'Hick' explores Eleanor Roosevelt's long-rumored romance with reporter Lorena Hickock
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Trailblazing journalist Lorena Hickok started working as a reporter in 1912, at a time when only about 1 in 5 women in the United States had jobs outside the home and their right to vote was still years away. It was that career that led Hickok to someone who would change her professional and personal life forever: Eleanor Roosevelt. Limited time: Save 25% on NBC News subscription Get exclusive reporting, live Q&As and ad-free reading.
AI Summary
Main Idea: A new biography says Eleanor Roosevelt and reporter Lorena Hickok likely had a deep romantic relationship built on years of close friendship and letters.
Key Points:
- Author Sarah Miller studied about 3,500 letters between the two women and said the relationship was romantic, though the full sexual nature cannot be known.
- The women exchanged letters from 1932 until Roosevelt’s death in 1962, and the letters show strong affection and emotional closeness.
- Miller also highlights Hickok’s life and career as a major reporter, showing how her journalism success brought her into Roosevelt’s world.
- Hickok’s close ties to Eleanor Roosevelt eventually hurt her objectivity and ended her news reporting career, though she later worked for the Roosevelt administration and wrote books.
Impact on the People
Negative Impact
Eleanor Roosevelt’s closeness to reporter Lorena Hickok shows how personal ties can blur judgment and end a journalism career, which can weaken trust in news and public service.
Positive Impact
The biography may help voters and students better understand women’s work, LGBTQ history, and the role of friendship in public life.
How did each entity affect people?
Rate how each entity in this article affected the American people.
- Primary:Eleanor Rooseveltperson
Candidate Entities6 candidates · 5 weighted vote min · 70% decision
- Eleanor RooseveltpersonPrimaryEvaluated
Central historical figure whose relationship with Lorena Hickok is the main focus of the article.
Include 0 (0%)Ignore 0 (0%)5 to threshold - Associated Pressmedia outletContextCandidate
Hickok’s employer during a major phase of her journalism career and part of the article’s account of her.
Include 0 (0%)Ignore 0 (0%)5 to threshold - Doris Kearns GoodwinpersonContextCandidate
Historian cited for a contrasting interpretation of the relationship.
Include 0 (0%)Ignore 0 (0%)5 to threshold - Franklin D. Roosevelt Librarycultural institutionContextCandidate
Repository that received Hickok’s letters and is part of the historical context.
Include 0 (0%)Ignore 0 (0%)5 to threshold - Battle Creek Evening Newsmedia outletMinorCandidate
Hickok’s first reporting job and a supporting detail in her career background.
Include 0 (0%)Ignore 0 (0%)5 to threshold - Franklin D. RooseveltpersonMinorCandidate
Mentioned as Eleanor Roosevelt’s husband and as context for the letters and White House setting.
Include 0 (0%)Ignore 0 (0%)5 to threshold
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