Joanne Bamberger

About Joanne Bamberger

Joanne Bamberger is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of The Broad Side. She is a political and media strategist, author, journalist and “recovering” attorney (formerly known around the blogosphere as PunditMom). She is the author of Mothers of Intention: How Women & Social Media are Revolutionizing Politics in America (Bright Sky Press).

Joanne was awarded the 2013 Advocacy Innovator Award by Campaigns and Elections Magazine for being one of the first proponents of the belief that women online in non-political spaces like “mommy” blogs not only address political and policy matters through their non-traditionally political venues, but also directly and indirectly affect political and policy discussion.

Joanne was named in 2013 by Working Mother Magazine as a “must read” online writer, and as one of their Most Powerful Moms in Social Media in 2011. She was nominated for the Women’s Media Center 2011 Social Media Award. A new media expert and authority on political involvement of women, Joanne has contributed commentary to USA Today, CNN.com, Huffington Post, MSNBC, CNNFox News, Good Morning America, XM Radio POTUS, among others.  Joanne speaks frequently to a variety of groups about women, politics, social media and how their confluence is increasing women’s power in all aspects of women’s lives.   Joanne is an award-winning broadcast journalist who spent a decade as a radio and television reporter before attending law school.  Joanne spent 15 years in private and government practice, including a stint as Deputy Director of Public Affairs at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. And, no surprise, you can find her on Facebook and follow her on Twitter at @JLCBamberger!  Her journalism “brushes with greatness” as a cub reporter many years ago included interviews with Henry Kissinger AND Aldo Cella (but not at the same time)!

Author Archive | Joanne Bamberger
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President’s Woes Don’t Equal Watergate

Inside the beltway, there’s a tendency to “gate” everything.  If you’re old enough, or a student of history, you know that Richard Nixon’s Watergate scandal was one of the most notorious presidential scandals ever (that didn’t involve an intern!) Ever since then, any potential trouble for a president (and sometimes others) in Washington has been [...]

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Princess Merida Isn’t the Last Strong Girl You’ll See From Brenda Chapman

Princess Merida from the movie Brave isn’t the last strong female character Brenda Chapman has in mind for her fans. That’s what Chapman told The Broad Side in one of her first interviews after the recent uproar over Disney’s attempts to change Merida’s appearance as part of her “induction” into the ever-growing Disney Princess franchise. [...]

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Brave’s Merida is Herself Again. But for How Long?

The has been much Disney fanfare welcoming the “new and improved” Princess Merida from the movie Brave — a new image, and an official induction ceremony at Disney World, complete with a live Queen Elinor, and adult Merida, taking her “rightful” place next to all the other princesses. But Disney’s Merida makeover — sexy or [...]

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Thinking of Our Daughter’s Biological Mom on Mother’s Day

There has been a lot of anxiety and dispute in recent months about international and transracial adoption. I know there are some stories about whether children from certain countries have been adopted through a legitimate process, or whether they have been stolen or even sold in a manner some have likened to slavery. Some in [...]

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7 Reasons Men Still Rule in Politics: Girls Just Wanna Not Run

Men still rule the school when it comes to the world of politics. I know that’s not really news, but it’s good to have someone do a study about this sort of thing just to remind us that the more things change (there are more women in elective office today than a couple of decades [...]

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Wall Street Journal Alienated Millions of Women in One Fell Swoop

I had so hoped I would never have to write anything ever again about the appalling level of disrespect for women online and working mothers in America, and the space where the two intersect. But in our time of click driven journalism, sensational pieces that attack or mock a particular group, including those of us [...]

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Wonder Woman, Buffy and the Black Widow

My daughter loves comic books and she is IN love with the Marvel super hero movies. She is especially fascinated with Iron Man, which concerns me as she gets closer to her dating years because I hope she doesn’t end up falling for the bad boys like Tony Stark. Or maybe it’s Robert Downey, Jr., [...]

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Mark Sanford’s Hiking & Trespassing Clear Nikki Haley’s Path to Congress

Poor Mark Sanford. He just can’t seem to help himself when it comes to finding ways to have his personal life impact his political career. You may remember him as the former South Carolina governor who said he had disappeared for a few days to hike the “old Appalachian trail” when he was really off [...]

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Have Our Kids Become Numb to Terror?

“Someone told me at school there was a bombing in Boston.” That’s what my seventh-grade daughter said when she got home from school yesterday. The fact that she’d heard about it before I could tell her wasn’t what surprised me.  What shocked me was the matter-of-fact way in which she mentioned it. There was no [...]

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