Breaking News, Breaking Barriers

Abstract

The New York Times's first female financial writer, Clare Reckert, was among the earliest women to break into business reporting. Reckert began her career in 1936 under the byline “C.M. Reckert” to make readers think a man had written the articles. Reckert covered significant business news, including the exclusive news story of Ford Motor's first earnings report when the automaker went public. Scholarship on Reckert's forty-four-year business reporting career is lacking despite recent interest in business reporting and the rise of women covering money. Reckert referred to herself as a financial journalist. However, a content analysis demonstrates that Reckert's work is better defined as business journalism, as Reckert focused on translating the numbers of business into news stories that virtually any reader could digest. A historical look at the development of business journalism and women in journalism also frames this biographical study.