Mary Lou "Ludie" Forbes ( Werner; June 21, 1926 – June 27, 2009) was an American journalist and commentator. She spent six decades at the Washington '' Evening Star'' and ''

The Washington Times ''The Washington Times'' is an American conservative daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., that covers general interest topics with a particular emphasis on national politics. Its broadsheet daily edition is distributed throughout ...

'', serving as the ''Times'' commentary editor until weeks before her death. As Mary Lou Werner she won the annual Pulitzer Prize for Local Reporting (Edition Time) for her ''Evening Star'' coverage of the 1958 school integration crisis in Virginia in the aftermath of the 1954

Supreme Court of the United States The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

decision in ''

Brown v. Board of Education ''Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka'', 347 U.S. 483 (1954), was a landmark decision by the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled that U.S. state laws establishing racial segregation in public schools are unconstitutional, even if the segrega ...

''.

Life

Mary Lou Werner was born in

Alexandria, Virginia Alexandria is an independent city (United States), independent city in the northern region of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. It lies on the western bank of the Potomac River approximately south of Downto ...

, and raised by her widowed mother. She graduated from George Washington High School (later one of the constituent schools of T. C. Williams High School) and briefly attended the

University of Maryland, College Park The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of Mary ...

, where she majored in math but was forced to drop out due to financial considerations. Werner had applied for a position at the ''Washington Evening Star'' because it was located in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, along a bus route that ran to her home in Alexandria. She had seen a newspaper ad for an accounting position, but accepted a position as a copy girl after finding out that the spot she had wanted was already filled. She served as a mentor to reporters such as

Carl Bernstein Carl Milton Bernstein ( ; born February 14, 1944) is an American investigative journalist and author. While a young reporter for ''The Washington Post'' in 1972, Bernstein was teamed up with Bob Woodward, and the two did much of the original new ...

, whom she met when he began at the ''Star'' as a copy boy. Werner covered the "

massive resistance Massive resistance was a strategy declared by U.S. Senator Harry F. Byrd Sr. of Virginia and his brother-in-law James M. Thomson, who represented Alexandria in the Virginia General Assembly, to get the state's white politicians to pass laws and p ...

" program of opposition to school integration that had been undertaken by

U.S. Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

Harry F. Byrd Harry Flood Byrd Sr. (June 10, 1887 – October 20, 1966) was an American newspaper publisher, politician, and leader of the Democratic Party in Virginia for four decades as head of a political faction that became known as the Byrd Organization. ...

and followed by

Governor of Virginia The governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia serves as the head of government of Virginia for a four-year term. The incumbent, Glenn Youngkin, was sworn in on January 15, 2022. Oath of office On inauguration day, the Governor-elect takes th ...

J. Lindsay Almond James Lindsay Almond Jr. (June 15, 1898 – April 14, 1986) was an American lawyer, state and federal judge and Democratic party politician. His political offices included as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Virginia's 6th congre ...

, who had proclaimed in his 1958 inaugural address that "integration anywhere means destruction everywhere". Under the constant pressure of meeting deadlines at an afternoon paper that published five editions daily, she reported on a rapidly progressing story over the course of a year, compiling information from late-breaking court actions and other events and synthesizing them into a coherent story. Werner observed that "Ninety percent of my stuff would be dictated, right off the top of my head."Rothmyer, Karen
"Winning Pulitzers: the stories behind some of the best news coverage of our time"
p. 103 ff.

Columbia University Press Columbia University Press is a university press based in New York City, and affiliated with Columbia University. It is currently directed by Jennifer Crewe (2014–present) and publishes titles in the humanities and sciences, including the fiel ...

, 1991. . Accessed June 30, 2009. She was named as the commentary page editor at the ''Times'' in 1984, two years after it was established, where she helped foster the career of conservative commentator and pundit

Cal Thomas John Calvin Thomas (born 2 December 1942) is an American syndicated columnist, author and radio commentator. Early life and education Thomas was born in 1942 in Washington, D.C. He attended the American University for his undergraduate educat ...

, whose columns first appeared in the paper in the mid-1980s.Staff. "Pulitzer Winner Mary Lou Forbes, 'Washington Times' Commentary Editor, Dies at 83", ''

Editor & Publisher ''Editor & Publisher'' (''E&P'') is an American monthly trade news magazine covering the newspaper industry. Published since 1901, ''Editor & Publisher'' is the self-described "bible of the newspaper industry." Originally based in New York City, ...

'', June 29, 2009.

Death

Forbes died of

breast cancer Breast cancer is cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipple, a newly inverted nipple, or a re ...

Inova Alexandria Hospital Inova Alexandria Hospital is a not-for-profit hospital in Alexandria, Virginia, United States. Founded in 1872 as the Alexandria Infirmary, it became part of Northern Virginia's Inova Health System in 1997. The hospital is notable for its early co ...

on June 27, 2009, six days after her 83rd birthday. She had been diagnosed only several weeks earlier.Bernstein, Adam
"D.C. Journalist Netted Pulitzer for Schools Coverage"
''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'', June 30, 2009. Accessed June 30, 2009.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Forbes, Marylou American newspaper editors American reporters and correspondents Deaths from cancer in Virginia Deaths from breast cancer Writers from Alexandria, Virginia Pulitzer Prize winners for journalism University of Maryland, College Park alumni 1926 births 2009 deaths Women newspaper editors Journalists from Virginia 20th-century American journalists