{{short description|American journalist (1898–1979)}} {{Use American English|date=February 2024}} {{Use mdy dates|date=February 2024}} '''Ruth Finney Allen''' (March 6, 1898 – March 20, 1979) was an American journalist. She worked as a reporter for ''[[The Sacramento Star]]'' and became nationally known for her coverage of the death of President [[Warren G. Harding]]. She became the Washington, D.C. correspondent for four [[E. W. Scripps Company|Scripps-Howard]] newspapers.
== Early life == Finney was born on March 6, 1898, in [[Chicago|Chicago, Illinois]].<ref name="nyt">{{Cite news |date=March 21, 1979 |title=Ruth Finney Allen, 81, Journalist for 50 Years |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1979/03/21/archives/ruth-finney-allen-81-journalist-for-50-years.html |access-date=February 13, 2024 |work=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref><ref name="oac">{{Cite web |title=Inventory of the Ruth Finney Papers |url=https://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/tf3g50053n/entire_text/ |access-date=2024-02-13 |website=[[Online Archive of California]]}}</ref> Her parents were John W. and Mary Morrison Finney. After growing up in [[Downieville, California|Downieville]] and [[Sacramento, California]], Finney graduated from the [[San Jose State University|San Jose Normal School]] with a teaching certificate in 1918 and worked for three months as a substitute teacher.<ref name="oac" />
== Career == Finney became a reporter for ''[[The Sacramento Star]]'' in 1918.<ref name="nyt" /><ref name="oac" /> She became well known in the state for her report on the 1922 [[Argonaut Mine]] disaster in [[Jackson, California]]. After joining the ''[[The Daily News (San Francisco)|San Francisco Daily News]]'', she received national attention for reporting on the death of President [[Warren G. Harding]] in San Francisco.<ref name="oac" /><ref name="obit">{{Cite news |date=1979-03-21 |title=Ruth Finney Allen, 81, Editor, Washington Correspondent |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1979/03/21/ruth-finney-allen-81-editor-washington-correspondent/3ad33ebe-1634-4c8c-acd7-e096984f1cc7/ |access-date=2024-02-13 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |language=en-US |issn=0190-8286}}</ref> She was appointed by four California [[E. W. Scripps Company|Scripps-Howard]] newspapers to be their Washington, D.C. correspondent in 1923.<ref name="oac" /><ref>{{Cite news |first=Nancy |last=Shute |date=2023-10-29 |title=The early women who shaped science journalism |url=https://www.sciencenews.org/article/early-women-shaped-science-journalism |work=[[Science News]] |access-date=2024-02-13 |language=en-US}}</ref> In this role, she covered the [[Teapot Dome scandal|Teapot Dome Oil scandal]], the execution of [[Sacco and Vanzetti]], and the authorization of the construction of [[Hoover Dam]].<ref name="nyt" /><ref name="oac" /><ref name="obit" /> Finney was nominated for the [[Pulitzer Prize]] in 1931 for her investigation of the electric and gas utilities industry.<ref name="oac" />
In 1941, Finney began writing a weekly column on news, politics and economics for the Scripps-Howard newspapers, titled "Washington Calling". She was an active member of the [[National Press Club (United States)|Washington Press Club]].<ref name="oac" /> She worked as a correspondent for ''[[The Albuquerque Tribune]]'' until her retirement in 1968.<ref name="nyt" />
== Personal life == Finney married fellow journalist [[Robert S. Allen]], the co-author for ''Washington Merry-Go-Round'', in 1929.<ref name="oac" /><ref>{{cite news |last=Eisen |first=Jack |date=February 25, 1981 |title=Robert S. Allen, Colorful Newsman in Washington |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1981/02/25/robert-s-allen-colorful-newsman-in-washington/3af1a2d1-82aa-47f6-be74-d41fe931ba5d/ |access-date=February 13, 2024 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]}}</ref> She died on March 20, 1979, in [[Georgetown (Washington, D.C.)|Georgetown]] at the age of 81.<ref name="nyt" /><ref name="oac" />
== References == {{Reflist}}
== Further reading == * {{Cite book |last=Mace |first=O. Henry |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9DrbAAAAMAAJ |title=47 Down: The 1922 Argonaut Gold Mine Disaster |date=2004-04-21 |publisher=Wiley |isbn=978-0-471-44692-7 |language=en}} * {{Cite book |last=Cairns |first=Kathleen A. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vN5ZAAAAMAAJ |title=Front-page Women Journalists, 1920-1950 |date=2003 |publisher=University of Nebraska Press |isbn=978-0-8032-1525-2 |language=en}} * {{Cite book |last=Beasley |first=Maurine H. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AQ-xpwAACAAJ |title=Women of the Washington Press: Politics, Prejudice, and Persistence |date=2012-08-31 |publisher=Northwestern University Press |isbn=978-0-8101-2571-1 |language=en}} * {{Cite book |last=Ross |first=Ishbel |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.76677/ |title=Ladies of the Press: The Story of Women in Journalism by an Insider |date=1936 |publisher=[[Harper (publisher)|Harper]] |url-access=registration}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Finney, Ruth}} [[Category:1898 births]] [[Category:1979 deaths]] [[Category:20th-century American women journalists]] [[Category:20th-century American journalists]] [[Category:Journalists from California]] [[Category:San Jose State University alumni]]