Mary Neiswender
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Mary Neiswender

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MARY NEISWENDER was a trail blazer in Los Angeles journalism, known by her colleagues as a "reporter's reporter," a dogged and brilliant writer. Mary went to the University of Southern California, majoring in journalism. She notes that as the only woman in the class, she was consistently made to feel unwelcome, but that only strengthened her resolve. She said she always wanted to be a newspaper reporter, and she dreamed “Front Page,” the famous movie about a woman reporter. After a short stint in radio, she went to work for the Long Beach Independent Press Telegram, and over the next 40 years, she won every possible award except the Pulitzer Prize, for which she was nominated twice. She was famous for her interviews with newsmakers that were not willing to talk to others: her interviews with Charlie Manson earned her one of her Pulitzer nominations, and is the subject of a new book, “Charlie & Me,” which she was working on in the last years of her life. Another of her books, “Assassins, Serial Killers & Corrupt Cops,” talks about her life as (often) the only woman in a male-dominated field, and the many “scoops” she gathered. She spoke with serial killers, with presidents, corrupt officials, and too many confidential informants to count. In the great tradition of American journalism, Mary exposed corruption, forced the passage of legislation, and shed light on the dark corners of Los Angeles. Mary’s colleagues called her a force of nature, a reporter’s reporter, a woman of infinite heart and imagination. Mary was the first woman to be elected President of the Los Angeles Press Club, and was a founding member of an important national organization, the Investigative Reporters and Editors. She was honored for her work by the state of California, the city and county of Los Angeles and many others. Her books are a reflection of her life and times and required reading for those who are interested in the high journalistic traditions of Los Angeles newspapers from the last half of the 20th century.
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