GERTRUDE BUSTILL MOSSELL

Gertrude Bustill Mossell was a writer and editor for newspapers and magazines that were distributed nationally. From the early 1870's to 1900's, she became a guiding voice to newly freed African-Americans. Through her column, "Our Women's Department", she gave women advice on running a household and raising children. Occasionally, she would break the so-called gender line and write directly to African American men via her columns. In 1894, Gertrude's first book, The Works of the Afro-American Woman, was published. Little Dansie's One Day at Sabbath School, her second book, was published in 1902. In 1899, she helped organize the Philadelphia branch of the National Afro-American Council, precursor of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. In 1914, Governor John K. Tanner appointed Gertrude a delegate to the National Civic Movement Convention in Kansas City. She died in 1948. The headline for her obituary read: "Widow of Dr. Mossell Succumbs at 92 years." It did not even mention her name.

DELILAH LEONTIUM BEASLY

Delilah Leontium Beasly began her newspaper career in 1883 writing for the Cleveland Gazette, an African American newspaper. In 1918, she published two articles for the Journal of Negro History. After two decades of research, Beasley failed to secure a publisher for her manuscript so she borrowed money to have the book published. "The Negro Trail Blazers of California" was the first history of the African American population in the state. By 1923, Beasley was writing regularly for the Tribune. Her column was "Activities among Negroes" and her name was also published with the articles. Beasley died in 1934 of heart disease. Before her death, she was active in NAACP, International Council of Women, and a group was named after her. Her obituary read, "It was through her writings that the radical relations were eased greatly in the cosmopolitan city of Oakland. Her articles on activities among Negroes served as an educational contract and were unsurpassed."

BERNARD SHAW

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Bernard Shaw is an award winning journalist best known for his tenure as anchor on CNN. He helped cover Watergate for CBS before moving to ABC, bringing to American audiences stories such as the mass suicide at Jonestown, Guyana. Then, in 1980, the Cable News Network, Ted Turner's 24-hour cable news experiment, was born. Shaw left the comfort of network television for the chance to be a part of television history. Colleagues told him he was making a mistake. It was not long before Shaw and the network were tested. It was 1981 and the CNN newsroom was tuned to a police scanner. President Reagan and his cordon of Secret Service agents were moving to a car. Shaw immediately demanded that CNN take the air, and soon he was revealing the news that Reagan had been shot. However, perhaps most revealing of Shaw's journalistic principles came during the hours after. When the major networks reported that press secretary James Brady had been killed, Shaw refused to follow suit until he received official confirmation. That confirmation never came and the other networks were forced to retract. Shaw officially retired in 1994 with the intention of turning his focus toward writing.