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The lovesick journalist: the image of the female journalist in Danielle Steel’s novels

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The lovesick journalist: the image of the female journalist in Danielle Steel’s novels

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THE LOVESICK JOURNALIST: THE IMAGE OF THE FEMALE
JOURNALIST IN DANIELLE STEEL’S NOVELS

by

Danielle Ethlyne Nieman

________________________________________________________

A Thesis Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE USC GRADUATE SCHOOL
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
MASTER OF ARTS
(JOURNALISM (BROADCAST JOURNALISM))

May 2010

Copyright 2010 Danielle Ethlyne Nieman
ii
Dedication
To my Mom, Dad and Gram.
iii
Acknowledgments
I would like to thank my parents, Paul and Donna Nieman, who have always
been there to support and guide me throughout my life.
iv
Table of Contents
Dedication ii
Acknowledgments iii
Abstract v
Chapter One: Introduction 1
Chapter One Endnotes 6
Chapter Two: Bittersweet 7
Chapter Two Endnotes 11
Chapter Three: Changes 12
Chapter Three Endnotes 16
Chapter Four: Heartbeat 17
Chapter Four Endnotes 21
Chapter Five: Journey 22
Chapter Five Endnotes 28
Chapter Six: Message From Nam 29
Chapter Six Endnotes 33
Chapter Seven: No Greater Love 34
Chapter Seven Endnotes 37
Chapter Eight: Passion’s Promise 38
Chapter Eight Endnotes 42
Chapter Nine: Second Chance 43
Chapter Nine Endnotes 48
Chapter Ten: Conclusion 49
Chapter Ten Endnotes 51
Bibliography 52
Appendix: Novel Summaries 54
v
Abstract
This paper explores the image of the female journalist in popular culture
through Danielle Steel’s romance novels. Steel is a best-selling American author
who has written eight books featuring female journalists as her main protagonists.
This paper will examine eight of Steel’s characters in the novels: Bittersweet,
Changes, Heartbeat, Journey, Message From Nam, No Greater Love, Passion’s
Promise, and Second Chance. No previous research has looked at the effects that
romance novels have had on the image of the female journalist in popular culture.
This study compares and contrasts Steel’s journalists with other female journalists in
popular culture in order to show their differences and similarities. Research has been
conducted to show what drives the public (mostly women) to read romance novels
such as Steel’s, and why they are continuing to grow in popularity. With the success
Steel has had with these eight best-selling romance novels, the time has come to take
a closer look at the images of the female journalists that Steel has created.

1
Chapter One: Introduction
Research on the image of the female journalist in popular culture through
Danielle Steel’s romance novels was sparked by romance fiction’s increase in
popularity since the 1960s.
1
According to Romance Writers of America, these types
of novels are read because of their “emotionally satisfying and optimistic endings.”
2

If the public is reading romance novels to satisfy unfulfilled fantasies, then writers
like Steel must be aware – consciously or unconsciously of this concept. Steel
acknowledged losing herself in the writing of her own novels, in thereby distracting
herself from life’s heartaches.
3
Romance readers expect kind of fictions to take them
to a world different from their current reality.
4

Readers who have struggled with career, financial and other hardships have
admitted how refreshing it was to pick up a romance novel to escape into a fantasy-
fiction.
5
Writer J.J. Morgan suggested in Helium’s arts and humanities that a
romance novel should offer three things to the reader: escapism, exploration through
different worlds in romance subgenres, and the love story.
6
Steel’s romance novels
offer escape for the reader with the protagonist always experiencing a happy ending.
According to a Time magazine article, critic Paul Gray said that romance
novels are “fantasy and its proper place in adult imagination.”
7
Associated Press
reporter Megan Scott, explored how in tough economic times romance writing is
easy to love.
8
Scott noted how Harlequin Enterprises Ltd., a global giant in women’s
fiction, reported fourth-quarter earnings up 32 percent over the same period a year
earlier, with U.S. retail sales up 9 percent in 2008.
2
Author Judith Orloff, pointed out in Emotional Freedom that romantic
reading is a “healthy and positive coping mechanism that helps people find an oasis
of calm.”
9
The general public does not necessarily want to pick up a romance novel
filled with struggle and hardship, especially if that is the reality they are living.
Orloff’s theory helps explain why Steel’s image of the female journalist is different
from other examples popular culture has shown of female journalists. Although
Steel’s journalists still share traits of the “sob sisters,” a phrase used to refer to
female journalists covering the human angle of a story, there are other differences
that set them apart. According to Orloff’s concept, if Steel created a character
struggling with many hardships, the novel might turn off romance readers. Avid
readers of romance don’t care about the difficulties women have had to endure in the
field of journalism; they want a happy story.
10

Seven of Steel’s novels featuring female journalists put an emphasis on
beauty, money and easy success in journalism. Steel does not spend much time
discussing how they became successful because the novels often open with these
women having already achieved high positions. The biggest difference between
Steel’s female journalists and other female journalists pictured in popular culture has
to do with their nonexistent climb to the top, and that they do not have to prove their
intelligence on the job. Steel does not discuss career struggles and never puts a
dominating male figure in the workplace.
According to Joe Saltzman, director of the Image of the Journalist in Popular
Cultue, “The sob sister always has to prove herself. She has to persuade the males
3
around her that she is worthy of their respect. She often screws up before winning
her stripes, but, by and large, she is an independent, hard-working reporter who
never lets her newspaper down.”
11

Nonetheless, Steel’s female journalists do share some traits with sob sisters.
Steel’s characters often put their personal lives first and their careers second. In
Steel’s romance novels, even though the women tend to choose marriage and
children before their careers, by the end of the novel they have managed to have it
all. The novels always end with the girl having the guy, the career and often the
baby.
Saltzman writes that many sob sisters in film and real life give up too much
for their careers, leading to loneliness because they are driven to achieve equality
with males. In Steel’s books, all of the women experience loneliness at some point,
but not because they were trying to achieve equality with the males at their jobs. The
loneliness often resulted from an abusive or cheating husband who left them feeling
worthless. These unhappy feelings leave them upset, and their careers begin to
suffer as a result. Steel’s novels frequently begin with the woman sacrificing too
much to find equality with the men in their personal lives. By the end of the novel,
she has managed to sort through her love problems and is living a happy and
balanced life.
Steel’s journalists achieve instant success in their careers with no roadblocks,
yet in their personal lives they are never able to say no to abusive, cheating and
crooked men. While Steel does not put a strong male figure in the work force, she
4
always puts a dominating male in the character’s love life who causes trouble and
heartache.
Saltzman points out in “Sob Sisters” that most female reporters have been
depicted as needing to be rescued by the most available male.
12
This depiction holds
true in Steel’s seven novels about women journalists except for her character Paxton
Andrews in Message From Nam. The seven other female protagonists need rescuing
in their personal lives. They do not need to prove themselves on the job, but when it
comes to their love lives they feel the need to prove their worthiness to their
husbands or boyfriends who have treated them with little respect.
In Message From Nam, Steel turns the tables and gives an accurate depiction
of a female war correspondent in Vietnam. Sammye Johnson writes, “Paxton
Andrews is depicted as the perfect war correspondent in popular culture.”
13
Andrews
fits the top 10 characteristics list Johnson identified after researching women war
correspondents in popular fiction. Because Message From Nam is a romance novel
Andrews character doesn’t completely jibe with Johnson’s categories. While Steel
shows Andrews struggling to find her place in a male war zone, success and
acceptance come quickly for her in Vietnam.
For 26 years Steel has featured female journalists in her novels. A popular
American novelist who has written 73 best-sellers and has sold more than 570
million copies, Steel has helped shape a different aspect of the image of the female
journalist in popular culture than has been seen in the depiction of sob sisters over
the years.
5
Steel’s own life suggests that her novels have often mirrored her experiences.
Steel’s second husband, Danny Zugelder, was a prisoner when she met him. An
unauthorized biography revealed that she became pregnant with her first child in a
prison bathroom.
14
Later on Steel married heroin-addicted William Toth and after the
marriage ended in divorce she wrote the novel Remembrance, in which the husband
was a heroin addict.
15

In a 2008 interview with NBC’s Matt Lauer Steel said, “I do not kiss and
tell,” after Lauer asked her if her novels were based on her own life.
16
It is interesting
to analyze that like many of her characters, Steel has been a successful novelist and
endured five divorces and the death of her son Nicholas Traina.
17

6

Chapter One Endnotes
1
Susan Ostrou Weisser, Women and Romance a reader, page 3.

2
Romance Writers of America, http://www.rwanational.org/cs/the_romance_genre.

3
Danielle Steel’s blog, http://daniellesteel.net/about.htm.

4
J.J. Morgan, Romance Novels and What they offer the Reader at
http://www.helium.com/items/1353345-romance-novels.

5
Denise Murphy, Romance Novels and What they offer the Reader at
http://www.helium.com/items/458320-romance-novels-and-what-they-offer-the-reader.

6
J.J. Morgan, Romance Novels and What they offer the Reader at
http://www.helium.com/items/1353345-romance-novels.

7
Paul Gray; Andrea Sachs, Publishing: Passion on the Pages at
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,996381,00.html.

8
Megan K. Scott, “In Tough Times, Romance Is Easy to Love” at
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/28/AR2009052804081.html.

9
Ibid, page 2.

10
Leslie Wainger, Writing a Romance Novel for Dummies, page 4.

11
Joe Saltzman, Frank Capra and the Image of the Journalist in American Film, page 54.

12
Joe Saltzman, Sob Sisters: The Image of the Female Journalist in Popular Culture, page 3.

13
Sammye Johnson, “The Female War Journalist in Message from Nam: Glamour, Grit and Guts”,
page 7.

14
Vickie L. Bane and Lorenzo Benet, The Lives of Danielle Steel, page 134.

15
Ibid, page 200.

16
Danielle Steel’s interview with Matt Lauer on the Today Show at
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25191970/.

17
Danielle Steel’s blog, http://daniellesteel.net/about.htm.
7
Chapter Two: Bittersweet
Danielle Steel’s Bittersweet (published in 1999) focuses on a female
photojournalist named India Taylor. “India was long and lean, with classic features,
deep blue eyes, and a long blond braid that hung down her back.”
1
Taylor was once a
successful photojournalist who had traveled all over the world taking award-winning
photos. When still highly respected in her field, she decided to trade it all in for
marriage and four children. Fourteen years later, she asks herself ‘why?’ Her
husband Doug prefers that she stay home with the children and gets angry when her
former agent calls with photo assignments. In the beginning, India turns the jobs
away, but over time she begins feeling that she would want to go back to work as
long as the assignments did not require her to be away from the children for too long.
India and Doug’s relationship begins to spiral downward once she decides she would
like to have some type of life outside of her husband and children.
“It was obvious to her as she listened to him that he wanted the door to her
career closed even more firmly than it had been.”
2
India begins to realize that even
before she and Doug had children that he was controlling her career. “Doug had
made it very clear to her when they got married that once they had children, she had
to give up her career. And she had agreed to do it.”
3
India is a loyal and loving
woman, always putting her husband and children first. It takes a while before she
understands why her husband objects to her having a part-time career. At the end of
the novel it is quite clear why: Doug wanted to control her.
8
India’s father was a Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist who was killed on
assignment. When India begins discussing going back to work part-time, Doug
brings up her father and his career. “It was as though her father’s career was
meaningless because he had earned his living with a camera, something that seemed
childishly simple to her husband.”
4
As a way of controlling India and her thoughts,
Doug puts down her career as a photojournalist by attacking her father. He
manipulates India’s thoughts until she meets Paul Ward, who changes India’s life
and career forever.
Paul is married to Serena Smith, a successful writer who dies in a plane
crash. India and Paul strike up a friendship at first and become close after Serena’s
death. Paul persuades India to resume her career. “It’s about what you need. Don’t
lose your dreams, India…you’ll lose yourself if you do.”
5
Before meeting Paul, India
turned down jobs because she did not want Doug to be angry and she wanted to
make him happy but then things changed: “for the first time in a long time, she felt
as though she was missing something.”
6

India decides to take a one-week job in England and Doug becomes furious,
even threatening divorce if she goes. He tries to make her feel that she will be a bad
mother if she leaves the children for that long. “I’m not going to agree to this. If
you want to go anyway, that’s your business. But don’t expect to stay married to me,
if you do it,” said Doug.
7

When India returns, Doug is still upset that she decided to take the job.
Things seem to blow over for a few days until Doug sees a picture that she took in
9
the newspaper, and is furious because he thinks that she lied to him about taking
another photo job while she was in England. “You deceived me. I would never have
let you go over there to do this, which is undoubtedly why you didn’t tell me. India,
you were deceitful,” accuses Doug.
8

Doug leaves India after he thinks she lied to him. India is devastated that
Doug would leave her over something so childish. India and Paul continue to be
supportive friends. Paul is still mourning the death of his wife and India is upset that
Doug is so adamant about getting a divorce.
India doesn’t believe that she can survive the divorce, but Paul encourages
her and tells her that everything is going to be okay. India begins taking more and
more photo jobs, and soon after the divorce Paul and India begin having a romantic
relationship. A couple weeks after their relationship begins, Paul feels guilty for
moving on from his wife, and he decides to end the relationship. After Paul breaks
off with India, she gets into a bad car accident. India tells her friend Gail, “I wanted
to die. But I didn’t have the courage to do it.”
9

Steel portrays India in the beginning as being a lovely housewife with a
perfect husband. It turns out that India has sacrificed who she was as a journalist to
keep her husband happy. Paul encourages India to pursue her career.
Eventually, India works through her depression and recovers from the car
accident. By the end of the novel, India and Paul have resolved their issues and are
back together for good. India’s photojournalist career begins to flourish once again.
10
Steel’s novel Bittersweet is a perfect example of how the sob sisters image is
evident in the novel because India traded everything for marriage and children. Her
controlling husband convinced her that she could not have both worlds. It took
another man coming into the picture to build her up and support her into believing
that she could.
Steel’s journalist in Bittersweet differs from the typical sob sister because she
did not have a dominating male figure at the workplace waiting for her to make a
mistake. Steel even made India’s male photo agent into a supporting figure. He
continually called India begging her to take work because he believed she was a very
good photojournalist. Since the popularity of romance novels rides on the fact that
they are used for escape purposes, Steel had to be careful with the amount of conflict
she introduced into the novel. Steel wrote the struggle into her marriage, but made
sure India was able to overcome that strife by developing another male figure to
come in and save the day. By the end of the book, India’s career is thriving again
and she is happily in love. Steel’s job is now complete because she has satisfied her
romance readers with a happy ending.

11

Chapter Two Endnotes
1
Danielle Steel, Bittersweet. (New York: Delacorte Press, 1999), page 10.

2
Ibid, page 41.

3
Ibid, page 4.

4
Ibid, page 23.

5
Ibid, page 178.

6
Ibid, page 35.

7
Ibid, page 195.

8
Ibid, page 239.

9
Ibid, page 315
12
Chapter Three: Changes
Steel’s novel Changes was published in 1983 and features female journalist
Melanie Adams, who is a successful New York television anchorwoman. “She was
damn good. Powerful and interesting, and strong, and beautiful to watch on the
air.”
1
Mel’s husband left her when she was pregnant with her twin girls, Jessica and
Valerie. A well-known national journalist, Mel has not had much of a love life since
her husband took off before the twins were born. “She was gun-shy about getting
involved after being abandoned by the twins’ father before they were born. He had
told her he hadn’t wanted kids, and he had meant every word he said.”
2
Mel meets
Dr. Peter Hallam while doing a story on heart sugeries and persuades him to perform
an operation on a young woman who cannot afford the costs. Hallam does the
operation for free.
Mel and Peter develop a close relationship while she is shooting a heart
documentary featuring him as the doctor. Mel begins flying back and forth to Los
Angeles to film and interview Peter. “They were both people who worked hard and
paid their dues, and it didn’t seem out of place to take a little time together now. Mel
told herself that it would help the interview.”
3
Steel never points out that Mel and
Peter’s personal relationship could cause ethical problems for Mel’s journalism
career. The documentary does not air until September, and by then Mel and Peter
are already discussing marriage. Mel never once wrestled with the ethical dilemma
that she had done something wrong. A reader who didn’t know anything about
journalism ethics might assume this type of behavior was acceptable.
13
At the beginning of the novel, Mel is depicted as a single mother who has
been through heartbreak. Once again, Steel creates a male character (Peter Hallam)
to help Mel believe that true love is possible. The only problem with the love affair
was that Mel had built her career on the East Coast.
When Mel’s contract was up for negotiation in New York, she knew that if
she made the right moves she could get the exact deal she wanted. “It was a knock-
out contract for Mel and everyone in the room knew it, including Mel herself. She
glanced over the conditions, pen in hand. The network officials had already signed
it, and all that was missing was her signature on the dotted line.”
4
Mel was hesitant
to sign because she was contemplating moving to Los Angeles to be with Peter.
Peter does not pressure Mel to move, but he does tell her that their long-
distance relationship cannot continue forever. Steel allows Mel to put her journalism
career aside to make the male a priority. Of course Mel loves Peter, but she was not
completely satisfied with the decision to move, which becomes evident later in the
novel.
Mel and her daughters move to Los Angeles, and Mel and Peter get married.
Mel and the girls move into Peter’s home with his three children, and Mel begins to
feel unappreciated. Peter is always working, the housemaid is rude, and Pam, Peter’s
daughter, does not like Mel because she is still mourning the death of her own
mother, who died a year and a half earlier. “She felt as though she were living in
someone else’s home, which didn’t help, but she hadn’t had time to do anything
about it yet.”
5

14
Peter senses that Mel is having a hard time adjusting to her new life so he
suggests the family go away for the weekend on a ski trip. While the family is on the
trip, Mel’s daughter begins hemorrhaging because of an abortion she had earlier.
Peter’s son Mark was the father. Mel begins to feel that she has not been giving her
daughters much attention since she married Peter. “I’ve been so involved with you,
and Pam and Matthew, I haven’t had much time for them. ‘You have five children
now, and a job, and a bigger house to run, and me, said Peter. Just how much can
you expect of yourself, Mel?’ ‘More, I guess, she said.”
6

Mel becomes pregnant soon after Val’s abortion, and the children are upset.
“Theirs became a house filled with grief, and hurt and anger. It was as though they
each wanted to punish her, each in their own way, Mark by never being home, the
twins by keeping away and shutting her out, Matt by whining all the time and having
trouble in school, and Pam by turning off and skipping school.”
7
Mel becomes so fed
up that she packs a bag and leaves the house. Before leaving Mel tells Peter, “I’ve
changed my whole life for you in the past six months, given up my job, my home,
my town and my independence.”
8
Peter and the children apologize to Mel for being
insensitive. The book closes with Mel and Peter having twins.
In Steel’s novel Changes, the main character is a woman who has it all,
except for a love life. Mel is at the peak of her career and turns it all down to change
networks in order to move to Los Angeles to be near the man she loves. Throughout
the novel the idea was never proposed that Peter move his life and career to New
York. Mel was the one who had to change everything. Peter’s character is a great
15
man who loves Mel, but he never takes into consideration her career as he does his
own. Mel is so desperate for the right kind of love that she sacrifices her career for
it. In the end, Mel is happily in love with Peter, their new house, the children and
her news career in Los Angeles.
Melanie Adams is not like most of the other female journalists portrayed in
popular culture because she is smart, beautiful and classy. Adams is not portrayed as
the blonde bimbo sitting in the shadow of her male counterpart. In the film
Anchorman, Veronica Corningstone (played by Christina Applegate) plays the role
of the blonde beauty who sits next to the lead male anchor.
9
Unlike Adams,
Corningstone has to prove her smarts on the job.
Mel also does not fit into the category of the journalist who is always
checking her makeup before she goes on the air. In the film, Up Close and Personal,
Tally Atwater (played by Michelle Pfeiffer) seems to be more concerned about how
she is going to look on the air than about what news she is going to deliver to the
public.
10

There are a few similarities with Mel and other female journalists in popular
culture. Mel sacrifices her career and throws ethics out the window when it comes to
getting a story. These are two characteristics that are often seen with female
journalists in popular culture. When Mel begins to strike up a romantic relationship
with Peter she admits that she believed it would help her story. Historian Donna
Born writes, “Beauty and sex turned out to be weapons females used to gain an
advantage in the media marketplace.”
11
16

Chapter Three Endnotes
1
Danielle Steel, Changes. (New York: Delacorte Press, 1983), page 15.

2
Ibid, page 14.

3
Ibid, page 46.

4
Ibid, page 241.

5
Ibid, page 281.

6
Ibid, page 295.

7
Ibid, page 307.

8
Ibid, page 314.

9
Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, DVD, directed by Adam McKay. (Dreamworks Video,
2004).

10
Up Close and Personal, DVD, directed by Jon Avnet, (Walt Disney Video, 1996).

11
Donna Born, The Image of the Woman Journalist in American Popular Fiction, 1890 to the
Present, page 22
17
Chapter Four: Heartbeat
Steel’s novel Heartbeat published in 1991 features news producer Adrian
Townsend as the main female protagonist. Adrian is a successful news producer
who is married to Steven Townsend. “Her smile was powerful, strong, her eyes were
huge and blue, and she looked like someone who had a lot to say.”
1
Adrian had
dreams of being a television film producer, but Steven told her those types of jobs do
not last forever, and that a news job would be more stable. “He thought the milieu of
film or even films for TV was far too arty, and he kept insisting she should be doing
something more hard-edged, more concrete.”
2
Adrian and Steven appeared to have a
wonderful marriage after two-and-a-half years until Adrian finds out she is pregnant.
Steven is furious when he finds out, because they had an agreement not to
have children. “Adrian, you have to have an abortion,” he said. “If you don’t do it,
it’ll ruin everything.”
3

Adrian agrees to have the abortion while Steven is away on business, but
when Steven returns from his trip she tells him that she could not go through with it.
“You don’t care how I feel, Adrian,” said Steven. You don’t give a damn about
me.”
4
Adrian refuses to give in to Steven’s demands to get rid of the baby. Steven
moves out of their condo and files for divorce.
After Steven leaves, Adrian begins a friendship with Bill Thigpen, a
television producer and creator of the soap called A Life Worth Living. Adrian and
Bill had met previously in a grocery store, but began a friendship after they both
realized they lived in the same complex. Adrian allows Bill to believe that she is still
18
married to Steven and waits as long as the situation permits her before telling him the
truth about her pregnancy.
Adrian finally admits to Bill that she has been separated from Steven and is
now getting a divorce. Adrian is heartbroken that Steven is following through with
the divorce and that he also had his lawyers draw up papers giving his legal rights
away as a father. Adrian begins leaning on Bill for support and begins to value their
relationship. “She went back to work then, and tried to forget her own problems, but
she kept thinking of Bill and the amazing support he gave her.”
5

Bill is unaware of the baby until Adrian goes on a camping trip with him and
his sons to Lake Tahoe. Bill’s son, Tommy, climbs over rocks and falls into a river.
Adrian saves him but gets hurt in the process. Adrian ends up in the hospital and it is
there when Bill finds out that Adrian is pregnant. Bill visits Adrian as she lays
unconscious in her hospital bed. “And I love the baby too…that’s right…and if you
want that baby, so do I…I want you and the baby.”
6

Adrian and Bill become very close after the accident. Adrian moves in with
Bill after Steven decides to put the condo up for sale. Bill wants to marry Adrian
and raise the baby, but Adrian is hesitant to accept because she wants to give Steven
a chance to still claim the baby. She believes that once the baby is born Steven will
change his mind. Bill is hurt by Adrian’s decision. “Why are you letting this guy off
so damn easy, Adrian?’ ‘Are you still in love with him?’ ‘He deserted you,” said
Bill.
7

19
Adrian continues to work long days while pregnant. She has always loved
the idea of being a television producer. Bill even mentions her coming to work for
him on his show after the baby is born. Adrian always wanted to pursue feature
television as a career, but gave that dream away because Steven thought it was
foolish. Since her relationship with Bill, Adrian begins to pursue the things that she
wants out of life. “She fed him a lot of wild plots for the show, and he was still
hoping she’d come to work for him after the baby.”
8

After Adrian gives birth, she calls Steven to let him know, and he goes to the
hospital to visit his son. Steven apologizes for the way he treated her and asks if she
would forgive him. “I think for the child’s sake, we should get back together,” said
Steven.
9

Adrian refuses and said that she did not call him to get back together with
him. She called because she thought he had the right to see his son. Steven decides
to give up his rights as a father after Adrian refuses to get back together with him.
“You can tell him I offered to take you back and you refused, since you’re so
concerned with what you’re going to tell him later,” said Steven.
10

The novel ends with Bill and Adrian deciding that they will get married. Bill
adopts Adrian’s son. “How about Samuel William Thigpen, she supplied with a shy
smile, and he leaned over and kissed her.”
11

In Heartbeat, Steel continues to create a female journalist who is beautiful
and successful. No career struggles at work are mentioned except for the fact that
she works long hours. Adrian is good at what she does and she does not have to
20
prove herself to anyone at her job. In her personal life, however, she tries to prove to
her husband that having a baby would be a wonderful thing. When Steven leaves
Adrian, she immediately begins hanging out with Bill. Steel’s female protagonist
once again chooses her personal life over her journalism career.
When the novel ends it is suggested that Adrian will go to work with Bill in
order to fulfill her dream of becoming a television producer. Adrian, Bill and the
baby are together and happy at last.
Steel’s female news producer in the novel Heartbeat reflects differences and
similarities to Mary Tyler Moore’s news producer character Mary Richards in The
Mary Tyler Moore Show.
12
Adrian Townsend and Mary Richards are both hard-
working producers in the field of journalism. The differences between the two
characters have to do with their titles as producers, and where the male domination
lies in the storylines. In Moore’s case she is paid a very low wage and only holds the
title of associate producer. She also works under a male lead executive producer
(played by Edward Asner). Adrian’s situation is completely different because she is
the executive producer at her news network and makes top dollar. Adrian does not
work under a strong male boss like Mary, but she does have a strong male figure that
controls her in her personal life.

21

Chapter Four Endnotes
1
Danielle Steel, Heartbeat. (New York: Delacorte Press, 1991), page 27.

2
Ibid, page 35.

3
Ibid, page 72.

4
Ibid, page 95.

5
Ibid, page 173.

6
Ibid, page 232.

7
Ibid, page 286.

8
Ibid, page 292.

9
Ibid, page 344.

10
Ibid, page 348.

11
Ibid, page 358.

12
The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Television Series. (MTM Productions, 1970-1977).
22
Chapter Five: Journey
Steel’s novel Journey was published in 2000 and features female journalist
Madeleine Hunter, who is an award-winning TV anchorwoman. “Her skin was
creamy, her eyes blue, and she moved with enormous poise and grace in high-heeled
silver sandals.”
1
Maddy was married to Jack Hunter, a powerful man who owns the
news network that employs her. As soon as Jack buys the network he makes Maddy
co-anchor. Jack had helped Maddy escape from her abusive husband in Tennessee.
“It was Jack who helped extricate her from the nightmare she had been living, with a
husband she’d been married to since she was seventeen, who had committed every
possible kind of abuse on her.”
2

Jack and Maddy had been married for seven years, and Maddy seemed to
think that they had the perfect relationship. The couple both worked long hours and
often concluded those long days by attending social gatherings in the evening. Jack
was heavily involved with politics and often met with the president of the United
States to discuss the war and other clandestine topics he would not share with
Maddy.
Maddy begins seeing signs that her husband is not who she thought he was
when Janet McCutchins, the wife of Paul McCutchins, commits suicide. Paul is a
business partner of Jack’s. The weekend before Janet’s suicide, she had admitted to
Maddy that Paul physically abused her. Maddy believes that Paul’s abuse pushed
her into killing herself. During her nightly news segment she makes a surprise
announcement to the public about Janet’s suicide. “But a source close to Mrs.
23
McCutchins (Maddy) said that there could be an issue of abuse here, which led to her
suicide,” reported Maddy. “If so, Janet McCutchins would not be the first woman to
take her own life, rather than flee an abusive situation,” she said.
Jack is furious with Maddy for making the statements about Janet’s death on
air. “I can’t believe you’d do that to me,” he said. “It was such a fucking stupid
thing to do.”
3
Jack is worried about being sued, but more worried that Paul, a man he
conducts business with, will be angry.
It was surprising that Maddy made statements so impulsively about Janet’s
death without having any proof. Any other journalist would have been fired for
making statements like that, but of course it helped that Maddy was married to the
head of the network. Maddy is strong and smart, but becomes emotional and
irrational over Janet’s situation. Since Maddy experienced abuse from her first
husband, the subject became personal for her.
After Maddy made such bold statements to the public on the newscast, the
First Lady asks Maddy to join the Commission on Violence Against Women. Jack
thinks the idea of her joining would be a great career move. At the first meeting,
Maddy meets Bill Alexander, a distinguished scholar and diplomat who works for
the commission. As Maddy continues to attend the meetings, she realizes that while
Jack is not physically abusive, he is verbally abusive. Maddy and Bill begin a
friendship while attending the meetings.
Jack continues to give Maddy the cold shoulder after her announcement
about Janet’s death. She tries to apologize and he threatens her. “You’d be dead in
24
the water the next day,” said Jack. “You’d be finished, Mad.’ ‘Your career depends
on me, and don’t you ever forget it,” he said.
4
Jack initiates rough sex with Maddy,
and she thinks he wanted to show her who was in control. “You’re not the star you
like to think you are,” said Jack. “It’s all because you’re married to me.”
5

Maddy did not have many friends because Jack did not allow her to get too
close to anyone. He gave her everything she could ever want as long as she was
playing by his rules. “He provided luxuries and opportunities for her that she would
never have dreamed possible while she lived in Knoxville,” Maddy thought. “It
reminded her of what he had said to her the night before, that she’d have no career at
all if it weren’t for him.”
6

As Maddy’s marriage continues to worsen, she decides to see a psychiatrist.
The psychiatrist tells her that when she is ready she must leave him. Maddy begins
to fall into the supportive arms of Bill as her marriage begins to crumble. Their
relationship is platonic at first. Bill checks up on Maddy daily and encourages her to
leave the marriage. “He’s a real son-of-a-bitch to you at every opportunity,” said
Bill. “The things he said to you are unforgiveable, Maddy, and he’s just trying to
bully you and make you feel guilty.”
7

Jack and Maddy had decided not to have children early on in their marriage.
Jack and Maddy decided she should get her tubes tied. “We talked about it pretty
thoroughly, and he decided…we decided that I should have my tubes tied.”
8

Maddy becomes upset when she finds out that Jack is hiding the child she
had given birth to when she was a teenager. Maddy’s daughter is now nineteen years
25
old. Jack knew the girl was searching for Maddy, but did not want the story to get
out to the public. “I just want to know what we are going to do about it when the
story breaks and you look like a slut on national TV,” he said. “I have a show to
worry about, and a network.”
9

Maddy chooses a relationship with her daughter over her career and husband.
“I’m leaving you,” said Maddy. “She stunned herself with her words, but not as
much as she stunned Jack.”
10

Maddy and her daughter Lizzie decide to get an apartment together. After a
mall explosion from a terrorist bombing, Maddy decides to adopt a baby named
Andy whose mother was killed in the explosion. Bill and Maddy end up together as
a couple, both committing to be Andy’s parents.
Steel creates a female journalist in the novel Journey that is strong and smart
in her career as a journalist, but lacks confidence in her personal life. The world
believes Maddy has it all: beauty, smarts, riches and fame. But inside, Maddy is
barely surviving. Because Maddy’s husband Jack owns the network, she allows
herself to be under his control for fear she could lose her career and be out on the
street. “You were a hick from nowhere going straight to a lifetime of beer cans and
abuse in a trailer park,” said Jack. “Whatever the hell it is you think you are now,
keep in mind that I made you.”
Toward the end of the novel, Maddy decides to choose her personal life over
her journalism career and her abusive marriage to Jack. She believes having a
relationship with her children is more important.
26
Many characteristics of the female journalist personified by Maddy must be
examined. Maddy knew that if she disobeyed her husband’s wishes her career could
end, yet she always did the opposite of what he wanted. She reported on a domestic
abuse situation even though she knew he would be furious, and she also
acknowledged giving birth to an illegitimate child that ultimately caused her to lose
her job. She wrestles throughout the novel with her confidence, but always manages
to speak up and do the right thing even when others are afraid to.
Many characteristics of Maddy displays the sob sister especially when she
impulsively reports subject matter that is emotional to her. Maddy’s image can be
compared and contrasted to another female journalist in popular culture. In The
Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Hilary Banks (played by Karyn Parsons) has the looks, but
lacks experience and education as a journalist.
11
Even though she is lacking the
knowledge, her great looks get her a job as a weather reporter at a TV station.
Maddy’s image is similar to Hilary’s because they both are beautiful and lack
journalism experience. Maddy is hired by the network because she is beautiful and
just happens to be married to the boss.
Although Maddy lacks the education she is still described as being highly
intelligent. Maddy is a nightly anchor who shares the same respect as her male
colleagues. Hilary on the other hand falls into the dumb image that popular culture
has portrayed of women who are on air.
Maddy’s integrity makes her stand above other journalists that are seen in
popular culture. Maddy is the heroine of the novel, and because it fell into the
27
romance genre it was important to portray her as a hero for the readers. Maddy
struggles mostly in her personal life with her husband Jack. Bill comes in to
encourage her to leave Jack and start a new life. Maddy gives up her job as a
successful news anchor even after Jack threatened to black ball her in the industry.
In the end, Maddy had several networks calling her with job offers. Once Maddy left
Jack, new doors opened for her and suddenly she had a new relationship, two
children and her career back.

28

Chapter Five Endnotes
1
Danielle Steel, Journey. (New York: Delacorte Press, 2000), page 1.

2
Ibid, page 3.

3
Ibid, page 40.

4
Ibid, page 62.

5
Ibid, page 63.

6
Ibid, page 66.

7
Ibid, page 184.

8
Ibid, page 147.

9
Ibid, page 171.

10
Ibid, page 292.

11
The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, Television Series. (NBC Productions, 1990-1996).
29
Chapter Six: Message From Nam
Steel’s 1990 Message from Nam features Paxton Andrews as a young and
ambitious journalist ready to take on the world. Paxton is beautiful, “with shining
blond hair, and big green eyes that always seemed to be searching for answers.”
1
The
novel begins in November of 1963 on the day that President John F. Kennedy was
killed and ends with the fall of Saigon and the surrender of the South Vietnamese to
the North in 1975.
Paxton, who grew up in Savannah, Ga., decides after graduating decides to
go to college in California. “She had come to Berkeley to learn and to make
something of herself, and one day she was going to be a great journalist.”
2

At UC Berkeley, Paxton meets Peter Wilson, the son of a San Francisco
newspaper publisher. Four years older than Paxton, Peter had just begun law school.
They fall in love and become engaged and plan to get married in June of 1968 after
Paxton finishes Berkeley. But Peter gets drafted before they can get married and
dies shortly after arriving in Saigon. Deeply upset by Peter’s death, Paxton asks his
father, Ed Wilson, if he will send her to Vietnam as a reporter. “Is that what you
want?” he said. “Tears filled his eyes as he asked her. To die in the same place he
did?”
3
Paxton explains that she wants to go to Vietnam to report the truth of the war
to the American people.
When Paxton arrives in Saigon she becomes friends with AP correspondent
Ralph Johnson. Ralph shows her around and looks after her. Ralph asks her, “You
interested in seeing some of the real Nam, or are you just here to play for a while and
30
tell the folks back home you saw it?”
4
Paxton convinces him in no time that she is
not afraid to see everything. Her column titled “Message From Nam” is well
received by the public and gains her a lot of respect as a journalist.
Shortly after getting to Saigon she falls in love with Captain Bill Quinn, a
married officer. They begin a love affair and Paxton decides that everyone needs
someone to love while they are here fighting the war, and that it was okay to carry on
the affair because they needed each other for support.
When Bill dies while leading a raid Paxton is devastated. Bill’s friend Tony
Campobello learns of Bill’s death and says, “He fell in love with this fucking bitch a
few months ago and stopped paying attention.”
5
After Bill’s death, Paxton decides to
go back to the United States. After a few months at home Paxton, decides to return
to Vietnam because she knows there are stories and truths that must be told.
Upon arriving in Vietnam, she begins a relationship with Tony. The two did
not like each other in the beginning, but then they both realized they were in love.
Shortly after Paxton’s return, her AP mentor and friend Ralph is killed. “He was the
best reporter I ever knew,” said Paxton. “The best friend I ever had.”
6

After Ralph’s death, a surprise attack leaves Tony missing in action. Paxton
spends a lot of time searching for Tony, but never finds him. At 24, Paxton has lost
four men whom she cared about deeply. Paxton leaves Vietnam and heads back to
the States.
Several years pass after her time in Vietnam and the New York Times asks her
to cover the release of the first group of prisoners of war in the Philippines in 1973.
31
Later Paxton is asked to interview POWs who are arriving in San Francisco and she
begins to wonder if Tony could still be alive after hearing a story about three men
who escaped, with only two bodies being found.
She asks her editor if she could be sent back to Saigon as a full-time reporter,
in the hope that she will find Tony. Paxton is getting ready to leave during the final
evacuation from Saigon when she finds Tony. “I’ve been looking for you,” she said
softly, gently brushing the dirt from his face.
7
They fly out of Saigon in the last
helicopter available, leaving behind the place that had been both a nightmare and a
dream.
In Message From Nam, Steel presents an image of the female war
correspondent different from her other novels featuring female journalists. Paxton is
an independent and beautiful woman who will not give up on her career despite
emotional setbacks. Steel’s other female journalists often abandon their careers
when they become emotional or when they want marriage and a family, like many
other sob sisters. Early in the novel, Peter suggests that they should get married and
have a child, but Paxton decides she wants to wait because she had dreams of
finishing school and having a career.
Even though Paxton’s character is stronger than Steel’s other journalists, she
never forgets that she is writing a romance novel. After Peter dies, Bill quickly
comes into the picture, and after Bill’s death she quickly falls in love with Tony.
Romance and sex are still very much a part of the novel. A romance reader not
32
interested in the Vietnam War would still find the female heroine seeking the truth in
love and war a fascinating character.
Sammye Johnson, a professor at Trinity University who has conducted
research on this subject, describes the female war correspondent in popular fiction as
being independent and attractive.
8
“In addition,” says Johnson, “the journalist usually
has a significant relationship with a man, but her career takes precedence.”
9

Johnson compiled a list of 10 characteristics of female war correspondents in
popular culture from 1990 to 2006. Paxton exhibits each of these characteristics
because she is: beautiful, crusading, educated, patriotic, objective, a crime solver,
independent, has to prove herself, her career takes precedence, and she continues to
be a journalist despite emotional setbacks.
Paxton still shares the trait with Steel’s other journalists when it comes to the
easy success with her career. Of course, Paxton endured many hardships while
reporting in Vietnam, but it would have been very unusual for a 22-year-old to love
Vietnam at that time. Paxton did have to prove that she was a hard worker in a war
zone filled with men, but she quickly gained their respect. Paxton’s relationships
with her male counterparts were formed quickly, and her column became an instant
success. And of course at the end of the novel Paxton found her long lost love,
Tony.

33

Chapter Six Endnotes
1
Danielle Steel, Message from Nam. (New York: Delacorte Press, 1990), page 13.

2
Ibid, page 58.

3
Ibid, page 147.

4
Ibid, page 179.

5
Ibid, page 253.

6
Ibid, page 333.

7
Ibid, page 389.

8
Sammye Johnson, “Characteristics of Women Foreign Correspondents in Popular Fiction, 1990-
2006.” (WSCA, 2009), page 1.

9
Ibid, page 1.
34
Chapter Seven: No Greater Love
In No Greater Love, published in 1991, Steel’s female protagonist, Edwina
Winfield, inherits her family’s newspaper after her parents and fiancé die after the
Titanic sinks. The eldest daughter of six children, Edwina must now raise the five
other children and keep the newspaper running.
Surprisingly No Greater Love, unlike Steel’s other novels featuring female
journalists, mentions very little about being a female journalist in 1912. In fact, not
once during the whole novel does she report for the newspaper. The majority of the
book focuses on Edwina’s struggles raising the children and learning how to open up
to new love after the death of her fiancé. “Without Charles, it would never be the
same,” she thought. “Her life now would consist of taking care of the children and
nothing else.”
1

Edwina is a beautiful and responsible woman; Steel describes her as “tall
with shining dark hair and big blue eyes.”
2
Edwina defies her uncle’s wish to have
her sell the paper and move to England with him to raise the children. Her uncle
feared that without having an active family member running the paper that it would
only run down after time. Her father’s business partner Ben Jones tries to persuade
her to sell the paper because he fears the same thing. “That’s nonsense,” said
Edwina. “And there will be someone to run the paper, in time,” she said. “In five
years, there will be Phillip,”
3
the eldest boy. Ben tells Edwina that as of right now
there are good people running the paper, but he worries that Phillip will not want the
35
responsibilities of the paper in five years. While Ben had always liked Edwina, she
never had romantic feelings toward him.
Although Edwina was not reporting and working at the paper she did show
face at the paper’s monthly meeting. “She had no desire to run the paper herself, but
she wanted to preserve it over the next few years, for Phillip.”
4
Edwina admits to
feeling uncomfortable in her father’s place and feels there is so much to learn even
for her meager involvement.
Phillip leaves college to enlist in the war, and is killed in battle. Now it is up
to George to be the male figure in the household since he is the second-eldest son.
George begins an apprenticeship at the paper, only to discover that he hates it.
Edwina is upset because she thinks it is his duty to learn to run the paper. George
leaves San Francisco to fulfill his dreams of becoming an actor in Hollywood.
Alexis, Edwina’s younger sister, follows his steps to the big city four years later.
The youngest children, Fannie and Teddy, always stick close to Edwina.
Edwina is closed off to love for most of the novel because she is so busy
trying to raise five children. During a brief period she has a short love affair with
Patrick Sparks-Kelly, who is married. He tells Edwina that no matter how in love
they were that he would never leave his wife. Edwina falls head over heels for him,
but their relationship ends after a couple of weeks.
Edwina begins a friendship with a man named Sam Horowitz when she goes
to visit George in Hollywood. Sam happens to be the father of George’s fiancé
36
Helen. After several trips back and forth to Los Angeles Edwina realizes that Sam is
the perfect man for her.
By the end of the novel it is assumed that Sam and Edwina end up together.
Edwina and the children decide that they will spend most of their summer in Los
Angeles, but nothing is ever mentioned about the fate of the newspaper in San
Francisco.
It would be hard to compare and contrast Edwina with other female
journalists in popular culture because she is not a journalist. Edwina has inherited a
paper she wants nothing to do with. She is not trying to become a great journalist in
a male-dominated field like the sob sisters. The novel’s female protagonist has very
little to do with journalism.

37

Chapter Seven Endnotes
1
Danielle Steel, No Greater Love. (New York: Delacorte Press, 1991), page 105.

2
Ibid, page 1.

3
Ibid, page 135.

4
Ibid, page 149.
38
Chapter Eight: Passion’s Promise
Published in 1977, Steel’s novel Passion’s Promise was written after her
second marriage to Danny Zugelder, who was later charged with multiple rapes after
they were married.
1
The novel features female journalist Kezia St. Martin, a
socialite, like Steel, who falls in love with an ex-con. Kezia inherited her father’s
fortune at a young age after his death, and the public is fascinated by her life. Steel
writes, “Smart, beautiful and very rich, Kezia Saint Martin leads two lives: one as a
glamorous socialite jetting between the poshest places in Europe and America; the
other under a false name, as a dedicated journalist, committed to justice.”
2

As a socialite, she has been seen in public dating Whitney Hayworth III, but
she doesn’t love him. They both use each other to be seen in public because it is
convenient for their reputations. Steel writes, “Kezia was born of extraordinary
people and she was the last surviving link in a long chain of almost mythical beauty
and grace.”
3
Kezia does not take her life as a socialite very seriously and she secretly
uses her experiences to write about the cynical side of the rich and famous.
Under the name Martin Hallam, Kezia secretly reports on everything she
finds to be absurd about the rich lifestyle she has been born into. She even makes
fun of her friends in the column. Under the name K.S. Miller, she writes about
social injustices that take place in the world. Even the editor of the paper is not
aware that Kezia writes the column because the deals are all made through her
literary agent.
39
Jack Simpson, her literary agent, talks her into interviewing a man named
Lucas Johns, who is an ex-con. At first Kezia is hesitant because she fears the public
or Lucas will find out that she is an undercover journalist. Jack convinces her that
Lucas does not read the social registry and that she has nothing to worry about. Jack
thinks Kezia is an amazing journalist and encourages her to interview him because
the story will be huge. Kezia finally agrees.
Kezia was nervous about meeting Lucas, but becomes intrigued by him. The
two strike up a friendship. Kezia even reveals to Lucas that she is behind the Martin
Hallam column and the writings of K.S. Miller. This revelation only makes Lucas
like Kezia more. The two fall madly in love. Kezia begins traveling back and forth
from New York to visit Lucas in California, Chicago or whereever he might be.
Lucas travels all over the country giving speeches on his book about prison reform.
As Kezia’s relationship continues with Lucas she decides to drop the Martin
Hallam column in order to spend more time with Lucas. Soon after she quits, Kezia
and Lucas become engaged. No one in Kezia’s world knows about her engagement
or her relationship with Lucas until the press snaps several photos of Kezia at Lucas’
revocation hearing. When Lucas is ordered back to jail Kezia does not hide her
emotion and kisses Lucas as they take him away. The photos are all over the
newspapers the next morning. One headline reads, “Socialite heiress Kezia Saint
Martin, secret girlfriend of ex-con Lucas Johns, collapses outside courtroom.”
4

When Kezia sees the papers the next morning she is devastated. She knew
she would have a lot of explaining to do to the people who loved her back home. It
40
appeared that if Kezia wasn’t lying about her job as a journalist she was lying about
the man she loved.
After Lucas is sent back to San Quentin State Prison she becomes very thin
and drinks all the time. She was so devastated that the man she loved was locked up
and there was nothing she could do about it. When Kezia visits Lucas in the prison
she tells him “I’m nothing without you.”
5
Lucas tries to convince her about how
powerful and independent she is, but she is so far gone at that point she is not
thinking clearly.
A couple of weeks later Kezia learns that Lucas was stabbed to death during
a disturbance in the prison. Lucas’ friend Alejandro stays by Kezia, worried about
her well-being. Since Lucas entered into jail Kezia and Alejandro became close
friends. After learning of Lucas’ death Alejandro professes his love to Kezia. She
is so confused and heartbroken at that point she decides to take a five-month trip to
Europe to heal from all of the pain she had experienced.
On her plane trip back to New York she realizes that she wants to be with
Alejandro. “He was the part she had saved for the present,”
6
she thought. Kezia’s
trip to Europe makes her realize that she had it all now because she conquered
herself. She overcame her depression and alcoholism and was ready for new people
and new places. The ending of the novel hints that Kezia and Alejandro will be
together at last.
In the beginning, Kezia Saint Martin seems to be one of Steel’s more risk-
taking female journalists. It is clear that Kezia does whatever she wants and does not
41
care what anyone thinks. After she falls in love with Lucas she abandons her career
in order to be with him. Steel presents a classic sob sister image with this story line.
Kezia had been living a double life as a socialite and as a secret journalist who was
having an affair with an ex-con. The stress from all of the lies begins to take its toll
on her.
It is apparent that Kezia shares similarities with most sob sisters depicted in
popular culture. Because it is a romance novel there are storylines still evident that
make it stand apart from other female journalists in popular culture. All of the men
in the novel love and respect Kezia. Her agent believes she is a great journalist and
is always offering her big stories to write. Even when she decides to quit her career,
he supports her and tries to understand where she is coming from.
Kezia is a beautiful, rich and successful woman who had no struggle to get to
the top. Unlike most sob sisters in popular culture, Kezia does not have to deal with
an overbearing male in the workplace. Kezia comes and goes as she pleases. She
travels all over the world and chooses which stories she wants to report on. Never
once does she have to personally deal with the editor.
In a surprising twist, not often seen by Steel’s image of the female journalist,
Kezia is able to get herself out of her own depression. Usually Steel’s characters,
like the sob sisters, need encouragement from a male to make them strong again. In
Passion’s Promise, the female protagonist lifts herself up on her own terms.

42

Chapter Eight Endnotes
1
Vickie L. Bane and Lorenzo Benet, The Lives of Danielle Steel, page 144.

2
Danielle Steel, Passion’s Promise. (New York: Delacorte Press, 1976), cover page.

3
Ibid, page 14.

4
Ibid, page 286.

5
Ibid, page 334.

6
Ibid, page 350.
43
Chapter Nine: Second Chance
Steel published Second Chance in 2004, a novel about a fashion magazine
editor named Fiona Monaghan. Steel writes, “She looked like Katharine Hepburn
with a little dash of Rita Hayworth, she was tall and lean with bright red hair and big
green eyes that flashed with either delight or rage.”
1
She is described as being a
woman with power, passion and integrity, who would fight to the death for a cause
she believed in, or a person she had promised to support.
Steel’s character in this novel is older than her other female journalists. At
42, she had been the editor of Chic magazine for six years, and was considered an
icon in the fashion world. Steel writes that after college Fiona crawled her way up
the ladder in minor fashion magazines and landed at Chic by the time she was
twenty-nine. This is the extent of what Steel writes about Fiona’s early days. There
is no mention of any struggles, but readers learn that she did have to work hard.
Fiona was a legend by the time she was thirty-five and the most powerful female
magazine editor in the country at forty.
“She wasn’t afraid to take risks, except in her love life.”
2
Fiona’s father had
left her mother when she was young and that was enough to make Fiona state that
she never wanted marriage or children. Fiona had plenty of men who wanted to
marry her but she always turned them down. She had several love affairs with
successful men, but after a relationship went on for a year or two, she would end it.
Fiona was alone by choice, not because her career did not allow her a relationship.
44
Things began to change for Fiona when she met John Anderson, the head of
the new ad agency that she hired for the magazine. John is 50, widowed, with two
daughters in college. The two hit it off after a lunch meeting. John was intrigued by
her beauty and lifestyle. Fiona impulsively invites John to the Paris couture shows
and he accepts. While in the romantic city their love for each other. Fiona returns
home deeply in love. Even her friends notice that she has never acted this way with a
man.
Shortly after Paris John decides to move into Fiona’s house for the summer
while his housekeeper is away. Fiona is excited about meeting John’s girls. John
begins to get nervous because he knows they will not be happy to hear he has found
someone else other than their mother.
On the night that Fiona is supposed to meet his girls she loses track of time at
work and shows up to the dinner an hour late. John is annoyed, and this does not
make a good impression on his daughters, Courtenay and Hilary. To make matters
worse, John’s housekeeper Mrs. Westerman was back in the picture and despised
Fiona for no particular reason. The two girls end up leaving the dinner table early
because they are so upset by Fiona’s presence. John is embarrassed and apologizes
profusely to Fiona.
John decides to move in full-time with Fiona. In the meantime things are
going smoothly in their relationship because the girls have gone back to school.
When the holidays arrive John tells the girls how important Fiona is to him and they
45
fear he might marry her. John asks Fiona to marry him after Christmas and she says
yes. They had a January wedding that was simple and easy.
John and Fiona both become extremely busy at work, which was not the ideal
situation for a couple that had just gotten married. To make matters worse John’s
daughters still hate Fiona. His daughter Courtenay becomes pregnant and gets an
abortion. She blames her father for not paying enough attention to her.
Six months after they get married John files for divorce. Fiona is devastated
and tries to say anything in order to change his mind. John feels he has let his girls
down and believes that his and Fiona’s lives are too different. After the divorce
papers are filed Fiona begins to lose sight of everything. Her career begins to suffer
and she does not care about the fashion world. She thinks about John constantly.
While in Paris, Fiona begins to write a book about a woman who had a life
mirroring her own. She rents a house in Paris and writes furiously. Her friend
Adrian runs the magazine while she is away. After finishing the book she goes back
to New York to sell her house and find a literary agent. Once her book is close to
being publishable she decides to go back to Paris to start writing her second one.
While John is doing business in London he calls Fiona and asks her to lunch,
which happens to fall on Thanksgiving Day. They enjoy each other’s company and
John begins to ask her if she believes in second chances. At first Fiona is scared to
open up to him because she does not want to feel hurt again. Over time Fiona learns
to love John again and they decide to marry each other again in Paris on Christmas
Eve.
46
Steel’s novel Second Chance opens up with her protagonist being a strong
and successful woman who takes chances in her career but has no desire to be
married. Over the course of the novel she loves and marries only to experience
heartbreak. In this novel Steel tells a story about a female journalist whose struggles
lie in her love life. Growing up she was hurt by her father’s abandonment and
decided she would never allow herself to feel that hurt again. Steel does not discuss
any struggles in the workplace. It is clear that Fiona has worked hard to get where
she is at, but she has never had to prove her smarts to a male at the magazine. It’s as
if the whole world knew she was this intelligent woman who could do anything.
Fiona leaves the magazine behind and is so devastated by her divorce she does not
seem to worry about what will happen while she is gone.
Again we see in this novel a strong male figure, her father, who caused her
pain, which affects her romances. She is powerful at work but becomes a fragile doll
in her love life. She makes impulsive decisions that she could not have made at the
magazine, or she would have never achieved the position that she did at such a
young age. Whether it was asking John to move in after a month of dating or getting
married to him the first time so quickly, it seems that by the end of the novel she has
realized her mistakes. When she gets her second chance with John she chooses to do
things differently.
Fiona resembles the sob sisters image because she gives up her career after
her divorce because she is so upset. It’s as if she could not handle the
47
responsibilities of her daily life. Fiona is different from the sob sisters in popular
culture because she does not have to prove her smarts on the job.
Fiona Monaghan is similar and different to the fashion editor in the novel and
movie The Devil Wears Prada.
3
Miranda Priestley is portrayed as a conniving female
fashion editor who does not let anyone stand in her way. In many ways Fiona is not
the same way because she wears her heart on her sleeve. Steel’s character is the
heroine, and because it is a romance novel it is important that the public see that she
still has a heart underneath her power and success. Miranda lived and breathed the
fashion world. She would not have easily traded it all in because she was suffering
from a broken heart.
In the end, the decision Fiona makes to leave the magazine behind for a quiet
life of writing novels makes her happy. It also shows that she was not as passionate
about being an editor as Steel proclaims she was at the beginning of the novel. In
this classic romance novel the female protagonist ends up happy with the man she
loves, and a newfound career in journalism.

48

Chapter Nine Endnotes
1
Danielle Steel, Second Chance. (New York: Delacorte Press, 2004), page 2.

2
Ibid, page 3.

3
The Devil Wears Prada, DVD, directed by David Frankel (20
th
Century Fox, 2006).
49
Chapter Ten: Conclusion
In Steel’s eight novels featuring female journalists, all of them are beautiful
and have enjoyed quick success in their careers. Steel mentions the stressful
workloads and long hours they must endure, but never introduces a powerful male
character in the workplace to whom they must prove themselves. Instead, Steel
creates that dominant character in their personal lives.
Saltzman points out that “the female journalist faces an ongoing dilemma:
How to incorporate the masculine traits of journalism essential for success – being
aggressive, self-reliant, curious, tough, ambitious, cynical, cocky, unsympathetic –
while still being the woman society would like her to be – compassionate, caring,
loving, maternal, sympathetic.”
1
Steel’s romance novels featuring female journalists
in popular culture do not present this dichotomy. On the job these woman possess
compassion and integrity. They are all ambitious, but do not feel the need to prove
themselves in their careers. However, each character finds she needs to prove who
she is in their personal lives, often to men who do not appreciate their smarts and
beauty.
“Yet this tough reporter often showed her soft side and cried long and hard
when the man she loved treated her like a sister instead of a lover. By the end of the
film, most sob sisters, no matter how tough or independent during the film, would
give up anything for marriage, children, and a life at home.”
2
Steel’s characters
always put their personal lives before their journalism careers except in the novel
Message From Nam. Steel keeps this theme evident in so many of her novels
50
featuring female journalists because it is part of the romance genre. Steel’s readers
are not looking to read about an independent journalist throughout the entire novel
because they want to read about passionate love.

51

Chapter Ten Endnotes
1
Joe Saltzman, Sob Sisters: The Image of the Female Journalist in Popular Culture, page 1.

2
Ibid, page 4.
52
Bibliography
Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, DVD, directed by Adam McKay.
(Dreamworks Video, 2004).

Bane, Vicki & Benet Lorenzo, The Lives of Danielle Steel (St. Martin’s Press, New
York, 1994).

Born, Donna, “The Image of the Woman Journalist in American Popular Fiction,
1890 to the Present” (A Paper presented to the Committee on the Status of
Women of the Association of Education in Journalism Annual Convention,
Michigan State University, East Lansing, August, 1981).

The Devil Wears Prada, DVD, directed by David Frankel (20th Century Fox, 2006).

The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, Television Series. (NBC Productions, The Stuffed Dog
Company, Warner Bros. Television 1990-1996).

Gray, Paul & Sachs, Andrea, “Publishing: Passion on the Pages” (Time Magazine,
2000).

Johnson, Sammye, “The Female War Journalist in Message from Nam: Glamour,
Grit and Guts” (Presented at the Western States Communication Association
Convention, 2009).

Lauer, Matt, Danielle Steel’s Interview on The Today Show, at
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/Id/25191970/.

The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Television Series. (MTM Productions, 1970-1977).

Morgan, J.J., “Romance Novels and What they offer the Reader” at
http://www.helium.com/items/1353345-romance-novels.

Murphy, Denise, “Romance Novels and What they offer the Reader” at
http://www.helium.com/items/458320-romance-novels-and-what-they-offer-
the-reader.

Romance Writers of America, http://www.rwanational.org/cs/the_romance_genre.

Saltzman, Joe, Frank Capra and the Image of the Journalist in American Film, (IJPC
Publication, 2002).

53
Saltzman, Joe, Sob Sisters: The Image of the Female Journalist in Popular Culture,
(IJPC Publication, 2003).

Scott, Megan K., “In Tough Times, Romance Is Easy to Love,” (Washington Post,
2009).

Steel, Danielle, Blog at http://daniellesteel.net/about.htm.

Steel, Danielle, Bittersweet (Delacorte, New York, 1999).

Steel, Danielle, Changes (Delacorte, New York, 1983).

Steel, Danielle, Heartbeat (Delacorte, New York, 1991).

Steel, Danielle, Journey (Delacorte, New York, 2000).

Steel, Danielle, Message From Nam (Delacorte, New York, 1990).

Steel, Danielle, No Greater Love (Delacorte, New York, 1991).

Steel, Danielle, Passion’s Promise (Dell, New York, 1985).

Steel, Danielle, Second Chance (Dell, New York, 2004).

Up Close & Personal, DVD, directed by Jon Avnet. (Walt Disney Video, 1996).

Wainger, Leslie, Writing a Romance Novel for Dummies, (Wiley Publishing, 2004).

Weisser, Susan Ostrou, Women and Romance a reader, (New York University Press,
2001).
54
Appendix: Novel Summaries
Bittersweet (1999) By Danielle Steel
The main character in the novel is India Taylor, who is a successful
photojournalist. Her husband of 17 years, Doug encouraged her to quit her career
and she does. She meets a man named Paul Ward who she begins to have an affair
with and he encourages her to reclaim her career as a successful photojournalist.

Changes (1983) By Danielle Steel
Melanie Adams is a successful woman who has a career as a TV
documentary producer. She is a single mom with twin daughters. She falls in love
with heart surgeon Peter Hallam. Melanie and her girls move to California for her
TV career and Peter and Melanie get married once she makes the move to California.

Heartbeat (1991) By Danielle Steel
Bill Thigpen has a successful career in Hollywood as a writer and producer
for a soap opera. He is divorced and has two young sons. Adrian Townsend works
as a production assistant for a TV news show. Her husband divorces her when she
becomes pregnant. Adrian and Bill meet and form a relationship.

Journey (2000) By Danielle Steel
Madeleine (Maddy) Hunter is an award-winning TV anchorwoman. Her
husband Jack Hunter is the head of her network and adviser to the President on
media issues. Jack has built Maddy up to be a star and the world idolizes her. Jack
is a controlling husband and it is a form of abuse. Maddy lives in fear and no one
knows it. She meets Bill Alexander and they form a close bond and soon Maddy
begins to heal and rebuild herself.

Message From Nam (1990) By Danielle Steel
Journalist Paxton Andrews goes to Vietnam to report. She meets soldiers
who change her life forever. Peter Wilson is a new recruit who confronts his fate in
Da Nang. Ralph Johnson is an AP correspondent in Vietnam. Bill Quinn is captain
of Cu Chi tunnel and is on his fourth tour of duty. For seven years Paxton writes a
newspaper column from the front line in Vietnam.

No Greater Love (1991) By Danielle Steel
Edwina Winfield survives the titanic, but unfortunately her mother and fiancé
do not. Edwina is forced as the oldest child to take care of her five younger siblings.
She also must return to run the family newspaper. The book follows her ups and
downs as she copes with loss, raising five children and running a newspaper.

55
Passion’s Promise (1985) By Danielle Steel
Kezia Saint Martin is smart, beautiful and very rich. She leads two lives:
one as a glamorous socialite jetting all over the world and the other under a false
name as a dedicated journalist, committed to justice and her profession. The two
worlds are leaving her conflicted with her identity.

Second Chance (2004) By Danielle Steel
Fiona Monaghan is an editor-in-chief of New York’s leading fashion
magazine. She falls in love with John Anderson. The novel follows the challenges
she has with her relationship with a man who is completely opposite of her.

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Asset Metadata

Creator Nieman, Danielle Ethlyne (author)

Core Title The lovesick journalist: the image of the female journalist in Danielle Steel’s novels

School Annenberg School for Communication

Degree Master of Arts

Degree Program Journalism (Broadcast Journalism)

Publication Date 04/27/2010

Defense Date 04/01/2010

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag female journalists in Danielle Steel's romance novels,OAI-PMH Harvest

Language English

Contributor Electronically uploaded by the author (provenance)

Advisor Saltzman, Joseph (committee chair), Durbin, Daniel (committee member), Muller, Judy (committee member)

Creator Email dnieman@usc.edu,dnieman12@gmail.com

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-m2955

Unique identifier UC1275821

Identifier etd-Nieman-3512 (filename),usctheses-m40 (legacy collection record id),usctheses-c127-308671 (legacy record id),usctheses-m2955 (legacy record id)

Legacy Identifier etd-Nieman-3512.pdf

Dmrecord 308671

Document Type Thesis

Rights Nieman, Danielle Ethlyne

Type texts

Source University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

Repository Name Libraries, University of Southern California

Repository Location Los Angeles, California

Repository Email cisadmin@lib.usc.edu