Dorothy townsend By Jena Murray
Published on Nov 25, 2015
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PRESENTATION OUTLINE
DOROTHY TOWNSEND
By Jena Murray.
Townsend got her first newspaper job at the Costa Mesa Globe Herald, and later after graduating from California State University, Los Angeles, she landed a job with the Times in 1960 as a "Women's staff reporter."
Photo by Angels Gate
Townsend worked for the newspaper from 1954 to 1986. After spending 10 years writing features for the so-called women's pages, she insisted on being reassigned to local news, moving to a city room where women were previously thought too fragile for the tough stories and working conditions.
Photo by Luiza Bissolli
In August, 1966, Townsend and the rest of the LA Times team won a Pulitzer Prize for covering the Watts riot. She derided stories as 'white glove assignments'
After chronicling 'The sad saga of Bimbo, the psychotic whale' in Marine land, she helped document the aftermath of the riots. She interviewed religious leaders who expressed guilt over being 'blinded' to economic conditions in Watts, and 'desperate' youths who took part in the riot.
Photo by photographerglen
In 1978 Townsend was sent to skid row to write about the fears of the homeless after a series of stabbings. Even the male reporters refused to go there, but Dorothy was more than eager to go.
Photo by Luiza Bissolli
What a typical street in skid row looks like
Photo by zachgibson
First lady Betty Ford once offered her an exclusive interview if Townsend would fly with her on Air Force One from Chicago to L.A.
Photo by Christophe RAMOS
"She was ever ambitous, at my desk all the time saying, 'Send me, send me, send me!' Said Bill Thomas, Dorothy's boss for LA times. Dorothy was described as tough and petite. A hard worker and a most respected journalist and reporter.
Photo by Luiza Bissolli
