Women in Communications records, 1918-1976

Note that there are additional supplement inventories in the Special Collections Reading Room.

Women In Communications, Inc. (WIC) is the Chicago chapter of Theta Sigma Phi, the national professional club for women in journalism. Included are members from the media and the fields of advertising, public relations and free-lance writing as well as the editing of trade publications. Theta Sigma Phi monthly dinner meetings are forums to which prominent speakers are invited to discuss problems and disseminate information about journalism.

Theta Sigma Phi was established in 1909 in Seattle, Washington as an honorary professional fraternity for college women majoring in journalism. The fraternity's purpose is to provide a professional organization that promotes the interests of women in literary work and unites them in fraternal bonds of friendship and cooperation. By the 1920s a number of alumnae chapters were formed by charter members who had graduated from colleges with the Chicago chapter being one of the first to be established in 1919. Membership in the Chicago chapter was, at first, limited to women who had joined the group in college, but within a few years, memberships from women already working in journalism were accepted. Consequently, the Chicago chapter charter was not granted until 1941 when the Theta Sigma Phi bylaws were changed to admit non- collegiate chapters.

Theta Sigma Phi first meetings were held in the Old Tower Shop at 151 W. Chicago Avenue. In 1921 the Chicago chapter rented a house at 55 East Superior which provided housing for members as well as a place to meet. The residents elected three officers to run the house as a separate entity. Other house locations included 1215 N. Astor Street (1923), 87 East Elm Street (1926), and 50 East Cedar Street (1928-1952). When the Cedar Street building was sold, no suitable house was found to house residents.

Theta Sigma Phi early meetings and activities provided companionship for a group of aspiring writers and journalists. Their first project established a National Journalistic Register. The Register, as it was called, served as an employment bureau for women to find journalism jobs. It was operated on a part-time basis by the members of the Chicago chapter. Theta Sigma Phi, the national organization, took an interest in the Register and opened branches in several cities throughout the country. The Register existed until 1931 when lack of jobs and operating funds caused it to cease operation.

In 1922 college weekends were initiated. Seniors in the Midwest were invited to spend a Spring weekend at the Theta Sigma Phi house where they would attend workshops with working women journalists. The students received advice on how to write a resume, job interviewing, and apartment selection in Chicago. This college weekend served as a model for other Theta Sigma Phi women in Communications, Inc. 2 Alumna chapters to emulate. In 1962 a $500 scholarship was awarded at a banquet concluding the weekend. In 1970 the group sponsored Minority Recruitment Conferences in Chicago area high schools to teach students about the profession of journalism.

In 1937 the Ladies of the Press Breakfast was held as a fundraiser where members discussed various fields of journalism. The breakfast frequently coincided with the college weekend. As attendance grew the Breakfast became a luncheon, and later a dinner. Panels of members were replaced, by a single speaker, often a prominent local journalist. Then in 1962 the Board of Directors decided to recognize good journalism by establishing the Jacob Scher Award for investigative reporting. This award was then presented at the annual dinner.

In the early 1970s, the national board of directors modernized the organization by changing its name to Women in Communications, Inc. and the group incorporated as a not-for-profit organization so funds could be made available for service projects. The national group also adopted the policy of admitting men to membership as the Chicago chapter was one of the first to admit male members and campaigned for this change.

All local chapters - alumnae, the collegiate, and at-large chapters for alumna in rural areas are supervised by national officers and a board of directors. The national organization at its Annual National Meetings determined policy decisions and make bylaws changes. The national group publishes a journal for members entitled The Matrix. It also sponsors the annual Headliner Awards for women with national prominence in journalism.

The Women in Communication, Inc., Chicago chapter records include annual and auditor's reports, board of directors' and regular minutes of meetings, the constitution and bylaws, correspondence, convention proceedings, articles of incorporation, The Matrix, membership directories, newsletters, newspaper clippings, photographs, slides, and scrapbooks. The Women in Communications, Inc. records include information on its activities since its founding in 1919; career conferences for high school and college students; the Equal Rights Amendment; the Jacob Scher Awards; Ladies of the Press breakfasts; minority recruitment conferences; the National Journalistic Register; scholarships and service projects; student chapters at Northwestern University; the Women's Advertising Club of Chicago; the national fraternity, conferences and activities; and WIC's twentieth birthday dinner. The records cover the time period of 1918 to 1976. This collection of records also includes some material relating to Northwestern University collegiate chapter.

Fourteen subsequent supplements to the Women in Communications Records were received after the initial installment, with the most recent supplement donated in 2001. For information about the materials comprising these supplements, please consult paper inventories located in the Special Collections Reading Room.

The Women in Communications, Inc. records were arranged by the archivist in an alphabetical subject order and chronologically thereunder. An asterisk identifies those folder titles created by the archivist, while all other titles were assigned by one of the historian's of the Chicago chapter. See folder 98 for explanatory notes made by the club historian.

None.

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The records were initially donated to the University Library at the University of Illinois at Chicago by the Chicago chapter of Women in Communications, Inc. in 1975 on May 7 (accession 75-43) and on August 21 (accession 75-82).

Fourteen subsequent supplements to the Women in Communications Records were received after the initial installment in 1979 1980 1982 1983 1984 1985 1988 1990 1992 1994 1995 1999 and 2001.

Women in Communications Records, Special Collections, University of Illinois at Chicago.

The finding aid for this collection was revised from an undated description and inventory (processed by Cathy Schallhorn and edited by Mary Ann Bamberger) and subsequently marked up for web presentation in July 2008.

• Names
  • Association for Women in Communications. Chicago Chapter. -- Archives
  • Theta Sigma Phi..
  • Women in Communications, inc. -- Archives
• Geographic CoverageIllinois--Chicago.
• Subject
  • Women in communication.
  • Women in the mass media industry.