Women's Institute for Freedom of the Press
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Women’s Institute for Freedom of the Press (WIFP) is an American nonprofit publishing organization. The organization works to increase communication between women and connect the public with forms of women-based media. WIFP operates as both a national and international feminist network.
WIFP was founded in 1972 by Dr. Donna Allen in Washington, DC. She was an economist, historian, and civil rights activist. The organization conducted seven conferences at the National Press Club in the 1970s and 1980s on “Planning a National and International Communications System for Women.” WIFP held two international satellite teleconferences from the U.N. World Conference of Women, in Copenhagen in 1980 ("Dateline Copenhagen: A Woman's View") and Nairobi in 1985 (Dateline Nairobi - Woman's View). These were each four hours if international interactions between women. During the 1980 conference, women gathered in six US cities and several female delegates from other countries called in from the Second U.N. World Conference in Copenhagen. Five years later in Nairobi, groups of women came together similarly to in Copenhagen but with the addition of more countries and their delegates. As of 2017, WIFP became a member of Corporate Reform Coalition which is a group of organizations and individuals who join together to address the influence of corporate America on the country's elections through shareholder protection.
When the Institute was founded, it immediately launched the periodical Media Report to Women with the subhead "What Women Are Doing and Thinking About the Communications Media." It was edited the first fifteen years by Dr. Donna Allen.Media Report to Women was transferred in mid-1987 to Communication Research Association Inc., where it is still published. WIFP currently publishes two annual print periodicals: Voices for Media Democracy and the Directory of Women’s Media. The first version of the Directory was published in 1975, and had 154 women's periodicals. Out of these 154, there were 24 periodicals that were published outside of the United States. Fourteen years later, the Directory contained 702 publications with 300 published outside of the United States.
WIFP began an annual award entitle “Women and Media Award” in 2013. It which is given to women who have made exceptional contributions toward expanding female voices in the media. The recipients of this award are listed below.
Dana Densmore first became a board member and officer of WIFP when the organization was founded in 1972. During her time at the organization, she served as senior editor and research director. In 1968 when the women's liberation bloomed, Densmore had been a systems programmer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. As an outcome, she worked with Roxanne Dunbar to found the feminist organization Cell 16. The two women went on to found the journal No More Fun and Games as the organization's periodical in the same year. She is also the founder, co-director, and editor for Green Lion Press. She received her B.A. in 1965 from St. John's College in Annapolis and her M.A. in 1993 from St. John's College in Santa Fe.
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