These Papers cover the entire period of Harry Flannery's development as a reporter, newscaster, and analyst, and are particularly revealing as to the role of both the listener and the newscaster in molding public opinion. His long association with the AFL-CIO is responsible for much material concerning labor and labor problems, and frequent reference may be found to his liberal interests as a leading Catholic layman.
The collection is organized into two parts: Part 1, the materials received in the Archives in 1967, dates 1917-1967 and comprises Box 1-28 and the tape recordings. Part 2, the 1969 Additions, dates 1937-1968 and is in Box 29-34.
Part 1 is the more extensive portion and is organized into the categories (1) correspondence, (2) articles and other material written by Flannery, with related papers, (3) material written by John W. Vandercook, also an AFL-CIO commentator, and a contemporary of Flannery, (4) publicity and biographical items, (5) miscellaneous, (6) tape recordings, and (7) films. These categories are described more fully below.
Part 2 consists of one additional folder of correspondence, a folder of articles and other short works by Flannery, carbon copies of two unpublished plays co-authored with Elmer Harris, which were based on Flannery's observations of events in Germany and Italy; works by Upton Sinclair and by Harris alone; travel itineraries; a subject and reference file on The Church and the Workingman and a more extensive similar file on Which Way Germany?; photographs that are primarily newsphotos showing Flannery with public figures, at conferences, on travels, conducting interviews, and as CBS correspondent in Berlin; and other items.
Description of Part 1
The Correspondence
The correspondence, 1927-1967, concerns arrangement for speaking engagements; personal correspondence; and business and publication details for his books, Assignment to Berlin, (1942) Which Way Germany? (1968) and Patterns for Peace (1962). Of special interest in this section are two periods. One, in the early forties, covers Flannery's correspondence to his wife while in Germany (1940-1941) and later while touring various theatres of war with the Allies. The second is the period of the late 1940s when there was much controversy in California concerning alleged communist (or “Un-American”) influences. Flannery, although not directly involved, received much listener and reader mail during this period commenting on these issues. Also there are letters from many national figures including Hubert H. Humphrey, George Meany, Robert Kennedy, John Kennedy and Upton Sinclair. Most of this latter correspondence was in the late 1950s and the 1960s. Of interest might also be a note that Flannery received from a listener in the early thirties while with WOWO, Ft. Wayne, signed “John Dillinger.”
Articles and other material written by Flannery
There are numerous articles and addresses by Flannery with the Papers, some accompanied by a related research file of clippings. These are arranged as Flannery maintained them, the manuscripts of articles being arranged topically, with the printed articles, found in scrapbooks, in chronological order. Also included are three film scripts written for AFL-CIO movies dealing with John F. Kennedy and unionism.
The manuscripts for both Assignment in Berlin (1941) and Which Way Germany? (written with Gerhart Seger in 1968) are in the collection. Assignment in Berlin, which is accompanied by some related material, is in extremely fragmented form. The manuscript for Which Way Germany? is complete, with some preliminary proposals included. A very interesting portion is made up of Flannery's notebook-diaries, which he kept concerning his many tours and assignments from the 1940s on.
The bulk of this section, however, deals with the products of Flannery, the broadcaster. There are scripts, many in complete series, of Flannery's numerous radio programs, some going back to his first show for WOWO, Ft. Wayne, Indiana. Also in this section are extensive script files for programs broadcast by the CBS West Coast Network and KMOX, St. Louis.
Broadcasts of John Vandercook
Included with the Flannery Papers are the broadcast scripts, 1955-1960, of John Vandercook, a news analyst for AFL-CIO News, New York. Vandercook's series of programs was one of the many that Flannery supervised as co-ordinator for AFL-CIO Radio and TV.
Publicity and Biographical
This section contains the publicity for Flannery's various shows, publicity for his books and speaking engagements, and memorabilia. Much of the contents of this section are in scrapbooks.
Tapes
Received with the collection were 805 tape recordings. These cover the years 1937-1965, and are cataloged as Audio 427A. Most of the tapes are part of Flannery's radio series, although some individual recordings are of special interest. These include the speeches of Walter Reuther and George Meany; interviews with Franklin D. Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Baines Johnson; testimony before the McClellan Committee of February 1958, on the Kohler Strike; and interviews with European and African leaders, such as Kenneth Kaunda and Willy Brandt concerning labor matters.
Films
Five films received with the papers concern AFL-CIO conventions and issues.
