Anne Sebba: The Rise of the Woman Reporter

Anne Sebba: The Rise of the Woman Reporter 'For most of history, Anonymous was a woman', said one of King's College London's most revered alumnae, Virginia Woolf. Yet the world of which Woolf wrote was rapidly changing into one in which women could not only write and report but also be recognized for their efforts. The rise of the female writer was gaining speed and the place at which Woolf herself studied was one of the pioneers of the revolution. In 1919 King's launched one of the first diplomas in Journalism that was open to both men and women. Providing both theoretical and practical journalism training, the course gave women the unique opportunity to learn the reporting skills necessary to break into the world of journalism and go head to head with the male reporters of the era. Running until 1939, the two-year diploma programme launched the careers of a wide range of celebrated women writers and reporters. Molly Lefebure (1919 - 2013) began her own career at King's, later becoming a much respected wartime journalist and author, whose memoir Murder on the Homefront was recently adapted into a drama series for ITV.