Summary Information
Albert Lyman Warner Papers
1923-1969
- Warner, Albert Lyman, 1903-1971
Micro 606; Tape 492A; Disc 141A
4 reels of microfilm (35mm), 1 tape recording, and 3 disc recordings
Wisconsin Historical Society (Map)
Papers of a capital reporter and radio commentator, including correspondence, biographical material, and writings for publication and broadcast. The writings include clippings of bylined articles for the New York Herald-Tribune, 1930-1939; CBS scripts of general news; summaries of World War II developments which Warner prepared as chief of the War Intelligence Division of the Bureau of Public Relations of the War Department; and scripts for Army Hour. Also present are several files of lengthy memos containing article ideas for U.S. News and World Report for which Warner was associate editor, 1956-1969. The limited correspondence is of note chiefly for its autograph value, but there is interesting correspondence with John L. Lewis and George W. Romney. The recordings relate to Army Hour (NBC), and Three Star Extra (NBC), for which Warner was a regular commentator.
English
http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-micr0606 ↑ Bookmark this ↑
Biography/History
Albert L. Warner, noted Washington news reporter, was one of the first newspapermen to become a radio broadcaster. Born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1903, and educated at Amherst College (B.A., 1924) and Columbia University, Warner began his career as a cub reporter on the Brooklyn Daily Eagle in 1924. The following year he joined the staff of the New York Times as a clerk, rising to become legislative correspondent in Albany in 1926. As such, in 1928 Warner covered the presidential campaign of Governor Alfred Smith for the Times. In 1930 Warner joined the New York Herald Tribune and moved to Washington, D.C., where he served as its bureau chief, 1936-1939. It was in this latter year that Warner made the unusual shift to radio broadcasting.
Warner worked for the Columbia Broadcasting System as its chief Washington commentator until he resigned to enlist during mid-1942. During World War II he was chief of the War Intelligence Division of the Bureau of Public Relations for the War Department. In this capacity he was responsible for overseas correspondents, the issuance of communiques, and liaison with the Office of War Information. He also served as spokesman on war developments on the weekly radio broadcast Army Hour.
After the war, Warner was employed by the Mutual Broadcasting System, 1945-1950; from 1950 to 1956 he worked for the National Broadcasting Company as a member of the Three Star Extra team and for the American Broadcasting Company. Warner made a second change of media in 1956 when he became associate editor of U.S. News and World Report. He held this position until his retirement in 1969.
Warner has been the recipient of several honors including the Sigma Delta Chi award for excellent radio newscasting, 1940, and the Headliners Radio News award for coverage of Congressional hearings, 1948. He served as president of the White House Correspondents Association, 1935-1936, and of the Radio Correspondents Association, 1940-1941 and 1948-1949.
He died January 12, 1971.
Scope and Content Note
The Albert L. Warner Papers, 1923-1969, consist mainly of materials concerning his career in journalism and broadcasting. Included are correspondence, broadcast scripts, memos, reports, speeches, articles, an unpublished book manuscript, and newsclippings.
The CORRESPONDENCE, in effect an autograph collection rather than a correspondence file, consists of personal letters from a number of well-known people in government and politics. Among the correspondents are Calvin Coolidge, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Alf M. Landon, William O. Douglas, Hubert Humphrey, Wendell Willkie, Thomas E. Dewey, James F. Byrnes, Henry A. Wallace, and Henry Morgenthau. More substance is to be found in a brief humorous correspondence with John L. Lewis. Also of interest is the correspondence, 1966-1969, with Governor George Romney of Michigan concerning his abortive campaign for the presidency in 1968.
The bulk of the collection consists of Warner's writings for publication or for broadcast. Ranging from scripts to memos, the materials are arranged in chronological order according to the employer. The most thorough documentation to be found in the collection relates to Warner's employment by the New York Herald Tribune (1930-1939), the Columbia Broadcasting Company (1939-1942), the U.S. War Department (1942-1945), and U.S. News and World Report (1958-1968).
Documenting his nine years with the Herald Tribune are seven scrapbooks of bylined articles arranged in chronological order. Located at the back of album #7 but filmed earlier in the microfilm edition are a few articles written for the New York Times about the campaign of 1928.
Broadcast scripts concerning general news represent Warner's two years with the Columbia Broadcasting System.
Concerning World War II are weekly summaries of war news written by Warner for use by the Office of War Information on radio broadcasts, more frequent summaries written for Secretary of War Henry Stimson for use at his press conferences, and scripts on war development for broadcast on the Army Hour. Also of interest is a short journal or journal extract, which notes a lengthy discussion about the war with Orson Welles and includes a reflective essay on Elmer Davis, the OWI, and the nature of news censorship during wartime.
A sizable group of materials are U.S. News and World Report memos. These are carbon copies of memos written by Warner to other editors of the magazine suggesting possibilities for future stories on world and national affairs. These too are arranged chronologically.
Employment with the Mutual Broadcasting System, NBC and ABC is documented with only fragmentary broadcast scripts. The remainder of the papers consists of miscellaneous articles, poetry, and manuscripts written by Warner. Of note are his impressions of Herbert Hoover and a book-length manuscript “How They Split Up Germany.”
Administrative/Restriction Information
Presented by Mr. and Mrs. Albert L. Warner, McLean, Virginia, May 14 and October 21, 1969, and April 21 and May 14, 1975. Accession Number: MCHC69-38, MCHC69-128, MCHC75-41, MCHC75-55
Processed by Karen Baumann, Carolyn Mattern, and FGH's 1969 class, November 1976.
Contents List
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Micro 606
Reel
1
Frame
1
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Biographical Material
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Reel
1
Frame
5
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Correspondence
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Writings
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Reel
1
Frame
65
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New York Times, 1928, October
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New York Herald Tribune
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Reel
1
Frame
77
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1930, October - 1937, May 16
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Reel
2
Frame
1
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1937, May 17 - 1939, March
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Reel
2
Frame
353
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Columbia Broadcasting System, broadcast scripts, 1939, May - 1942, June
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U.S. War Department, Bureau of Public Relations
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Reel
2
Frame
669
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Journal, 1942, October - November
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Reel
2
Frame
690
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OWI, summaries, 1943, March - December
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Reel
2
Frame
732
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Army Hour War Review, scripts, 1943, December-1945, July
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Secretary of War, news summaries
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Reel
2
Frame
926
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1944, January - October
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Reel
3
Frame
1
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1944, November - 1945, July
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Reel
3
Frame
114
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Mutual Broadcasting System, 1946
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Reel
3
Frame
118
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National Broadcasting System, 1952
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Reel
3
Frame
120a
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American Broadcasting System, 1955
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U.S. News and World Report, memos
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Reel
3
Frame
121
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1958; 1964- January - 1967, June
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Reel
4
Frame
1
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1967, July - March,
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Reel
4
Frame
473
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Miscellany
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Recordings
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Tape 492A
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Army Hour broadcast, December 19, 1943
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Disc 141A
No.
1-2
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Three Star Extra broadcast, April 19, 1951
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No.
3
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“Warner-News Commentator,” April 6, 1939
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