Doris O'Donnell

Doris E. O'Donnell Beaufait

• Born 1921 in Cleveland, OH USA
• Died September 27, 2015

Biographical Information

Doris O'Donnell was an investigative reporter from Cleveland, OH. Writing mainly for the Cleveland Plain Dealer, she was a pioneer among women investigative reporters, covering a number of high-profile stories such as the Sam Sheppard murder trial in 1954 (that case was the inspiration for the hit television series The Fugitive), but also by being embedded in unusual environments in order to produce ground-breaking reports. For example, she spent two months living with an African-American family in 1948 to report on the reality of of their situation, and in 1956, was allowed to travel in the Soviet Union to produce some in-depth reports on the country, at a time when very few Western journalists were granted admission.

One of her famous endeavors involved baseball as in May of 1957 she accompanied the Cleveland Indians on an East Coast swing, becoming the first woman to be admitted to the press box at Griffith Stadium in Washington, DC. However, she also faced resistance and sexism, as both the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox refused to grant her admittance to the press box in their respective ballpark, an incident that received national press coverage.

She continued to be active in journalism until the 1990s and died in 2015 at age 94. She received a number of honors during her lifetime and posthumously, including having a journalism fellowship at Point Park University named in her honor, and having a television series about her remarkable life being produced. She published her autobiography, Front-Page Girl, in 2006.

Related Sites

• Biographical profile from Point Park University
• "Doris O'Donnell, front-page girl" at ClevelandWomen.com