Hickok, Lorena

Lorena Hickok

Born March 7, 1893
East Troy, Wisconsin

Died May 1, 1968
Rhinebeck, New York

News journalist, investigator

"What I want you to do is to go out around the country and look this thing [New Deal programs] over. I don't want statistics from you. I just want your own reaction, as an ordinary citizen."

Harry Hopkins speaking to Lorena Hickok from One Third of a Nation

Although her adult life was closely associated with Eleanor Roosevelt (1884–1962; see entry), wife of President Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882–1945; served 1933–45; see entry), Lorena Alice Hickok independently overcame in-grained sexual discrimination in the male-dominated field of newspaper journalism. She became an outstanding reporter and investigative writer.

Hickok's talent was first recognized and rewarded in the early 1920s at the Minneapolis Tribune, where she rose to the position of general news reporter. In 1928 Hickok was one of the first women reporters hired by the Associated Press (AP). Working in the AP New York City office, she covered politics and sensational stories. She achieved a status with AP that no other woman had reached. During the 1932 U.S. presidential election Hickok developed a lasting friendship with Eleanor Roosevelt.

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