Like the Minow Papers which this Society also holds, the Henry Papers cover almost solely the years spent as chairman of the FCC. Earlier material is only present in the larger files and apparently was brought to Henry's attention and placed in the files sometime during his chairmanship. Likewise, only a very few items are included which date past his resignation. The files' organization and labels generally have been maintained as received and as an aid to the researcher are much like the Minow Papers in basic pattern. They form five series: Correspondence; speeches by Henry; speeches by others concerning mass communications; clippings, and tape recordings and film.
The correspondence comprises 76 boxes and includes memos, reports, working papers, transcripts of testimony - in short, everything not directly claimed by the other series (and even then an occasional clipping). Also, in the correspondence section titled “Speeches”, boxes 61-70, rought drafts, background information, and source references may be found. (The series titled “Speeches by Henry”, box 77, includes the final versions only.) All files are labeled by subject or correspondent and arranged alphabetically, then chronologically within each file. This means that correspondence from one person may be found in several different files and the researcher would be well-advised to read the entire shelf list which follows and check all relevant folder titles.
The bulk of Henry's correspondence is with broadcasters and those concerned with common carriers. His correspondence with the public forms a minor portion of the collection but at least in one case, that of the Omaha hearings on local programming, it is significant in that it shows the public reaction to FCC activities. Other topics well-documented in this collection include (1) the forces influencing the Commission's decision to put CATV under its jurisdiction; (2) the search for more objective guidelines to use in enforcing the fairness doctrine; (3) the struggle and eventual defeat of the Commission's efforts to regulate the length and number of TV commercials; (4) the firm establishment of the Communications Satellite Corporation and its global relationships; (5) the efforts to limit multiple station owners to three TV outlets and to limit network control ownership of station programming to fifty percent; and (6) the FCC inquiry into American Telephone and Telegraph's financial position.
The speeches by Henry series equals one folder (Box 77) containing the final drafts of all prepared speeches given by Mr. Henry from December 1962 to April 1966.
Speeches by others concerning mass communications are speeches so closely related to Henry's work that they were retained and can be found in boxes 77-80. They are divided into File A, “Miscellaneous” and File B, “National Association of Broadcasters” and arranged chronologically within each file.
Boxes 81-85 contain a separate series made up entirely of clippings from newspapers and magazines. Like the correspondence, these are filed alphabetically by subject folder title and chronologically within each folder. A list of these titles also follows.
The tape recordings and film series consists of thirteen cassette tapes of interviews given by E. William Henry between the years 1963 and 1966. Some of the recorded interviews are accompanied by transcriptions located within the correspondence series. The film shows an interview of E. William Henry by the WPIX-TV News Director at the International Radio and Television Society luncheon, New York City, September 24, 1963. A copy of the speech within the film can also be found with the taped interviews.
