Marian Andersen Nebraska Women Journalists Hall of Fame
The purpose of this Hall of Fame is to recognize the working women journalists who may or may not have become newspaper publishers, broadcast station managers, or ad agency presidents. Rather, through talent, initiative, intelligence and stamina, they made a difference for the profession, for the community and for those who followed in their footsteps.
Before nominating, ask yourself:
- Is the candidate now or has she been a working journalist (broadcast, print, online; news, advertising, public relations or any other aspect of journalism)? Yes or No
- Does she have a Nebraska background by birth or work experience? Yes or No
- Has she attained a position of prominence in her field? Yes or No
All of the above must be answered ‘Yes’ in order to rate the candidate. Proceed to nominate your candidate using the following guidelines and the nomination form:
Marian Andersen
Guidelines
- Women may be nominated by the general public.
- Nominee may be living or deceased.
- Nominee may come from any facet of the journalism profession: broadcast, print or online; news or advertising, public relations, or any other aspect of journalism.
- Must have a Nebraska background by birth or work experience, having spent a significant amount of her professional career in Nebraska.
- Must have attained a position of prominence in her field.
- Will be judged on a) contributions to the profession, b) achievements within the profession, c) service to her communities: local as well as state and/or regional/ national. “Communities” refers to both the community in which she lives and works as well as to her professional community.
- Nominator must include compelling reasons why this woman should be selected.
- Nomination must be accompanied by TWO letters of support, each of which addresses at least one of the criteria in #6.
- Nominations will stay active for one year past the year of nomination.
Deadline to make a nomination for the 2024 Hall of Fame is March 15, 2024. Download the Hall-of-Fame-nomination-form.
Nomination and Selection Process
Nominations made be made by the general public, as well as by NPW members. The deadline for submitting nominations is March 15, 2024. For more information, contact NPW Vice President Barb Batie. See email on the nomination form, or you can email Barb by going to the Contacts page (see the menu at the top of this page) and clicking on her name.
Final selection is made by the NPW Board of Directors. Recipients are announced each year at the NPW Spring Convention.
Placement and Name
Ruth Brown, past president of NPW, holds portraits of the 2017 Marian Andersen Nebraska Women Journalists Hall of Fame honorees Eileen Wirth and Willa Cather. At left is the plaque honoring Marian Andersen, who with her late husband Harold, provided support for the HOF. Brown initiated the HOF during her tenure as president.
The Nebraska Women Journalists Hall of Fame is on the second floor of Andersen Hall at the University of Nebraska College of Journalism and Mass Communications. The Nebraska Newspaper Hall of Fame and the Nebraska Broadcasters Hall of Fame are also located in Andersen Hall, which is named for benefactors Harold and Marian Andersen of Omaha.
The late Harold Andersen was a retired publisher and chief executive officer of the Omaha World-Herald Company. His wife, Marian, for whom the NPW Nebraska Women Journalists Hall of Fame is named, is a UNL journalism alumna and Phi Beta Kappa member who made her mark through community service.
Marian was the first woman to head the Heartland Chapter of the American Red Cross and later served as vice chairman for the American Red Cross Board of Governors. She was chairwoman of the search committee that hired Elizabeth Dole to head the American Red Cross.
Marian was also the first woman chair of the University of Nebraska Foundation’s Board of Directors and later, with her husband, co-chaired the foundation’s Campaign Nebraska which exceeded its goal to raise $1.2 billion for the university’s four campuses.
Marian has also served on boards for the Public Broadcasting System, YMCA, United Way, the Nebraska Arts Council, the State Historical Society, Opera Omaha, and many more worthwhile organizations.
Members
To see who the members are, click here.
