Gloria Steinem
Gloria Steinem

Gloria Steinem, who was the face of feminism for a generation, as well as a trailblazer in the media business, passed away on Sept. 2.

In addition to being one of the leaders of the women’s movement, Steinem was an expert in using the power of the media to tell stories that she wanted to shift toward the mainstream of American culture. Calling herself “an entrepreneur of social change” at the 1972 Democratic National Convention, she authored a series of best-selling books—from 1973’s The Beach Book to 2017’s The Trouble with Rich Women.

She took to the airwaves in numerous television interviews as well as appearances on such programs as “The Larry Sanders Show.” She also produced films for HBO, Lifetime and Showtime.

But it was in the magazine world where she perhaps made her biggest media impact. A writer for publications including Esquire and New York magazine (which she helped to found), she was one of the group of women who founded Ms. magazine in 1972, where she was an editor for 15 years. The magazine is still in business today.

She also was involved in the decision to make the non-profit Feminist Majority Foundation the publisher of the magazine. The foundation, which acquired Ms. In 2000, turned it into an ad-free, editorially independent, non-profit quarterly publication.

In 2005, she joined forces with Jane Fonda and writer Robin Morgan to launch the Women’s Media Center, which was focused on promoting women as decision-makers and experts, training women for media roles, and fighting sexism in reporting.

“She used her voice and writing to raise visibility for women and the issues of our time,” said Women’s Media Center president and CEO Julie Burton. “We came to take it for granted that she would always be where she was most needed — at the podium, on TV, on the plane, on the phone, or at the computer — to make the ideal of social justice a reality. Her phrases have become mottoes of our time.”