’s Hospital in Oklahoma City, the same hospital where she had been born 84 years earlier.
Edith Kinney Gaylord
Edith Kinney Gaylord , also referred to as Edith Gaylord Harper, was born March 5, 1916 in Oklahoma City to parents Inez and E. K. Gaylord. Her father was editor and publisher of The Oklahoman and The Oklahoma City Times...
(1916–2001). The Foundation is dedicated to upholding the values and interests of its founder. President and CEO Robert J. Ross
Robert J. Ross
Robert J. Ross is President and CEO and member of the Board of Directors of Inasmuch Foundation and Ethics and Excellence in Journalism Foundation, two of Oklahoma’s largest private foundations, which make millions of dollars in donations a year to projects across the nation.Both foundations were...
has led EEJF and the Inasmuch Foundation
Inasmuch Foundation
- Overview :The Inasmuch Foundation was established in 1982 by Edith Kinney Gaylord . The Foundation is dedicated to upholding the values and interests of its founder...
since 2003. The Foundation is currently headquartered in Oklahoma City
Oklahoma city
Oklahoma City is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma.Oklahoma City may also refer to:*Oklahoma City metropolitan area*Downtown Oklahoma City*Uptown Oklahoma City*Oklahoma City bombing*Oklahoma City National Memorial...
, Oklahoma. In 2004 the foundation's assets were $88 million and $1.4 million was distributed in grants.
Mission
The Foundation's mission is to invest in the future of journalism by building the ethics, skills and opportunities needed to advance principled, probing news and information. The Foundation does so through contributions to media institutions and journalism schools nationwide, primarily in areas of youth education, professional development, ethics and investigative reporting.Grant Recipients
Ethics and Excellence in Journalism Foundation has supported well over 100 non-profit journalism-oriented organizations in the past 3 years. Past grant recipients have included:- Washington Center for Politics & Journalism, Washington D.C. Politics & Journalism Semester
- Youth News Service, Los Angeles Bureau
- Center for Investigative ReportingCenter for Investigative ReportingThe Center for Investigative Reporting is a non-profit journalism organization located in Berkeley, California. It was founded in 1977 by Lowell Bergman, , and David Weir to reveal injustice and abuse of power through the tools of journalism....
- University of California, Berkeley
- Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication
- Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press
- Student Press Law Center
Notable Contributions
The contributions of the Foundation have made an impact in the quality and capability of leading journalism projects nationwide. Some of Ethics and Excellence in Journalism Foundation's most notable sponsorships have been awarded to:- George Washington UniversityGeorge Washington UniversityThe George Washington University is a private, coeducational comprehensive university located in Washington, D.C. in the United States...
, The Kalb Report - Georgetown UniversityGeorgetown UniversityGeorgetown University is a private, Jesuit, research university whose main campus is in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic university in the United States...
& The Center for Public IntegrityCenter for Public IntegrityThe Center for Public Integrity is a nonprofit organization dedicated to producing original, responsible investigative journalism on issues of public concern. The Center is non-partisan and non-advocacy and committed to transparent and comprehensive reporting both in the United States and around...
, The Pearl Project - University of OklahomaUniversity of OklahomaThe University of Oklahoma is a coeducational public research university located in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two became the state of Oklahoma. the university had 29,931 students enrolled, most located at its...
, Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass CommunicationGaylord College of Journalism and Mass CommunicationThe Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication is the journalism unit of the University of Oklahoma in Norman. It is located in Norman, a quaint town located 40 miles south of Oklahoma City... - Brandeis UniversityBrandeis UniversityBrandeis University is an American private research university with a liberal arts focus. It is located in the southwestern corner of Waltham, Massachusetts, nine miles west of Boston. The University has an enrollment of approximately 3,200 undergraduate and 2,100 graduate students. In 2011, it...
, Judge Brandeis Innocence Project
Founder
Edith Kinney Gaylord was born March 5, 1916 in Oklahoma CityOklahoma city
Oklahoma City is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma.Oklahoma City may also refer to:*Oklahoma City metropolitan area*Downtown Oklahoma City*Uptown Oklahoma City*Oklahoma City bombing*Oklahoma City National Memorial...
to parents Inez and E. K. Gaylord. Her father was editor and publisher of The Oklahoman
The Oklahoman
The Oklahoman is the largest daily newspaper in Oklahoma and is the only daily newspaper that covers the entire Oklahoma City area.-Ownership:...
and The Oklahoma City Times. Edith attended Colorado College
Colorado College
The Colorado College is a private liberal arts college in Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States, in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. It was founded in 1874 by Thomas Nelson Haskell...
in Colorado Springs before graduating from Wells College
Wells College
Wells College is a private coeducational liberal arts college located in Aurora, Cayuga County, New York, on the eastern shore of Cayuga Lake. Initially an all-women's institution, Wells became a co-ed college in Fall 2005....
in Aurora, New York in spring of 1939 with a Bachelor of Arts degree.
Edith began her journalistic career reporting for her father’s newspaper and radio station in Oklahoma City. In the summer of 1942, she was hired by the Associated Press in New York and was transferred five months later to their Washington, D.C. bureau. She was the first female employee on the general news staff.
She filed stories from New York, Hollywood, San Francisco and Chicago while following Madam Chiang Kai-shek on her tour of America. When first lady Eleanor Roosevelt
Eleanor Roosevelt
Anna Eleanor Roosevelt was the First Lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945. She supported the New Deal policies of her husband, distant cousin Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and became an advocate for civil rights. After her husband's death in 1945, Roosevelt continued to be an international...
insisted the AP send a female reporter to cover her news conferences, Edith was assigned to the task.
In 1944, Edith was elected president of the National Women’s Press Club, and served as secretary of Mrs. Roosevelt’s press conference committee and media liaison between her and the press. She also covered other notable events, including the death of Franklin Roosevelt, the new first lady Bess Truman and the 1953 coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in London.
Edith returned to Oklahoma City and rejoined the family business in 1963, serving as a member of the board of directors and corporate secretary for The Oklahoma Publishing Company.
Edith quietly began her philanthropy efforts in the 1960s, often donating anonymously to those in need. In 1982 she founded both Inasmuch Foundation
Inasmuch Foundation
- Overview :The Inasmuch Foundation was established in 1982 by Edith Kinney Gaylord . The Foundation is dedicated to upholding the values and interests of its founder...
and Ethics and Excellence in Journalism Foundation to carry out her giving. Robert J. Ross
Robert J. Ross
Robert J. Ross is President and CEO and member of the Board of Directors of Inasmuch Foundation and Ethics and Excellence in Journalism Foundation, two of Oklahoma’s largest private foundations, which make millions of dollars in donations a year to projects across the nation.Both foundations were...
is the current President and CEO of the foundations. Edith became a charter trustee at Colorado College in Colorado Springs and was awarded an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from the college in 1992. The University of Oklahoma also presented Edith with an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree in 1997 for her contributions
Edith Kinney Gaylord died Jan. 28, 2001, at St. Anthony’s Hospital in Oklahoma City, the same hospital where she had been born 84 years earlier.