CT Journalism Hall of Fame: Barbara Comstock White

Barbara Comstock White worked alongside her husband (and fellow hall-of-famer) Carter. She was editor and chairman of the editorial board of the Record-Journal for many years. She started writing features, travel pieces, book and play reviews and editorials and columns part-time for the old Meriden Morning Record in 1946.

She joined the paper full-time in 1956 and became its editor when the Morning Record and the afternoon Journal merged into the Record-Journal in 1978. She and Carter were a true team at home and work. They retired in 1988 but still came to work regularly into the mid-1990s.

Perhaps Barbara’s most recognizable presence over the years was her “Dining Out” column that helped readers learn what to expect from restaurants around the state and New England. Even in most of these columns, the Whites were together, with Barbara combining her own reactions with those of her constant dining companion and husband.

Barbara White served twice as Pulitzer Prize juror, was an active member of the American Society of Newspaper Editors, the New England Society of the Newspaper Editors and the national conference of Editorial Writers. She was an officer in the Meriden League of Women Voters, the Meriden College Club, AAUW and the city-wide PTA. She graduated magna cum laude in English Literature at Radcliffe College.