Ethics
and Excellence in Journalism Foundation
was established in 1982 by Edith Kinney
Gaylord to support projects designed to
improve the quality and ethical
standards of journalism. The Foundation
provides grants to journalism
institutions nationwide. An Advisory
Committee meets periodically to review
requests and recommend grants, after
which the Directors act on the
recommendations and if approved,
distributions are made.
EEJF underwent a
strategic planning process in 2008 to
redefine areas of interest in order to
increase its impact in grant-making.
Currently, the Foundation’s main focus
is on youth education, professional
development, long-term projects and
special opportunities. Particular
emphasis is placed on ethics,
investigative reporting and new media
within each initiative.
(Edith Gaylord shown here at
Camp Barkley)
EDITH KINNEY GAYLORD:
Edith Kinney Gaylord was
born March 5, 1916 in Oklahoma
City to parents Inez and E. K.
Gaylord. Her father was editor
and publisher of The Oklahoman
and The Oklahoma City Times.
Edith attended Colorado College
in Colorado Springs before
graduating from Wells College in
Aurora, New York in spring of
1939 with a Bachelor of Arts
degree.
Edith began her
journalistic career reporting
for her father’s newspaper and
radio station in Oklahoma City.
In the summer of 1942, she was
hired by the Associated Press in
New York and was transferred
five months later to their
Washington, D.C. bureau. She was
the first female employee on the
general news staff.
She filed stories from New York, Hollywood, San Francisco and Chicago while following Madam Chiang Kai-shek on her tour of America. When first lady Eleanor Roosevelt insisted the AP send a female reporter to cover her news conferences, Edith was assigned to the task.
In
1944, Edith was elected
president of the National
Women’s Press Club, and served
as secretary of Mrs. Roosevelt’s
press conference committee and
media liaison between her and
the press. She also covered
other notable events, including
the death of Franklin Roosevelt,
the new first lady Bess Truman
and the 1953 coronation of Queen
Elizabeth II in London.
Edith returned to Oklahoma City
and rejoined the family business
in 1963, serving as a member of
the board of directors and
corporate secretary for The
Oklahoma Publishing Company.
(Edith
Gaylord pictured with President
George H.W. Bush)
(Edith Gaylord pictured with
Eleanor Roosevelt)
Edith quietly began her
philanthropy efforts in the
1960s, often donating
anonymously to those in need. In
1982 she founded both Inasmuch
Foundation and Ethics and
Excellence in Journalism
Foundation to carry out her
giving. Edith became a charter
trustee at Colorado College in
Colorado Springs and was awarded
an honorary Doctor of Humane
Letters degree from the college
in 1992. The University of
Oklahoma also presented Edith
with an honorary Doctor of
Humane Letters degree in 1997
for her contributions.
(Edith Kinney Gaylord receiving
Honorary Doctorate from the
University of Oklahoma)
Edith Kinney Gaylord died Jan.
28, 2001, at St. Anthony’s
Hospital in Oklahoma City, the
same hospital where she had been
born 84 years earlier.
