Since 1995, Gail Collins has contributed political commentary with keen insights and considerable wit to the Op-Ed page of The New York Times. In 2003, she published America’s Women: Four Hundred Years of Dolls, Drudges, Helpmates and Heroines about impressive females in American history. Collins herself could have served as a subject; in 2001, she became the first woman ever appointed to the Times’ editorial page. Her new book, As Texas Goes: How the Lone Star State Hijacked the American Agenda, considers that state’s inimitable politicians and its central role in creating our national identity. Her past books include Scorpion Tongues: Gossip, Celebrity and American Politics, and The Millennium Book, co-authored with husband Dan Collins.
Belva Davis became California’s first female African-American television reporter and anchor in 1966. She was co-creator and host of All Together Now, one of the country’s first primetime minority-focused public affairs programs, and has worked at KQED and KRON-TV. Earlier this year she announced that this will be her last season hosting KQED’s This Week in Northern California. Her memoir is Never in My Wildest Dreams: A Black Woman’s Life in Journalism.