This collection best documents Ottenberg's professional career while at the Washington Star and her continued professional activities after her retirement; there is little personal material in the papers. The two major series of the collection, WASHINGTON STAR YEARS and RETIREMENT YEARS, contain similar material (subject files, clippings, professional correspondence, and notes, drafts, and copies of her writing and speeches); but they are distinguished by the fact that the Washington Star Years series revolves around her crime and consumer fraud investigations, while in the Retirement Years series her attention turned primarily to multiple sclerosis. Also present is a small third series of PERSONAL MATERIAL.
The WASHINGTON STAR YEARS series is divided into two subseries: Subject Files and Writing and Speeches. The Subject Files contain material about Ottenberg's career as a journalist and her professional activities as president of the Women's National Press Club (WNPC), instructor of an American Press Institute class, and Federal Woman's Award board member. These files are arranged alphabetically by keyword.
Useful overviews of her career and achievements can be found here in the section of biographical materials and awards, especially in the alumna file and in the general file. The alumna file contains information about her that appeared in college and high school publications, as well as correspondence about awards given her by her alma maters. Also listed in this section are original photographic prints of Ottenberg at work and at various award ceremonies and printed pictures in which she can be seen in the background as a working reporter.
Ottenberg's Pulitzer Prize and term as President of the Women's National Press Club are also well documented here. In addition to many letters of congratulations, the Pulitzer correspondence includes Ottenberg's letters to her parents, who were traveling in Europe and Israel at the time. Ottenberg labeled one bundle of this correspondence “answered,” but the file contains few letters from her. The Women's National Press Club file pertains primarily to her year as president, 1964-1965. Included are correspondence regarding her selection and inauguration, and administrative and financial and programming records of the WNPC. The subject file on women in journalism includes some material regarding her service on the board of the Federal Women's Award. The miscellaneous material consists of an article about women journalists that mentions Ottenberg; notes regarding the decision to change the name of the WNPC to the Washington Press Club and to open membership to men; and a few articles she collected on women writers and journalists.
The subject file on the Washington Star includes the paper's publicity about Ottenberg; clippings and publicity for the “Action Line”; notes and information (including a centennial history which Ottenberg helped produce) about the paper and its staff; a working file for her article about Editor William Hill; and mementos from her retirement.
The Writing and Speeches subseries is divided into three parts: articles, book manuscripts, and speeches. In addition to the run of printed articles (which are available only on microfilm), this section includes subject files, in order chronologically by the earliest date of the file. These files generally consist of correspondence, notes, drafts, and reference material. Some files also include a copy of the final article and reader reaction. The article subject files reflect Ottenberg's long term interest in scams and fraud, especially mail fraud. The murders of women file is unique in that it is one of the few subjects she investigated with an historical perspective. Last in the articles section appear the files of reactions to miscellaneous articles, including correspondence, reviews, and general professional correspondence regarding new story ideas and other matters.
The book manuscript files include material about The Federal Investigators, published in 1962, and another book project that was never published that was to be named “The Prosecutors.” The Federal Investigators file is divided into publicity (correspondence and guest lists for receptions, etc.), reviews, general correspondence in response to the book, and a color poster advertising the book. There are no working files or drafts.
In contrast, “The Prosecutors” file consists primarily of draft chapters, along with some outlines and notes. The notes indicate that she planned five sections, each with a general introduction and two chapters, and the files are arranged accordingly. Ottenberg sent a draft of the Cosa Nostra chapter to the U.S. Bureau of Narcotics for their review; the files for the chapter on drug smuggling, “Goodnight Lucien,” includes a draft sent to the U.S. Treasury Department's Bureau of Customs and correspondence with departmental officials. Two folders of publishing correspondence cover her attempts to secure publishing agreements for “The Prosecutors,” another manuscript to be called “The Five Faces of Crime in America,” and various articles and series.
The speeches file contains both copies of speeches she delivered and associated correspondence and clippings.
Though Ottenberg retired from the Star in 1974 due to health problems, she remained an active investigator, writer, and speaker, as her RETIREMENT YEARS files reveal. These files are organized like the earlier section of the papers: Subject Files, then Writings and Speeches. The material focuses almost exclusively on MS.
The Subject Files subseries includes files about yoga, a therapeutic form of exercise Ottenberg enthusiastically practiced. Also in the Subject Files is material on Gary Smith, a folksinger and naturalist with MS, with whom Ottenberg corresponded. In 1978, Ottenberg published a popular book recounting individual experiences with MS and suggestions for coping with the disease. The Pursuit of Hope files include drafts, correspondence, and reaction. There are generally two drafts for each chapter, although the chapter titles and numbers often changed.
The Speeches files here include correspondence and clippings about speeches on MS, as well as some on general topics such as consumer fraud and journalism careers for women.
PERSONAL MATERIAL, which makes up a small portion of the collection, contains a few examples of her college (and possibly high school) work, some personal correspondence, and some material on her parents. With the school work are notes from an introductory journalism course at the University of Wisconsin. The correspondence, 1935-1936, is primarily from a male friend who signed his letters “Chig.” The letters indicate that they maintained a friendship while Chig developed a romantic interest in Ottenberg that was not returned. Correspondence in later years was between Ottenberg and her parents, a nephew (Dan Greenhill) in Israel, a niece (Jo Ellen Ottenberg), Mrs. I. William (Kay) Hill, and colleagues. Also included are letters from friends after the death of her father in 1960 and letters from Ottenberg describing vacation cruises in the early 1970s.
In the file on her parents are a copy of a legal article by her father, and newspaper stories by and about her mother. Other material about her mother includes notes about their living arrangements, her death certificate and will, and Ottenberg's notes for a memorial tribute. The audio disc is a recording of the presentation of a 1953 League of Women Voters award to Nettie Ottenberg and her acceptance speech.
