Nancy Dickerson
Encyclopedia
Nancy Dickerson was an American
pioneering radio and television newswoman. As famous as a celebrity
and socialite
as she was for her journalism
, she later became an award-winning independent producer
of documentaries.
, a suburb of Milwaukee, Nancy Dickerson first attended Clarke College in Dubuque, Iowa
, for two years before moving on to the University of Wisconsin–Madison
, where she earned a degree in education
in 1948.
She worked as a grade school teacher in Milwaukee until moving to Washington, D.C.
, in 1951 where she took courses in speech and drama
at The Catholic University of America
to improve the skills she would need to pursue her dream of becoming a broadcaster. It was in her next position as a Senate Foreign Relations Committee
researcher that she would develop a passion for the inner workings of government which would define her career of more than four decades.
's Washington bureau to produce a radio show called Capital Cloakroom. She would also become associate producer
of Face the Nation
. In 1960, CBS made her its first female correspondent.
She reported for NBC News
from 1963 to 1970, covering all the pivotal stories of that time: political convention
s, election campaigns
, inauguration
s, Capitol Hill
, and the White House
. She is noted as being the first woman on the floor of a political convention. In 1963, she covered the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom
, in which Martin Luther King, Jr.
, delivered his famous "I Have a Dream
" speech. She was also part of NBC's coverage of President Kennedy's assassination
and funeral
.
a daily news program, Inside Washington. In 1980, she founded the Television Corporation of America, through which she produced documentaries for PBS
and others. Most notable among these was "784 Days That Changed America—From Watergate to Resignation," for which she received a Peabody Award
and the Silver Gavel Award from the American Bar Association
.
, throughout most of her career before moving to New York City in 1989. She was married to former Goldman Sachs
chairman and current World Trade Center Memorial
Foundation chairman John C. Whitehead
.
An earlier marriage to industrialist
C. Wyatt Dickerson, with whom she had two children and parented three children from his previous marriage, ended in divorce. Her youngest son, John Dickerson, has followed in her footsteps, serving as chief political correspondent for Slate magazine and TIME Magazine’s White House correspondent. He has written a book (http://www.onhertrail.com) On Her Trail, about his mother's life.
She was a mystery guest on the game show
What's My Line?
Dickerson was a past vice president of the National Press Club. The Nancy Dickerson Whitehead Medallion is awarded annually by Clarke College to an outstanding professional in mass communication (http://www.clarke.edu/news/NDWMedallion/index.htm).
In her 1976 memoir Among Those Present, she recalled that The Washington Daily News
once offered her a job as women's editor but that she turned it down because "it seemed outlandish to try to change the world writing shopping and food columns."
She died in New York City
of complications from a stroke, aged 70, and is buried in Section 3, Grave# 1316-A-LH, Arlington National Cemetery
; she was survived by her children and her second husband.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
pioneering radio and television newswoman. As famous as a celebrity
Celebrity
A celebrity, also referred to as a celeb in popular culture, is a person who has a prominent profile and commands a great degree of public fascination and influence in day-to-day media...
and socialite
Socialite
A socialite is a person who participates in social activities and spends a significant amount of time entertaining and being entertained at fashionable upper-class events....
as she was for her journalism
Journalism
Journalism is the practice of investigation and reporting of events, issues and trends to a broad audience in a timely fashion. Though there are many variations of journalism, the ideal is to inform the intended audience. Along with covering organizations and institutions such as government and...
, she later became an award-winning independent producer
Television producer
The primary role of a television Producer is to allow all aspects of video production, ranging from show idea development and cast hiring to shoot supervision and fact-checking...
of documentaries.
Early career
Born Nancy Conners Hanschman in Wauwatosa, WisconsinWauwatosa, Wisconsin
Wauwatosa is a city in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, United States, and was incorporated on May 27, 1897. As of the 2006 census estimate, the city's population was 44,798. Wauwatosa is located immediately west of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and is a part of the Milwaukee metropolitan area...
, a suburb of Milwaukee, Nancy Dickerson first attended Clarke College in Dubuque, Iowa
Dubuque, Iowa
Dubuque is a city in and the county seat of Dubuque County, Iowa, United States, located along the Mississippi River. In 2010 its population was 57,637, making it the ninth-largest city in the state and the county's population was 93,653....
, for two years before moving on to the University of Wisconsin–Madison
University of Wisconsin–Madison
The University of Wisconsin–Madison is a public research university located in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1848, UW–Madison is the flagship campus of the University of Wisconsin System. It became a land-grant institution in 1866...
, where she earned a degree in education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
in 1948.
She worked as a grade school teacher in Milwaukee until moving to Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, in 1951 where she took courses in speech and drama
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
at The Catholic University of America
The Catholic University of America
The Catholic University of America is a private university located in Washington, D.C. in the United States. It is a pontifical university of the Catholic Church in the United States and the only institution of higher education founded by the U.S. Catholic bishops...
to improve the skills she would need to pursue her dream of becoming a broadcaster. It was in her next position as a Senate Foreign Relations Committee
United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations
The United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations is a standing committee of the United States Senate. It is charged with leading foreign-policy legislation and debate in the Senate. The Foreign Relations Committee is generally responsible for overseeing and funding foreign aid programs as...
researcher that she would develop a passion for the inner workings of government which would define her career of more than four decades.
Pioneering newswoman
Although the field of television journalism was almost entirely dominated by men at the time, Dickerson got her break in 1954, when she was hired by CBS NewsCBS News
CBS News is the news division of American television and radio network CBS. The current chairman is Jeff Fager who is also the executive producer of 60 Minutes, while the current president of CBS News is David Rhodes. CBS News' flagship program is the CBS Evening News, hosted by the network's main...
's Washington bureau to produce a radio show called Capital Cloakroom. She would also become associate producer
Television producer
The primary role of a television Producer is to allow all aspects of video production, ranging from show idea development and cast hiring to shoot supervision and fact-checking...
of Face the Nation
Face the Nation
Face the Nation with Bob Schieffer is an American Sunday-morning political interview show which premiered on the CBS television network on November 7, 1954. It is one of the longest-running news programs in the history of television...
. In 1960, CBS made her its first female correspondent.
She reported for NBC News
NBC News
NBC News is the news division of American television network NBC. It first started broadcasting in February 21, 1940. NBC Nightly News has aired from Studio 3B, located on floors 3 of the NBC Studios is the headquarters of the GE Building forms the centerpiece of 30th Rockefeller Center it is...
from 1963 to 1970, covering all the pivotal stories of that time: political convention
Political convention
In politics, a political convention is a meeting of a political party, typically to select party candidates.In the United States, a political convention usually refers to a presidential nominating convention, but it can also refer to state, county, or congressional district nominating conventions...
s, election campaigns
Political campaign
A political campaign is an organized effort which seeks to influence the decision making process within a specific group. In democracies, political campaigns often refer to electoral campaigns, wherein representatives are chosen or referendums are decided...
, inauguration
Inauguration
An inauguration is a formal ceremony to mark the beginning of a leader's term of office. An example is the ceremony in which the President of the United States officially takes the oath of office....
s, Capitol Hill
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
, and the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
. She is noted as being the first woman on the floor of a political convention. In 1963, she covered the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom
March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom
The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom was the largest political rally for human rights in United States history and called for civil and economic rights for African Americans. It took place in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday, August 28, 1963. Martin Luther King, Jr...
, in which Martin Luther King, Jr.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Martin Luther King, Jr. was an American clergyman, activist, and prominent leader in the African-American Civil Rights Movement. He is best known for being an iconic figure in the advancement of civil rights in the United States and around the world, using nonviolent methods following the...
, delivered his famous "I Have a Dream
I Have a Dream
"I Have a Dream" is a 17-minute public speech by Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered on August 28, 1963, in which he called for racial equality and an end to discrimination...
" speech. She was also part of NBC's coverage of President Kennedy's assassination
Assassination of John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald Kennedy, the thirty-fifth President of the United States, was assassinated at 12:30 p.m. Central Standard Time on Friday, November 22, 1963, in Dealey Plaza, Dallas, Texas...
and funeral
State funeral of John F. Kennedy
The state funeral of John F. Kennedy took place in Washington, DC during the three days that followed his assassination on Friday, November 22, 1963, in Dallas, Texas....
.
Syndicated broadcaster
Dickerson left the network in 1971 to become an independent broadcaster and producer, syndicatingTelevision syndication
In broadcasting, syndication is the sale of the right to broadcast radio shows and television shows by multiple radio stations and television stations, without going through a broadcast network, though the process of syndication may conjure up structures like those of a network itself, by its very...
a daily news program, Inside Washington. In 1980, she founded the Television Corporation of America, through which she produced documentaries for PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
and others. Most notable among these was "784 Days That Changed America—From Watergate to Resignation," for which she received a Peabody Award
Peabody Award
The George Foster Peabody Awards recognize distinguished and meritorious public service by radio and television stations, networks, producing organizations and individuals. In 1939, the National Association of Broadcasters formed a committee to recognize outstanding achievement in radio broadcasting...
and the Silver Gavel Award from the American Bar Association
American Bar Association
The American Bar Association , founded August 21, 1878, is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students, which is not specific to any jurisdiction in the United States. The ABA's most important stated activities are the setting of academic standards for law schools, and the formulation...
.
Personal
Dickerson lived in McLean, VirginiaMcLean, Virginia
McLean is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Fairfax County in Northern Virginia. The community had a total population of 48,115 as of the 2010 census....
, throughout most of her career before moving to New York City in 1989. She was married to former Goldman Sachs
Goldman Sachs
The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. is an American multinational bulge bracket investment banking and securities firm that engages in global investment banking, securities, investment management, and other financial services primarily with institutional clients...
chairman and current World Trade Center Memorial
World Trade Center Memorial
- Fundraising :The Foundation has fundraising responsibilities because of the tasks assigned to it by the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation...
Foundation chairman John C. Whitehead
John C. Whitehead
John Cunningham Whitehead is an American banker and civil servant, currently a board member of the World Trade Center Memorial Foundation and, until his resignation in May 2006, chairman of the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation.-Biography:He was born in Evanston, Illinois...
.
An earlier marriage to industrialist
Business magnate
A business magnate, sometimes referred to as a capitalist, czar, mogul, tycoon, baron, oligarch, or industrialist, is an informal term used to refer to an entrepreneur who has reached prominence and derived a notable amount of wealth from a particular industry .-Etymology:The word magnate itself...
C. Wyatt Dickerson, with whom she had two children and parented three children from his previous marriage, ended in divorce. Her youngest son, John Dickerson, has followed in her footsteps, serving as chief political correspondent for Slate magazine and TIME Magazine’s White House correspondent. He has written a book (http://www.onhertrail.com) On Her Trail, about his mother's life.
She was a mystery guest on the game show
Game show
A game show is a type of radio or television program in which members of the public, television personalities or celebrities, sometimes as part of a team, play a game which involves answering questions or solving puzzles usually for money and/or prizes...
What's My Line?
What's My Line?
What's My Line? is a panel game show which originally ran in the United States on the CBS Television Network from 1950 to 1967, with several international versions and subsequent U.S. revivals. The game tasked celebrity panelists with questioning contestants in order to determine their occupations....
Dickerson was a past vice president of the National Press Club. The Nancy Dickerson Whitehead Medallion is awarded annually by Clarke College to an outstanding professional in mass communication (http://www.clarke.edu/news/NDWMedallion/index.htm).
In her 1976 memoir Among Those Present, she recalled that The Washington Daily News
The Washington Daily News
The Washington Daily News was an afternoon tabloid-style newspaper serving the Washington, DC, metropolitan area. In this case, the term "tabloid" is merely a reference to the paper format and does not imply a lack of journalistic standards....
once offered her a job as women's editor but that she turned it down because "it seemed outlandish to try to change the world writing shopping and food columns."
She died in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
of complications from a stroke, aged 70, and is buried in Section 3, Grave# 1316-A-LH, Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia, is a military cemetery in the United States of America, established during the American Civil War on the grounds of Arlington House, formerly the estate of the family of Confederate general Robert E. Lee's wife Mary Anna Lee, a great...
; she was survived by her children and her second husband.
