Virginia Prewett (1919 – April 7, 1988) was a U.S. journalist whose writing focused on Latin American affairs.
Virginia Prewett was born in Gordonsville, Tennessee, in 1919. [1] [2] [3] She spent her teenage years living in Spain, [3] then studied at Cumberland University, the University of Toulouse, and New York University. [1] [4]
In the 1940s, after beginning her career as a reporter at the Nashville Tennessean and Lebanon Banner, she became a foreign correspondent in Argentina, Brazil, and Mexico for the Chicago Sun and Sun-Times, with her writing widely syndicated through the publication's news service. [1] [2] [4] She also worked briefly on Latin American issues for the International Rescue Committee in the late '40s. [1]
Prewett went on to cover Latin America on a freelance basis for a variety of publications, including the Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Atlantic, New Republic, Herald Tribune, Reader's Digest, Saturday Evening Post, and Washington Times. [1] [4] From 1959 into the 1960s, she wrote a syndicated North American Newspaper Alliance column. [1] Then, in the '60s and '70s, she wrote a column for the Washington Daily News. [1] After moving to Washington, D.C., in 1966, she spent 18 years producing "The Hemisphere Hotline," a newsletter focusing on inter-American affairs. [1]
She was the author of three books, beginning with Reportage on Mexico (1941). [1] [3] [5] This was followed by The Americas and Tomorrow in 1944. [4] [6] In the early 1950s, Prewett temporarily left journalism and attempted to establish a farm in the forests of Brazil. [4] [7] This experience resulted in her 1953 memoir Beyond the Great Forest. [4] [7]
For her coverage of Latin America, she received a Maria Moors Cabot Prize in 1964. [2] [4]
Prewett, described by some as a conservative journalist, was a co-founder of the Citizens Committee for a Free Cuba. [4] [8] [9] She was honored for her work by the Brazilian and Guatemalan governments, for her opposition to Juan Perón and Fidel Castro, respectively. [1] [4]
In 1949, she married William R. Mizelle, becoming Virginia Prewett Mizelle, but she continued to write under her maiden name. [1] [4]
She died in 1988 at age 69. [1]
Virginia Prewett (1919 – April 7, 1988) was a U.S. journalist whose writing focused on Latin American affairs.
Virginia Prewett was born in Gordonsville, Tennessee, in 1919. [1] [2] [3] She spent her teenage years living in Spain, [3] then studied at Cumberland University, the University of Toulouse, and New York University. [1] [4]
In the 1940s, after beginning her career as a reporter at the Nashville Tennessean and Lebanon Banner, she became a foreign correspondent in Argentina, Brazil, and Mexico for the Chicago Sun and Sun-Times, with her writing widely syndicated through the publication's news service. [1] [2] [4] She also worked briefly on Latin American issues for the International Rescue Committee in the late '40s. [1]
Prewett went on to cover Latin America on a freelance basis for a variety of publications, including the Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Atlantic, New Republic, Herald Tribune, Reader's Digest, Saturday Evening Post, and Washington Times. [1] [4] From 1959 into the 1960s, she wrote a syndicated North American Newspaper Alliance column. [1] Then, in the '60s and '70s, she wrote a column for the Washington Daily News. [1] After moving to Washington, D.C., in 1966, she spent 18 years producing "The Hemisphere Hotline," a newsletter focusing on inter-American affairs. [1]
She was the author of three books, beginning with Reportage on Mexico (1941). [1] [3] [5] This was followed by The Americas and Tomorrow in 1944. [4] [6] In the early 1950s, Prewett temporarily left journalism and attempted to establish a farm in the forests of Brazil. [4] [7] This experience resulted in her 1953 memoir Beyond the Great Forest. [4] [7]
For her coverage of Latin America, she received a Maria Moors Cabot Prize in 1964. [2] [4]
Prewett, described by some as a conservative journalist, was a co-founder of the Citizens Committee for a Free Cuba. [4] [8] [9] She was honored for her work by the Brazilian and Guatemalan governments, for her opposition to Juan Perón and Fidel Castro, respectively. [1] [4]
In 1949, she married William R. Mizelle, becoming Virginia Prewett Mizelle, but she continued to write under her maiden name. [1] [4]
She died in 1988 at age 69. [1]