Anne Mollegen Smith

Anne Mollegen Smith is an American magazine editor, and writer. She was the first woman to serve as editor-in-chief of Redbook.

For others with similar names, see Anne Smith.

Anne Mollegen Smith
Anne Rush Mollegen at Smith College, 1961
Born
Anne Rush Mollegen

Meridian, Mississippi, U.S.
EducationSmith College (BA)
Occupation(s)Magazine editor and writer
Notable credit(s)Editor-in-chief, Redbook
TitleFormer editor-in-chief Redbook, Working Woman, and McCall's.
SpouseDavid Fay Smith
Children1
FamilyAlbert Mollegen (father)
Ted Mollegen (brother)
J. H. Rush (granduncle)
Al and Fred Key (second cousins once removed)

Early life and background

Anne Rush Mollegen was born in Meridian, Mississippi,[1] the youngest of two children of (Harriette) Ione Rush and Albert Theodore Mollegen, Sr. Her father was a religious scholar who wrote Christianity and Modern Man (Bobbs-Merrill, 1961), a book on Christian apologetics.[2] Prior to her marriage, Anne's mother edited a society column for The Meridian News.[3] Her grand-uncle J. H. Rush founded the first private hospital in Meridian.

As a small child, the family moved to Alexandria, Virginia. During her formative years, the family lived on the campus of the Virginia Theological Seminary, where her father was a professor. Her brother, Albert, Jr. (commonly known as Ted), attended the adjacent Episcopal High School, then an all-boys school. Anne attended the formerly all-girls St. Agnes School in Alexandria.[4]

She graduated from Smith College where she earned a B.A. degree in English literature.[4][5]

Career

Shortly after graduating from Smith College, she was hired as an assistant editor at Ladies' Home Journal. Within a few years, she landed at Redbook where she rose up through the ranks from associate editor to become the first woman to serve as editor-in-chief for the magazine in 1981.[1]

Smith served as editor-in-chief of Working Woman from 1984 to 1989. In December 1988, decades before MeToo, the magazine published what it claimed was the first scientific study of sexual harassment in the workplace. Of the 160 corporations that participated in the study, 90% reported complaints of unwanted sexual advances by men toward female employees. Over one third of these corporations had been sued by victims. "If companies don't deal with it better," Smith said at the time, "this is a financial time bomb for American business."[6]

The Working Woman sexual harassment survey would later be referenced during the hearings before the U.S. Congress on H.R. 1, known as the Civil Rights Act of 1991. As a result, this important study conducted with Freada Klein of Klein Associates (who drafted the executive report), is now part of the public record.[7]

Prior to her next editorial assignment, Smith was a past president of the Women's Media Society.[4]

In 1989, Smith was named editor-in-chief of McCall's.[4][8] She served in that capacity for approximately four years.

After she left McCall's, she briefly served as executive editor and then editor-in-chief for Her New York. The latter debuted on October 1, 1993 as a penta-weekly newspaper (or simply a daily published Monday through Friday) aimed at women based in New York City. Her New York was founded by businessman Steven Hoffenberg shortly after he left the New York Post, despite his assets being frozen due to a pending civil fraud suit against him by the Securities and Exchange Commission.[9] Smith left Her New York after only a few weeks, and later openly criticized the paper's shift in editorial policy from articles targeted to sophisticated working women to pieces deemed more "hip," for an example, a feature on former porn star Annie Sprinkle. She also accused the publication of "misogyny."[10]

Other editorial assignments include stints at startup publications, NY city life (a lifestyle magazine) in 1997,[11] and Space.com Illustrated in 2000.[12]

Later, Smith served as editor-in-chief at the Art of Simple Living. She has written on a variety of topics including personal finance, career planning, and country music. She also worked as a consultant for several top corporations including Target.[13]

She co-founded and writes for the blog, Brooklyn Artisan.[13] Additionally, Smith is a poet.[4]

Awards
  • 2nd prize, Speak for Democracy contest, Alexandria, Virginia
  • Karig Writing prize

References
  1. Johnson, Curt, ed. (1986–1987). Who's who in U.S. writers, editors & poets. Highland Park, Illinois: December Press (published 1987). p. 426. ISSN 0885-4521.
  2. "Va. theologian Albert Mollegen dies at Age 77". Washington Post. Washington, DC. January 23, 1984. Retrieved November 3, 2022. Dr. Mollegen was a widely-known apologist for classical Christianity to modern intellectuals and had lectured widely on campuses.
  3. Rush, Miss Ione (July 19, 1929). "Social happenings". The Meridian News. Meridian, Mississippi. p. 4. Retrieved December 8, 2022 – via newspapers.com. Thursday morning in the parlors of the Great Southern Hotel, Mrs. Elizabeth Gully Hall complimented her guest, Miss Elizabeth Smith, of Tuscaloosa, with a bridge party.
  4. Blau, Eleanor (September 1, 1989). "McCall's gets editor in chief". New York Times. New York, New York. p. D4. Retrieved December 6, 2022. A native of Meridian, Miss., she graduated from the St. Agnes School in Alexandria, Va., and received a B.A. in English literature from Smith College. She is a past president of the Women's Media Society and has written articles and poetry.
  5. "1961 Hamper "Anne Rush Mollegen" (Smith College, Northampton, Massachusetts)". Ancestry.com. Generations Network. 1961. p. 158. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
  6. "Survey says sexual harassment common". Argus Leader. Sioux Falls, South Dakota. November 25, 1988. p. 36. Retrieved November 3, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. Hearings on H.R. 1, the Civil Rights Act of 1991: Hearings Before the Committee on Education and Labor, House of Representatives, One Hundred Second Congress, First Session : Hearings Held in Washington, DC, February 27 and March 5, 1991, Volume 4. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. 1991. pp. 178–206.
  8. "Anne Mollegen Smith named editor In chief of McCall's magazine". Associated Press. August 31, 1989. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
  9. Glaberson, William (September 27, 1993). "Ready or not, here it comes: Hoffenberg's newspaper for women". New York Times. New York, New York. p. D6. Retrieved December 7, 2022. Anne Mollegen Smith, the former editor of McCall's, Working Woman and Redbook magazines, has signed up last week to be executive editor.
  10. Glaberson, William (December 15, 1993). "Her New York, again in chaos, gets a 'downtown' look". New York Times. New York, New York. p. D24. Retrieved December 7, 2022. The change drew criticism from some of those who had joined up with Mr. Hoffenberg. "If you look closely at what's in there currently, that's misogyny," said Anne Mollegen Smith, a former editor.
  11. Colford, Paul D. (December 1, 1997). "Entrepreneurs take chance on new magazines". Californian. Salinas, California. pp. 1D–2D. Retrieved December 8, 2022 – via newspapers.com. Anne Mollegen Smith, who was a top editor at Redbook and McCall's, became executive editor; Jack Berkowitz, president of The Nation, is a consultant to the venture; Kenneth Fadner, who worked at New York and Adweek, became the chief investor and publisher.
  12. McGee, Celia (April 21, 2000). "Hearst mag Space.com's new mission". Daily News. New York, New York. p. 19. Retrieved December 8, 2022 – via newspapers.com. Anne Mollegen Smith has been tapped for editor.
  13. "Anne Mollegen Smith". Investopedia. Retrieved November 7, 2022. Anne Mollegen Smith has more than 35 years of journalism experience, as both a reporter and editor.
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