Margaret Jones

Margaret Mary Jones (8 October 1923 – 30 July 2006) was an Australian journalist, noted for being one of the first accredited to China after the Cultural Revolution, and first female Foreign Editor on any Australian newspaper. Described as a "trailblazer for women journalists", she wrote for John Fairfax Limited for a total of thirty-three years. Early life and education Jones was born in Rockhampton, Queensland,. She was the youngest of six children of John Jones, an employee of the Rockhampton Harbour Board for around 40 years. After a Catholic education in Rockhampton, she commenced teacher training in Brisbane, but abandoned it for life as a cadet journalist. There is an anecdote about her having a youthful article accepted by The Times in London. Career She worked for the Australian Broadcasting Commission as a stringer, and was a regional correspondent on the Mackay Mercury from 1948 to 1953. She then moved to Sydney to work for the Daily Mirror. She joined the Sydney Sun-Herald in 1954. Famously, her job application read in part "As you may see by my signature, I am a woman and I know that, even yet, a certain amount of prejudice still exists against women in journalism". Her first assignments were book and theatre reviews and a column "Dog of the Week".