Spotlight on Women
Part II of a Three-Part Story
Following in the footsteps of many “grand dames,” strong women continue to lead and nurture the News Review today.
Cathie Meetre
(2011-Present)
News Review Board President Cathie Meetre led a 2022 writer workshop which produced several new reporters, all women. Maintaining the paper’s cross-training practices, Editor Mary Lou Williamson has trained three others who volunteered to perform as front-page editor (yes, all women), and enjoys observing what they each bring to the role.
When Meetre joined the News Review in 2011 (after stints in the 1970s and 1990s), Board President Eileen Farnham asked her to fill a temporary email gap while Eileen had surgery and Vice President Tom White filled the president role. Eileen didn’t return, so Tom became president and Cathie vice president. When Tom died in 2015, Cathie became president.
Deanna Dawson
(2013-present)
Meetre has spearheaded
bringing in Greenbelt residents to see how the paper works through open houses and, several years ago, a booth at the Farmers Market. That booth aided us in discovering Deanna Dawson, now a behind-the-scenes key player. Each Tuesday Dawson is the last to read every story to be sure potential problems have been fixed prior to publication. Knowledgeable about the inner workings of the paper, Dawson can substitute for many key staffers when needed. A career ornithologist and lover of nature, Dawson also writes occasional stories of historical and ecological interest.
Dawson also led the paper’s efforts to create a new and improved digital archive, working with University of Maryland Libraries staff to scan all the old newspapers back to November 24, 1937. She continues to oversee the archive as it has now become part of the newspaper and new issues are constantly added. Without her dedicated service, the archive would still be a figment of the imagination.
Amy Hansen
(Managing Editor 2018-2022)
An important new role of managing editor was created in 2018. Amy Hansen pioneered that new role, which separated the editor role from day-to-day management. Hansen, who also writes children’s books, articles and plays, stepped down in 2022 to focus on her own writing projects. She recruited another woman, Anna Bedford-Dillow (current managing editor), to take over the role. The managing editor plans what the paper will cover; assigns stories to reporters and monitors their progress; and coordinates with the editor, copy editors, advertising team and layout team to assemble the paper within the framework established by the editor. The managing editor also reports significant news stories not covered by others, such as breaking news, political rallies, actions of the Prince George’s County Board of Education and public school news.
Business Sense
The board runs the News Review business: if the paper doesn’t operate like one, it will lose money and be unable to publish. Board members ensure efficient business practices and solve problems. Meetre has played a significant role in this, including restoring Windsor Green deliveries; automating processes to reduce time and errors assembling ads and generating advertiser invoices, and implementing break-even values on which to base issue size for the week’s ad revenues; moving layout from an outside company to in-house staff; and changing to a printer that provides color printing for lower cost than previous black-and-white service.
Hidden Figures
Readers see the names of reporters, whose work varies in frequency. Though production and business staff names are less visible (staff box, page 2, lower right), they put in the hours every week to produce the newspaper. Without their work, readers would see no articles.
Meetre says innovative ideas are successful only because the staff is brave enough to try them. She said all the staff provide leadership of some kind, since the paper’s cooperative and democratic nature means anyone who suggests an idea can be a leader. She mused that the paper’s forward course is shaped similarly. Each person’s effort contributes to gradually guiding the newspaper’s direction. Those who contribute more effort may have a greater influence. She said the News Review is the “weekly miracle” that keeps going (published every single week since Thanksgiving 1937) because people have latitude and influence and because of the dedication of so many.
What about the Men?
Meetre said, “Women have had a mighty impact on the paper. If they hadn’t been willing to stand by it, it would have disappeared decades ago. The men that are there are wonderful, but there aren’t many of them.” Gary Childs was editor from 2018 to 2021. Today the seven-person board has one man. Currently men comprise 18 of 68 staff, two of whom handle advertising. Do men volunteer for different pursuits, or less than women? What do they do when they retire? Other organizations? Solitary hobbies? News Review staff don’t know, but they welcome any volunteers.
“It’s up to you,” says Meetre. You, too, can make a difference. You don’t need much background, or know how to write; the News Review has roles for people who don’t want to write at all. If you are curious about or invested in your community, you are a candidate. There are many activities to choose from, according to your interests and availability. The staff will train you and more formally mentor new city council reporters. If what you try first doesn’t work out, speak up and try something else. You will be welcomed with a generous heart.
The News Review is local journalism at its most vital, at a time when many local newspapers have disappeared. It sparks readers to speak up for what they want and don’t want in their community; what they want from government; to protect Greenbelt’s character and live its values. It has been News Review reporting and informed citizens that defended the press against libel, protected walkable Greenbelt neighborhoods and ensured Eleanor Roosevelt High School (ERHS) opened with a science and technology magnet program and was named for Eleanor Roosevelt (rather than the planned FDR) to acknowledge her personal interest and visits to confirm residents’ satisfaction.
The News Review played an essential role in efforts that led to the building of the Spellman Overpass, which enables ERHS students and residents to safely cross the Baltimore-Washington Parkway; the creation of Green Ridge House senior housing; and saving the Forest Preserve. That reporting informed citizens who prevented a 25-story apartment building overlooking Greenbelt Lake in 2016-2017, and those who address the proposed maglev train and Greenbelt police reform today.
Let’s make good trouble together. Let’s make history.
For more highlights of News Review women, see Part I in the March 16, 2023 issue.