‘Larger than life’: celebrity journalism, gender and black politics in Fay M. Jackson’s Hollywood adventures, 1933–1935

ABSTRACT

This historical article analyses the work of an under-recognised black female journalist, Fay M. Jackson, who wrote as the Associated Negro Press Hollywood correspondent during the 1930s. Drawing from the literature on celebrity studies, the black press and black feminist thought, this study reveals how Hollywood’s first black female correspondent brought visibility and personhood to black celebrities while employing conventional journalistic strategies. The analysis highlights two primary themes that emerged in Jackson’s celebrity news coverage: Jackson’s employment of gossip news and biographical profiles to bring personhood to black female celebrities; and Jackson’s coverage of the ‘browning’ of Hollywood to highlight the importance of racial representation within the entertainment industry. This study addresses how a black feminist approach to analysing race and gender politics in black media and Hollywood extends previous understandings about the history of celebrity studies.

KEYWORDS:

• Celebrity studies
• black feminism
• black Hollywood
• celebrity journalism
• personhood
• black press

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. While searching for Jackson’s articles in the ANP’s microfilm collection, the authors found that her articles were primarily published during these three years. In 1935, Jackson’s byline stopped appearing. At times, her daughter was credited for writing entertainment stories as well. While Jackson would later cover the coronation of King George IV for the ANP, her articles primarily appeared between 1933 and 1935.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Cristina Mislan

Dr. Mislán is an assistant professor of journalism studies in the Missouri School of Journalism. Mislán’s research draws on critical/cultural and transnational studies to examine the relationship between media activism and race, class, and gender politics.

Rachel Grant

Rachel Grant is a Journalism Studies doctoral student at the University of Missouri. Her research focus is minorities in the media, specifically Black female journalists and social justice issues.

Jinx C. Broussard

Jinx Coleman Broussard is a full professor of mass communication at Louisiana State University. She is the author of the national award-winning book titled African-American Foreign Correspondents: A History as well as Giving a Voice to the Voiceless: Four Pioneering Black Women Journalists. Broussard is recognized as an expert on the history of the Black press.