Esther Van Wagoner Tufty was born in Kingston, Michigan on July 2, 1896, the daughter of James and Florence Van Wagoner. She began her college education at Michigan State College in 1914, but later transferred to the University of Wisconsin to enter the journalism school. At Wisconsin, she worked her way through the university working for two Madison newspapers and graduating in 1921. A few months after graduation she married Harold G. Tufty. The Tuftys settled in Evanston, Illinois, where they had two sons, James Van Wagoner and Harold G., Jr. Her husband's health in 1923 caused Mrs. Tufty to begin working for the Evanston News Index. Eventually she became its managing editor, one of few women, at the time, in her profession to hold a newspaper position of that level.
In 1935 Mr. Tufty accepted a job in 1935 in Washington, D.C., with the Federal Communications Commission. Cognizant of the discrimination against women by the White House press corps, Mrs. Tufty established her own news bureau and traveled throughout Michigan to sign up 26 newspapers to carry her column, “Michigan in Washington.” While Mrs. Tufty's personality and professional record were important in the success of her undertaking, no doubt her brother, Murray Van Wagoner, an important Democratic Party leader in Michigan (later elected governor), played a part in the establishment of the Tufty News Bureau. Eventually, Mrs. Tufty became one of the few women reporters who attended Presidential news conferences, and her bureau grew to represent the papers of the North American Newspaper Alliance (75 papers) and the Central Press (260 newspapers). At its height, the Tufty News Bureau represented over 300 papers.
In 1942 Mrs. Tufty was the first woman accredited for foreign reporting on the war. While in England, the British government made her ambassador without a portfolio for six weeks, and she broadcast from target areas during the blitz. Later she also covered the wars in Korea and Vietnam and traveled extensively throughout the world.
In 1943 Tufty began broadcasting on the Atlantic Coast radio network, with a program entitled Headlines from Washington. Then, and throughout her career, she resisted describing herself as a reporter of “women's news.” Instead, her program was “news broadcast by a woman.” Following the war Mrs. Tufty broadcast on programs such as Panning the Press and Tufty Topics. It was during this period that she earned her nickname, “The Duchess,” a reference to her signature braided hairstyle and her commanding demeanor.
In 1952 Mrs. Tufty made her television debut as a correspondent for the National Broadcasting Company (NBC) at the Republican and Democratic conventions. This assignment led to appearances on the Ask Washington program and selection as the Washington, D.C., editor for Home, NBC's pioneering daytime news magazine.
Esther Van Wagoner Tufty was active in several professional organizations, serving as president of American Women in Radio and Television and the American Newspaper Women's Club, and the Women's National Press Club. In 1976 Sigma Delta Chi elected her to their Journalism Hall of Fame. She was also a frequent and popular public speaker.
Although the Tuftys divorced in 1946, Mrs. Tufty retained her husband's name. She continued to work despite cancer, the loss of an eye, and the successive installations of seven pacemakers until a few months before her death on May 4, 1986.
