ASNE - Women Members recall memories of founder Fanning

Published Thursday, April 5, 2001
Women Members recall memories of founder Fanning

Katherine Fanning, ASNE’s first female president, died at 73 of colon cancer in October.

ASNE’s Women Members group honored its founder, Katherine W. Fanning, on Wednesday at the organization’s convention.

The event featured testimonials about how the late former editor of The Christian Science Monitor helped mentor many of today’s newsroom leaders.

Ms. Fanning, who also was ASNE’s first female president, was remembered as both an effective leader and a wise mentor. Ms. Fanning died at 73 of colon cancer in October.

“She was principled and kind, smart and funny … the only thing I regret in that sentence is ‘was,’ ” said nationally syndicated columnist Ellen Goodman.

By most accounts at the Wednesday evening reception Ms. Fanning opened doors for women in the news industry.

The Smith College graduate married the late Marshall Field IV, whose family owns the department store by the same name.

While married to Mr. Field, editor of the Chicago Sun-Times, Ms. Fanning spent her time raising their children and volunteering for charities. She divorced Mr. Field in 1963 and moved with her children to Alaska two years later.

“She believed you are guided along in your life and that everyone has a role to play. She felt Alaska was where she needed to be,” said Ms. Fanning’s daughter, Katherine Field Stephen, who also works as a free-lance journalist.

In Alaska, Fanning started her journalism career working $2 an hour as a librarian at the Anchorage Daily News.

She married her second husband, Larry Fanning, also an editor of the Chicago Sun-Times, in 1966. The couple settled in Alaska, and despite warnings from co-workers, they bought the Anchorage Daily News in 1967.

After her husband’s death in 1971, Fanning took the helm of the Daily News.

While serving as editor the paper won a Pulitzer Prize for public service for a 15-part series on Alaska’s Teamsters union. Also as editor, she was credited with helping to increase the paper’s circulation from 12,000 to 50,000 and with making it the state’s leading paper.

Ms. Fanning left the Daily News in 1983 for The Christian Science Monitor, and in the same year married her last husband, Amos Mathews.

Ms. Fanning became the first female president of ASNE in 1987, and during her term, she started the Women Members’ annual reception. Wednesday’s gathering was the first to be held without her.

In 1988, Ms. Fanning, along with two other editors, resigned from the Monitor to protest budget cut backs.

Faye Bowers, deputy world editor of The Christian Science Monitor, was hired as her executive assistant two weeks before Ms. Fanning left. She remained in contact with her through the years.

“She is responsible for my switch to journalism,” Ms. Bowers said. “Part of it was osmosis. … Before I knew it, I was going back to college. I had the help of the features editor, which Kay suggested I do. While I was executive assistant, I wrote features here and there, and then I moved over to editing for the international section.”

Although she did not know Ms. Fanning personally, Linda P. Waller, deputy director of the Dow Jones Fund, praised her contributions to women journalists.

“I think she’s a very significant role model. I didn’t know her, but I knew of her. She was a great example of professionalism and forward thinking,” Ms. Waller said.

At the reception, The Christian Science Monitor donated $5,000 to the ASNE Foundation in Ms. Fanning’s memory.

And, in celebrating Ms. Fanning’s contributions, her supporters tied their accomplishments to her achievements.

Ms. Goodman recalled an encounter between Fred Friendly and Ms. Fanning when she was ASNE president.

Ms. Fanning was organizing a panel when Mr. Friendly asked who the president of ASNE was. Ms. Goodman recalled Ms. Fanning giving a long grin and saying, “I am.”

“It was a moment of arrival, not just for Kay but for everyone,” Ms. Goodman said.