Liz Smith (journalist) Smith later moved to New York City, where she worked as a typist, proofreader, and reporter before she broke into the media world as a news producer for Mike Wallace at CBS Radio. She spent five years as a news producer for NBC-TV. She also worked for Allen Funt on "Candid Camera". In the late 1950s, Smith worked as a ghostwriter for the popular "Cholly Knickerbocker" gossip column that appeared in the Hearst newspapers. After leaving that column in the early 1960s she went to work for Helen Gurley Brown as the entertainment editor for the American version of "Cosmopolitan",
Helen McCully then spent ten years as food editor for "House Beautiful". By 1960, McCully had become an icon in the food industry, bringing noted chefs together, serving as a mentor, a contact with peers, and hosting regular culinary salons in her Upper East Side apartment. Though she had a somewhat abrasive manner, McCully was very influential counting among her friends both American and foreign chefs. Helen Evans Brown and James Beard were close friends and colleagues. While running the kitchens for "McCall's" magazine, she allowed Beard to use the kitchens for his cooking school and helped many chefs gain notice. When