The Alex Benson Papers are a small collection consisting of biographical material, correspondence, writings, and scripts. Other than a few scripts and scattered letters relating to his employment by NBC News, the majority of the documentation in these papers relates solely to his employment as a reporter with the World-Telegram and Sun and the World Journal Tribune.
The Biographical Material, 1961-1967, includes a resumé and several clippings about Benson's career.
The Correspondence, 1944-1974, is of two kinds: general and letters relating to an unpublished book on investigative reporting. The general correspondence, which dates from 1944 to 1946 and from 1962 to 1974, is fragmentary in nature, with the majority of the letters dating from his World War II military service. Of interest in the later correspondence is a brief reminiscence of his first job as a reporter in a 1973 letter to the Page One Yearbook and an open letter to his family written after he learned that he had leukemia in 1969. Prominent correspondents include Paul O'Dwyer and Abraham Beame. The file of correspondence collected in the process of working on a book on investigative reporting includes a manuscript copy of an article on the subject by Benson and Woody Klein and extensive notes on the experiences of various other reporters.
Benson's Writings, 1955-1967, include by-lined newspaper articles, a printed copy of The 48-Hour War, and a magazine article. While representation of his writing for the World-Telegram and Sun is fragmentary, there is fairly complete coverage of his political columns for the World Journal Tribune written between September 1966, and June 1967.
The small file of news Scripts, 1968, 1973, consist of four unidentified stories on John Lindsay, Spiro Agnew, and Gerald Ford. Though the scripts are unidentified as to author, it may be assumed that they were written by Benson.
