Articles by Martha Sherrill

My first job in publishing was fashion assistant at The Washington Post, working for legendary editor Nina Hyde. She was intelligent, sophisticated and strong — a powerhouse and total pro. She taught me so many important things about life, work, journalism, and decency. After two years as Nina’s sidekick, I was given a paid summer internship in general assignment feature writing in the Style section. The following year, I was hired as a full-time staff writer. My first beat was covering parties. (The editor of Style, Mary Hadar, said: “I don’t care if you’re the next Updike, what I need is a party reporter.”) The following year, I ascended to covering arts, entertainment and politics.

Ben Bradlee, the executive editor of the newspap