Obituaries and Memorials
Robinson's obituaries are much more than just conveyances of her death. Considered 'traditional style' obituaries (14), each of the memorial pieces and obituaries which talk about Robinson use neutral language. They speak of her achievements and accolades while avoiding any comments and critiques of her time at Telegram, NEWS, and Chatelaine. As well, contrasting to the letters to the editor which were sent directly to Robinson, each quote about her depicts the journalist positively; she was a friend, an asset to Canada, and an innovator in Canadian journalism.
Robinson's character in her obituaries is personified as a "warm, friendly, modest, quiet woman" (15), while her work was personified in the opposite direction, some called NEWS "cold-blooded" (16). This shows the contrastive nature of how obituaries want to highlight Robinson as a person. We cannot validate if Robinson and her work were as opposite as the obituaries suggest, though it is interesting to see that they do highlight this side of her over her more brazen portrayals during her life.
"Circle-Bar" Fourth Column
This article was a tribute to both Judith Robinson and the NEWS newspaper she founded during World War Two. Within the article, McAree spoke voraciously of NEWS and Robinson, uncharacteristic of how most wrote at the time. However, it is important to note that much of the article is specifically describing NEWS and its position within Canadian culture, rather than Robinson.
'Cold-blooded indifference,'
'Canada is better that it lived,'
'the real tragedy would be if the voice of the publisher could be heard in no other forum.'
These passionately worded quotes referred directly to the death of NEWS, rather than the death of Robinson.
Canada Loses an 'Incisive Observer'
Written by the newspaper which hosted Robinson for a time, this obituary chose rather to use quotes and Robinson's own writings to detail her death. This is where we find the marked gendering of Robinson in her portrayals. Editor-in-Chief of the time, J. D. Farlane, is quoted saying,
"She is warm, friendly, modest, quiet woman... she has a temper. But she has the generosity to match it."
Many of the quotes within this obituary feature some sort of softening in which her achievements within journalism are contrasted with her demure demeanour.
The Looming Personalities - Robinson Memorial Piece
This article, written five years after Robinson's passing, illustrates her influence on the journalism culture in Canada. The article details how Robinson changed the culture of journalism from being passive to being very active, almost aggressive. Fisher reflects on how the power dynamics have flipped and journalists can now critique and mock politicians and political topics, thanks to Robinson.