Kathleen Ferguson: Pioneer journalist
As a columnist, she could be maternal, forthright or controversial
KATHLEEN ‘Kit Blake’ Ferguson (1856- 1915), a native of Castleblakeney, was a widely read 19th century Canadian journalist and a founding member of the Canadian Women’s Press Club.
She became one of the first accredited female war correspondents when she was assigned to cover the Spanish American War in 1898. Arriving in Cuba, her graphic first-hand accounts of the aftermath of the war shocked readers across North America.
It is surprising her amazing life story has not featured more widely in terms of famous Irish women journalists. Kathleen is better known in Canada, where her life and writing has featured in two books and numerous articles, along with an entry in the Canadian Dictionary of Biography.
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