She worked as a reporter for The Sacramento Star and became nationally known for her coverage of the death of President Warren G. Harding.
After growing up in Downieville and Sacramento, California, Finney graduated from the San Jose Normal School with a teaching certificate in 1918 and worked for three months as a substitute teacher.
[2][4] In this role, she covered the Teapot Dome Oil scandal, the execution of Sacco and Vanzetti, and the authorization of the construction of Hoover Dam.
[2] In 1941, Finney began writing a weekly column on news, politics and economics for the Scripps-Howard newspapers, titled "Washington Calling".
[1] Finney married fellow journalist Robert S. Allen, the co-author for Washington Merry-Go-Round, in 1929.