Upon graduation from high school, she entered American University in Washington, D.C., where she received her bachelor's and master's degrees in political science and international law.

[2]: 93  After finishing college at American University, Pauline followed the professor's advice pursuing a career in journalism with great determination, “and within four years she began to receive invitations to White House press events”.

[2]: 94  “Though not the Frederick he wanted, the Star’s editor was so impressed by her writing that he bought both of the articles she offered and gave her a job churning out a weekly feature”.

Frederick recalled her early experiences breaking into journalism: “I tried every way I could to convince the powers that be that I could broadcast news… This was very difficult because it was unheard of for a woman to want to enter this man’s world”.

In 1938, with her interest in electronic communications, she accepted a job as a part-time aide assisting in writing scripts for then-NBC Blue [6] radio reporter H. R. Baukhage.

In April 1945, Frederick got a tremendous career boost when she was given the opportunity to travel “as a war correspondent on a journalist’s tour of North Africa, Asia, and China nineteen countries in all”.

[9] Frederick's desire for a career as a news journalist remained strong even though she had been denied a job by NBC and CBS.

Later that year she landed an assignment to report on the final journey of the RMS Queen Mary as a troop ship; during the cruise she conducted an exclusive interview with General and Mrs. Dwight D.

[2]: 97  Also in 1949, she premiered a weekday news program entitled “Pauline Frederick Reports”, and ABC promoted her as the only female commentator broadcasting on-air.

Anchorman Chet Huntley commented about her reporting, “She is our dependable right arm in sorting out the legalities, the propaganda, the nationalistic sensitivities and the international nuances which frequent the UN”.

[2]: 98  Although undoubtedly a successful and respected journalist at the end of her career with NBC, her salary was similar to those of other women who, by then, had only been working in television news for less than a year.

[1] When asked to identify her greatest moment at the UN Pauline had some difficulty, explaining that “I’ve been at the United Nations since the beginning, so each one to me was the greatest opportunity, starting with the Korean War, …the Middle East War, the Cuban missile crisis, Suez, Hungary, the Chinese coming into the UN – they’ve all been very exciting.”[14] During her long career, Pauline Frederick received numerous awards and honors, and was awarded “honorary doctorate degrees in journalism, law, and the humanities from more than twenty colleges and universities”.

[19] She was named to the Hall of Fame of Sigma Delta Chi, the journalism professional society, in 1975, and was the first woman to be elected as president of the United Nations Correspondents Association.

Speaking of why she selected these particular woman, Frederick remarked in her introduction, “With the exception of Indira Gandhi who, as Prime Minister of India, is uniquely a first lady in her own right, the women portrayed are wives of men who exercise national power, exert regional political influence, and in some cases, are world shakers”.

Brodinsky, Joseph Pratt Harris, Glenn Nixon, and Archibald Robertson, America Prepares for Tomorrow.

In the About the Authors section of the book, Pauline Frederick is credited with specializing in foreign affairs and editing the Federal Register.

[22] In her chapters, Pauline tackles the changing attitudes of isolationism in America, the consumer's relationship to national defense, the economics at home of building the weapons of war, and defending the American way of life.

[23] Even this early in her career, Pauline Fredrick was recognized by some as a journalist and author capable of writing and reporting on serious news topics.

In the male-dominated field of journalism, a female reporter was not felt capable or respected enough to cover anything other than stories concerning feminine issues.

Her newspaper credits for the New York Times during 1938 and 1939 are a wonderful example of how she incorporated the women she was covering into articles about the most important issues of the day.