A veteran reporter for the Lincoln Journal-Star and the Omaha World-Herald and a Lincoln newspaper editor from the 1940s through 1971 were the 2025 inductees into the Marian Andersen Nebraska Women Journalists Hall of Fame April 12. Ceremonies were conducted during the Nebraska Press Women (NPW) spring convention banquet at Timber Creek Pizza in Omaha.
Gordon native Kathryn Duerfeldt was a posthumous inductee, honored for her 25 years as an editorial assistant at the Lincoln Journal, as well as her work as the editor of the Gordon Journal during World War II. At a time when staff was short because of the war, she kept her hometown newspaper going.
After moving to Lincoln, Duerfeldt was responsible for writing the “More or Less Personal” column, writing editorials and managing the editorial page layout for the Journal. She was the first woman to be named Nebraska Journalist of the Year by the Society of Professional Journalists, Sigma Delta Chi. In Duerfeldt’s 25 years at the Lincoln Journal, she was known for championing the causes of the poor, the young and people unable to fight for themselves.
The second inductee is Martha Stoddard, a graduate of Lincoln East High School with a master’s degree from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln who began her journalistic career as a daily news reporter for the Lincoln Journal in 1985, covering health care, K-12 education and more before being assigned to state government, the Unicameral and higher education. She then worked for the Omaha World-Herald from 2003 to 2024, covering state services and state government. The readers of the World-Herald and Journal-Star could rely on her firsthand knowledge and her impeccable reporting. During that time, she mentored many new, young journalists, teaching them how to find answers, get quotes and write their stories.
Nebraska Press Women formed the Marian Andersen Nebraska Women Journalists Hall of Fame in 2011, with six women in the inaugural class. The purpose of this hall of fame is to recognize working women journalists, who through talent, initiative, intelligence, persistence and stamina, have made a difference for the profession, for their communities and for those who follow in their footsteps. The hall of fame is sponsored by and named for the late Marian Andersen, a graduate of the College of Journalism and Mass Communications at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Andersen agreed to be the exclusive sponsor of the hall. Her endowment continues to make it possible to honor women journalists. The hall of fame is located at the UNL College of Journalism & Mass Communications in Andersen Hall.
