During the fifty-year period covered in the text, Lutes looks at female journalists and how they thrived in their profession in ways that men simply could not. Lutes discusses stunt reporters, "sob sisters," and even fictional female journalists. Kimberley Mangun, in a review for H-Net: Humanities and Social Sciences Online, found that "the scope of Lutes's book is impressive." A contributor to the Reference & Research Book News noted that the "period illustrations enhance the text." Writing in Library Journal, Margaret Heilbrun commented that Lutes's understanding of the field of journalism was put "to superb use in this fascinating, clearly enunciated examination." Heilbrun concluded that "Lutes's work is a revelation."