Pauline Phillips, Flinty Adviser to Millions as Dear Abby, Dies at 94; New York Times, 1/17/13

Margalit Fox, New York Times; Pauline Phillips, Flinty Adviser to Millions as Dear Abby, Dies at 94: "Long before the Internet — and long before the pervasive electronic confessionals of Dr. Ruth, Dr. Phil, Dr. Laura, et al. — the Dear Abby column was a forum for the public discussion of private problems, read by tens of millions of people in hundreds of newspapers around the world. It is difficult to overstate the column’s influence on American culture at midcentury and afterward: in popular parlance, Dear Abby was for decades an affectionate synonym for a trusted, if slightly campy, confidante."