About Ann Cottrell Free

(June 4, 1916 - October 30, 2004)

Front Row Seat for History

Ann Cottrell Free was a pioneering woman journalist, author and poet whose life's work was inspired by three giants of her time: Eleanor Roosevelt, Rachel Carson and Albert Schweitzer.

Ann devoted her life to telling the stories of those in need, writing about human suffering, the plight of refugees, civil rights, nature, the environment and the welfare of animals. She often found that she was ahead of her time and broke new ground as the "first" to do many things.

Columnist Helen Thomas said of Ann, "With her great compassion and wonderful writing talent, she threw a spotlight on the suffering of humankind and animals - what one of her heroes Albert Schweitzer called 'reverence for life'...Ann can be called one of nature's noblewomen."

"I had a front row seat for history" Ann often said. Indeed, she had a most remarkable life.

Marian Anderson, Movie Stars, Newsweek

Born in Richmond, Va., she was the only child of Emily Blake and Emmett Drewry Cottrell. Growing up, she spent many happy summers with her beloved grandparents "Pet" and George McD. Blake , in the small town of Louisa, Va., where "Papoo" was mayor and publisher of the Central Virginian newspaper. Perhaps this is where she first developed her "nose for news" and passion for animals and writing. She attended the Collegiate School for Girls in Richmond, beginning her college career at William and Mary (now Virginia Commonwealth University) in Richmond, before joining the class of 1938 at Barnard College in New York City.

She began her newspaper career in 1936 while still in college, working summers on the Richmond Times Dispatch, where one of her assignments was to interview African American contralto Marian Anderson after her historic concert at the Lincoln Memorial where she sang after being barred from Constitution Hall because of her race.

After graduation Ann headed west to Hollywood, working as a press agent for Paramount Pictures and meeting such stars as Sterling Hayden and Fred MacMurray. Movie producer Edward H. Griffith asked Ann to come to Charlottesville to handle the on-location publicity for his movie "Virginia", starring MacMurray, Hayden and Madeleine Carroll. When the shooting was over, Ann continued to write for the Richmond Times Dispatch , while looking for ways to escape her hometown.

She succeeded and was hired by Newsweek magazine to clip newspaper stories at its New York headquarters. "One day the manager and editor called me in and asked would I like to go down to Washington? I thought he meant to take a package. But I was the package," she said in a 1989 Washington Press Club Foundation oral history interview.

First Woman in Washington Bureau of Newsweek, Chicago Sun and New York Herald Tribune

Ann moved to Washington in 1940 and became, in quick succession, the first full-time woman Washington correspondent for Newsweek magazine, The Chicago Sun and the New York Herald Tribune, which were all located on the 12th floor of the National Press Building.

From the nation's capital, she reported on the impact of the attack on Pearl Harbor, the declaration of World War II, military and home front mobilization, women in the armed forces, war factory production and First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. As a regular at the First Lady's female-only press conferences, she was elected in 1943 as the second chairman of Mrs. Roosevelt's Press Conference Association. (Today photographs of Mrs. Roosevelt and her "press girls", including Ann, adorn the walls of the National Press Club's Fourth Estate restaurant.) Upon the news of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's death, she was the first reporter to reach Bess and Margaret Truman.

Special Correspondent in Post-War China

After the War, Ann went to China as a special correspondent for the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA). She reported on the plight of refugees and devastating famine. When she discovered that desperately needed relief supplies were being diverted, she blew the whistle on Chinese government corruption. She interviewed Gen. Chou En-Lai, who later became premier, and his wife, Mme. Chou En-lai, who was a survivor of the Long March, as well as U.S. General George C. Marshall. Her stories also called attention to the problems of German and Austrian Jewish refugees in China. She was evacuated on the last plane out of Manchuria when peace talks collapsed between Marshall, the Communists and the Kuomintang government.

Globe Trotting Correspondent

In 1947, following her United Nations assignment, she became a roving correspondent through 14 countries. She wrote stories for the New York Herald Tribune and other newspapers from French Indochina (now Vietnam) during its last days. In India, she covered Mahatma Gandhi and Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and witnessed the transfer of power from British Viceroy Lord Mountbatten to Nehru, narrowly escaping the Moslem-Hindu riots that followed. She traveled to Egypt and lived among Yugoslavian war refugees; a journey to Geneva resulted in an interview with Eleanor Roosevelt during the framing of the Human Rights Declaration. As a roving foreign correspondent, her stories included datelines from Egypt's Sinai desert, Indo-China, Palestine, Greece, Vienna, Rome, Paris, London and Berlin.

In 1948 Ann joined the Marshall Plan as a special correspondent, reporting on U.S. efforts to rebuild war-ravaged Europe. She filed stories from France, Italy, Austria and Germany for what is now The International Herald Tribune .

She returned to Washington and in February 1950 she married James S. Free, Washington correspondent for the Birmingham News. In 1955, they became the parents of Elissa Blake Free who later followed them into journalism, spending 21 years at CNN.

Animal Reporting

In the late 1950s Ann began writing about animal protection and her stories helped mobilize congressional and public support for the successful passage of the Humane Slaughter and Animal Welfare Acts. In 1963, she received the Animal Welfare Institute's Albert Schweitzer Medal for her groundbreaking work.

Humane Society of the United States CEO Wayne Pacelle credits Ann's reporting as "the blow that changed the landscape of debate over laboratory animal welfare forever. Her expose of the mistreatment of beagles used for testing of color dye by the Food and Drug Administration, in the sub-basement of the USDA building...just a short walk from the Capitol, provided not just shocking revelations, but substantive accounts of needless cruelty and suffering that helped the humane movement attract the sympathetic attention and assistance of elected officials." At the time of her death he observed, "we are all so proud of Ann, as a leader, as a pioneer, as a creative spirit in our cause, and a symbol of light and goodness that we may follow as we press ahead with our important cause in the 21st century."

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals co-founder Ingrid Newkirk said of Ann's animal writing, "thanks to her, the plight of wild horses was put on the map, the plight of dogs in laboratories and the plight of the hunted and more...we will remember her fondly and with gratitude for being such a fighter, such an inspiration, and such a friend to those who have no voice of their own with which to protect themselves.

Environmental Writing and
Friendship with Rachel Carson

But it wasn't just the animals Ann was concerned about. She was one of the first reporters to write about pollution of the environment, particularly from pesticides. Her stories on the dangers of dioxin and other chemicals ran in papers all over the country through national syndicates. In the 1970s and 80s she contributed frequent columns on pollution, ecology, Earth Day, and conservation to the op-ed pages of the Washington Post and Washington Star and wrote a monthly column for EnviroSouth magazine .

In the early 1960s Ann's stories on chemicals drew the attention of marine biologist Rachel Carson. They became friends when Rachel called Ann while tracking down information for Silent Spring .

The two aided and supported each other's work. Ann provided information for Silent Spring and wrote about the author and her book after its publication. She also arranged for a rare public appearance by Rachel at the Women's National Press Club. In turn, Rachel shared Ann's concerns about the conditions for laboratory animals and lent her voice to the call for more humane treatment.

After Carson's death, Ann, in a national magazine article, successfully launched a public campaign for the establishment of the Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge in Maine. Ann later delivered an important speech entitled, Since Silent Spring: Our Debt to Albert Schweitzer & Rachel Carson and was the recipient of the Rachel Carson Legacy Award.

Testimony, Books, Appearances and Awards

In 1982 Ann exposed the National Zoo's plan for shotgun and bow and arrow hunts of deer within its fenced facility in Virginia. Ann's testimony as the chief witness at a special congressional hearing resulted in the cancellation of the hunt.

Over the years, Ann wrote for many publications, contributing columns and stories to The Washington Star, The Washington Post, Defenders of Wildlife, This Week magazine, The Animal Welfare Institute Quarterly , EnviroSouth , the Birmingham News, the Albert Schweitzer Courier, Between the Species , Modern Maturity, the North American Newspaper Alliance and the Women's News Service. In the 1960s she and her husband co-wrote a syndicated column entitled Whirligig, featuring news from the nation's capital and around the world.

Her work won her numerous honors, including the Animal Welfare Institute's Albert Schweitzer Medal, induction into the Virginia Communications Hall of Fame, the Rachel Carson Council's Rachel Carson Legacy Award and "Timeless Pioneer" designation by the American Association of Retired Persons.

She also authored two books: Forever the Wild Mare and Animals, Nature and Albert Schweitzer as well as a volume of poetry entitled, No Room, Save in the Heart.

She spoke and wrote frequently about her coverage of First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, contributing articles to the Eleanor Roosevelt Encyclopedia and appearing on broadcasts about the Roosevelts on CNN, PBS, CBS, BBC, NHK and French TV. In 1962, she initiated the establishment of the Eleanor Roosevelt Golden Candlestick Award at the Women's National Press Club.

Oral Histories, Affiliations, Library of Congress

Ann's oral history pertaining to her animal work "Telling Their Story is All I Can Do" is part of Columbia University's animal advocacy oral history collection and is available on this website. Her other professional oral histories are in the collections of the National Press Club. A group interview she did for the Washington Press Foundation on Eleanor Roosevelt's Press Conferences is available at: http://wpcf.org/oralhistory/group.html.

A summary of her personal oral history is available on this website as well.

Ann was a trustee of the Albert Schweitzer Animal Welfare Fund and was on the board of The Albert Schweitzer Fellowship . She was a member of Society of Woman Geographers , the National Press Club, the American Newswomen's Club and a founding member of the Friends of the National Zoo. In 1986, she co-founded Vieques Humane Society and Animal Rescue on the Caribbean island of Vieques, Puerto Rico. She was also a member of many animal and environmental organizations including, the Animal Welfare Institute, the Humane Society of the United States , People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals , the Washington Animal Rescue League, The Washington Humane Society, the Shenandoah County Humane Society and the Rachel Carson Council.

Her personal and professional papers will become part of the collection of the Manuscript Division of the United States Library of Congress.

She is survived by her daughter, Elissa Blake Free, her son-in-law, William Ward Nooter and her granddaughter, Amanda Blake Nooter, all of Washington, D.C.

National Press Club Ann Cottrell Free
Animal Reporting Award

The National Press Club has recently announced the establishment of the annual Ann Cottrell Free Animal Reporting Award. The first was given at the 2006 awards dinner for work done in 2005. The submission deadline for work done in 2007 was April 1, 2008. Here are the criteria:

The National Press Club Ann Cottrell Free Animal Reporting Award honors excellence in reporting about animals. Established by the family of journalist and longtime Press Club member Ann Cottrell Free, who wrote extensively about animals and their welfare, this prize recognizes serious work by journalists that informs and educates the public about threats facing animals .

Categories:
1. Print/Online
2. Broadcast

Entries must consist of a single article or broadcast or a series of related articles or broadcasts, which will be judged as a unit. A letter detailing how and why the entry demonstrates original and thought-provoking reporting should accompany the entry. Submissions that provide evidence of impact or prompted action will be given particular consideration.

Prize: $1,000 award for each category.

Applications and more information:

http://npc.press.org/activities/programs/awards/2008_awards_form.pdf