Thursday, August 20, 2009

A Communicator Before Her Time

I am providing an external URL link to a Master's dissertation study relative to the communication skills of Edith M. Faulstich
for further research about her work and her life.


EDITH M. FAULSTICH-FISHER
A PHILATELIC JOURNALIST AND PUBLIC COMMUNICATOR

A Directed Research Project Submitted to:
THE FACULTY OF THE PUBLIC COMMUNICATION GRADUATE PROGRAM
SCHOOL OF COMMUNICATION AMERICAN UNIVERSITY WASHINGTON, D.C.

In Candidacy for the Degree of Master of Arts
By: Alice Margaret Fisher (Crittenden)
-May 1997 -
COPYRIGHT©1997

Introduction

In his renowned story, Le Petit Prince,
Antoine de Saint-Exupery said, "C’est le temps que tu as perdu pour ta
rose qui fait ta rose si importante. Les hommes ont oublies cette verite."

This quote is literally translated as, "It is the time you have spent for your rose that has made your rose so important. Men have forgotten this truth"(Saint-Exupery, p 87).

By completely devoting most of her available time to philately, Edith M. Faulstich successfully moved beyond the social stigma of divorce, beyond poverty, and sexism in a race against time.Racing against time, Faulstich became the first philatelic woman journalist, first woman author about WWI’s Siberian Expedition in Russia, and the first woman president and communication manager of any philatelic organization. Faulstich implemented a dynamic multiplicity of factors to operate as a journalist, a persuasive communicator, a research expert, an editor, an author, a communication manager, and the first women president of the Postal History Society.In the end, Faulstich raced to communicate against the ravages of time for philately, for the lives of the forgotten soldiers who were left in Siberia and finally she raced against time for her own life.Statement of PurposeThis paper presenting Faulstich will demonstrate that through journalism and public communication she used a multiplicity of communication factors such as journalism, extensive research, profound knowledge, communication management skills and a relentless commitment to a cause, to become a successful international public communicator for philately.

But above all, she passionately gave of her personal time.

Study Significance

Journalism history, public communication history, and scholars have yet to study and recognize the multiplicity of journalism and communication management skills Faulstich possessed.She functioned with only a high school education and accomplished multiple professional public relation practices that preceded today’s formal training and public communication theories.

Her work is significant enough to assure her a well deserved place in journalism and public communication history even though such recognition has not yet been granted.This study is also significant because she was able to obtain journalism work. It was difficult to get journalism work in the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s.

"Through the late 1940s, 1950s, and into the 1960s, the same kind of woman who had been welcomed at the city desk in wartime couldn’t get past the front desk. Some of the men who blocked their way merely mirrored the views of the day.

A women’s place was in the home; the newsroom was no place for a lady. . . . . Newspapers rarely hired women" (Mills, 65).There have been numerous and specific communication studies about women, women as minorities, barriers to women’s success, women’s roles, gender, discrimination, comparative intelligence studies and factors that hinder women’s professional success.

There has been a great deal of successful discussions about the pros and cons of how women are treated differently. Additionally, there have been studies about differences in professional positions, professional advancement, salary differences, glass ceilings and the positions assigned to developing female and male communicators.

This study is significant because the focus is on Faulstich’s success and contributions rather than the factors that hindered her progress as a woman.Likewise, little has been reported on what communication factors contribute to personal success as a communicator. Hence, a large void in the public communication field has developed from not recognizing Faulstich’s contributions to journalism and public communication and what facilitated her work as a philatelic communicator.

Furthermore, this study is important and significant because it will demonstrate that despite obstacles, Faulstich was successful as a journalist and public communicator.Study LimitationsAs with any research, many expansive aspects from an original concept about what constitutes success before one’s time may emerge during the research process.

Furthermore, this study recognizes the heated debates of feminist and gender issues in women’s successes, failures, and/or injustices. One can speculate that if this presentation and research is aligned with one or more minority groups, it may incite certain opposing reactions.
Some theorists relate poverty, gender and activism with success or failure.

This study focuses on the communication aspects relative to Edith M. Faulstich the person, and the dynamic multiplicity of communication skills that added to her success as a model journalist and public communicator.

This study is limited to the fact that there may not be any similar studies examining the multiplicity of communication skills used by Faulstich.

This research is limited in that there may be relatively few, if any, successful women journalists and public communicators in similar avocations who had an impact on so many people with such far reaching communication results.

Although this study touches on philately and W.W.I., this study will not address these topical subjects in extensive detail nor will it analyze broadcast media. Future research may warrant comparative studies of other successful nontraditional public communicators who used a multiplicity of journalism and public communication skills, without formal training.

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