Title: John H. Colburn Papers
Inclusive Dates: 1949-1975

Creator:

• Colburn, John H., 1912-1983

Call Number: U.S. Mss 133AF

Quantity: 3.6 c.f. (9 archives boxes)

Repository:

Wisconsin Historical Society, Division of Library, Archives, and Museum Collections

Archival Locations:

Wisconsin Historical Society (Map)

COLLECTION MAY BE STORED OFF-SITE: see catalog entry to request materials and for additional information.

Abstract:

Papers, mainly 1960-1975, of John Colburn, a journalist who was managing editor of the Richmond (Virginia) Times-Dispatch, 1949-1964; editor and publisher of the Wichita (Kansas) Eagle and Beacon, 1963-1972; and after 1972, vice-president of Landmark Communications Inc., a Virginia-based mass media corporation. Material relating to the Eagle and Beacon consists of correspondence, statistics, reports to the board of directors, and material on employee disputes and union negotiations. Relating to the Times-Dispatch are copies of an in-house organ. The remainder of the collection consists of speeches by Colburn and reference files gathered as a result of his involvement with the American Newspaper Publishers Association and the American Society of Newspaper Editors. This section includes clippings; speeches (not by Colburn); correspondence; and reports on freedom of information, the conflict between a free press and the right of fair trial, the Pentagon Papers, and miscellaneous journalistic trends

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-us0133af

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John H. Colburn, newspaper editor and publisher, was born in Columbus, Ohio on April 13, 1912, the son of Stanley and Alverta C. (Kundts) Colburn. Beginning his newspaper career in 1930 as a cub reporter - copy boy on the Columbus Evening (Ohio) Dispatch, Colburn joined the Associated Press in Columbus in 1935 and during World War II worked in Europe as an AP correspondent. After the war, Colburn was named executive editor of the AP World Service in London and secretary of Associated Press Ltd. but was soon transferred to AP headquarters in New York. In May 1949, he went to Richmond, Virginia to be the managing editor of the Richmond Times-Dispatch, a post he held for fourteen years. Colburn left Richmond to be the editor and publisher of the Wichita (Kansas) Eagle and Beacon for the next nine years, 1963-1972. From 1972 to 1975 Colburn was vice-president of Landmark Communications Inc., a mass-media corporation located in Norfolk, Virginia, and in 1975 became president of its Community Newspaper division located in Shelbyville, Kentucky. He is scheduled to return to the corporate staff of Landmark Communications Inc. in Norfolk late in 1977.

Colburn has been associated with many professional organizations in various roles in his long newspaper career. He is a past director of the American Newspaper Publishers Association (ANPA) and of the American Society of Newspaper Editors (ASNE) and former chairman of ASNE's committees on Fair Trial-Free Press and Freedom of Information and of the ANPA Federal Laws Committee. He has been a member of the Associated Press Managing Editors Association and a past president (1959-1960). He has also held membership on the Journalism Advisory Board of Ohio State University; the Communication Advisory Council of the American Management Association; and the Federal Laws Committee of the American Newspaper Publishers Association.

In 1961-1962, Colburn directed a criteria study by a group of newspaper editors who drafted a code, “What Makes a Good Newspaper,” designed to help the public and the press evaluate newspapers. He received the 1962 University of Arizona John Peter Zenger Award for “effective work in support of the freedom of the press,” and in 1963 was recognized by Southern Methodist University and the Dallas Press Club for “distinguished service to journalism as a vigilant crusader for freedom of information.” The first Liberty Bell Award given by the Wichita Bar Association was presented to Colburn in 1964 for “recognition of community service which strengthens the effectiveness of the American system for freedom under law.” In 1969, Colburn received the University of Minnesota Award “For Distinguished Service in Journalism” for a “long career of enduring achievement in the highest levels of journalism.”

Colburn married Margaret MacFaden on September 5, 1936, but the marriage ended in divorce in January 1944. Colburn's second marriage was to Florence Angier Jackson on June 29, 1945; they have two children, Charlotte Chane and Kristine.

The papers concentrate on Colburn's long and varied newspaper career, especially his nine years as editor and publisher of the Wichita (Kansas) Eagle and Beacon, 1963-1972. They are divided into four categories: Wichita Eagle and Beacon; Reference Files; Richmond (Virginia) Times-Dispatch Topics; and Speeches.

Papers from the Wichita Eagle and Beacon category are subdivided into two groups: business records and employee disputes. Business records are composed of general correspondence with employees, and statistics in the form of graphs and charts which analyze the various departments of the Wichita Eagle and Beacon. Also in this group are Colburn's frequent memos and correspondence with the Wichita Eagle and Beacon board of directors. Especially heavy correspondence is noted with: Victor Delano, a stockholder and later treasurer and president of the Eagle and Beacon (Delano correspondence is with the reports to the board of directors); Marsh Murdock, chairman of the board of directors; and Forest Henderson, a stockholder and member of the board. Materials on employee disputes include correspondence with employees; depositions and court transcripts from two court cases, Wichita Eagle and Beacon Publishing Co. Inc. v. National Labor Relations Board and Beth G. Hall v. Wichita Eagle and Beacon Publishing Co. Inc.; minutes of union negotiation meetings with the Wichita Newspaper Guild; and correspondence over the participation of Eagle and Beacon employees in the publication of the Central Standard Times, a counterculture newspaper.

The Reference Files make up a large part of the collection and concentrate on the general conflicts between a free press and the right to a fair trial, and government secrecy versus freedom of information. Specific subject topics include the Pentagon Papers publication and the resultant legal battle, United States v. The New York Times and The Washington Post, (1971); the American Bar Association's Code of Ethics Canon 35, which prohibits mechanical recording (sound and photography) in the courtroom; the case of James E. Mills, editor of the Birmingham (Alabama) Post-Herald, who was charged with violating the Alabama Corrupt Practices Act by publishing a political editorial on election day; and a libel case brought by Julian Peagler and Dodge City Motors Inc. against Phoenix Newspapers Inc. concerning the brief period in 1972 when Colburn was managing editor of the Arizona Republic. The material Colburn gathered for these reference files includes numerous newspaper clippings and periodical articles, American Newspaper Publishers Association Bulletins, Freedom of Information Center Publications, correspondence with other editors and with lawyers, speeches (not by Colburn), and committee and workshop reports. Colburn's interest in collecting information on the rights of the press reflect his participation on the American Society of Newspaper Editors' committees on Fair Trial-Free Press and Freedom of Information. Two segments of the Reference Files show Colburn's concern in the future of the press; first, the criteria survey of newspaper editors in 1961-1962, which Colburn directed; and second, his reference file on journalism trends - new technology, methods of organization, and education patterns. Records from the criteria survey include a background reference file, the questionnaires and replies, correspondence, and the final report. The journalism trends file contains correspondence, journalism education reports from various universities (1958-1968), speeches, and articles.

Records from Colburn's pre-Wichita career are limited to a collection of Times-Dispatch Topics, 1955-1959, an internal newsletter Colburn instituted at the Richmond Times-Dispatch while he was managing editor.

Colburn is an active banquet and workshop speaker. The Speeches by John H. Colburn File of 1962-1975, covers such diverse topics as: “Bar and Press,” “Responsibility and the Press,” “Our Changing Readers,” and “The Role of a Newspaper.” Only a few speeches (box 9) and letters (box 7, folder 4), relate to his position as vice-president of Landmark Communications Inc.

Acquisition Information

Presented by John H. Colburn, Norfolk, Virginia, October 16, 1975. Accession Number: MCHC75-125

Processing Information

Processed by Paul Beck and Joanne Hohler, April 22, 1976.

U.S. Mss 133AF	Series: Wichita Eagle and Beacon
	Correspondence,
Box   1 Folder   1	Marsh Murdock, 1967-1971
	Forest Henderson
Box   1 Folder   2	1963-1968
Box   1 Folder   3	1969-1970
	Business records of the Wichita Eagle and Beacon
Box   1 Folder   4	1965-1971
Box   1 Folder   5	1971-1972
	Reports to the board of directors of the Wichita Eagle and Beacon
Box   1 Folder   6	1963-1969
Box   1 Folder   7	1970-1972
Box   1 Folder   8	“History of the Wichita Eagle and the Wichita Beacon,” undated
Box   1 Folder   9	Drew Pearson articles on the Wichita Eagle and Beacon, 1964
	Employee disputes
	Dorothy Wood case
Box   2 Folder   1	Reference file, 1971-1974
Box   2 Folder   2	National Labor Relations Board hearing, 1972
	Official report of National Labor Relations Board
Box   2 Folder   3	1972, Part I
Box   2 Folder   4	1972, Part II
	Beth G. Hall case
Box   2 Folder   5	Reference file, 1962-1972
Box   2 Folder   6	Deposition of Beth G. Hall, 1972
Box   2 Folder   7	Deposition of John H. Colburn, 1973
Box   2 Folder   8	Deposition exhibits, 1970-1973
Box   2 Folder   9	Employee participation in the Central Standard Times, 1971
	Negotiations with the Wichita Newspaper Guild
Box   2 Folder   10	Employee correspondence, 1970-1972 April
Box   2 Folder   11	Minutes of meetings between the Wichita Eagle and Beacon and the Wichita Newspaper Guild, 1971 August-1972 February
	Series: Reference Files	⇧
	Criteria survey
Box   3 Folder   1	Background reference, 1949-1961
Box   3 Folder   2	Questionnaires and replies, 1960-1961
Box   3 Folder   3	Drafts of the final report, 1961-1962
	Correspondence
Box   3 Folder   4	1962 March-June
Box   3 Folder   5	1962 July-1964 December
	Free press-Fair trial
	Chronological
Box   3 Folder   6	1962 February-1964
Box   3 Folder   7	1965
Box   3 Folder   8	1966 January-September
Box   3 Folder   9	1966 October-December
Box   3 Folder   10	1967 January-March
Box   4 Folder   1	1967 April-November
Box   4 Folder   2	1967 December
Box   4 Folder   3	1968
Box   4 Folder   4	1969-1972
	Subject
	American Bar Association's Code of Ethics - Canon 35
Box   4 Folder   5	1953-1955
Box   4 Folder   6	1957-1962
Box   4 Folder   7	1963-1966
	Correspondence
Box   4 Folder   8	1965-1966
Box   5 Folder   1	1967-1969
Box   5 Folder   2	Mills, James E. case, 1962
	Pentagon Papers and United States v. The New York Times and The Washington Post
Box   5 Folder   3	1961-1971 June
Box   5 Folder   4	1971 July-December
	Phoenix libel case: Peagler and Dodge City Motors, Inc. v. Phoenix Newspapers, Inc. et al.
Box   5 Folder   5	1970-1972
Box   5 Folder   6	1970-1972
Box   5 Folder   7	1972
Box   5 Folder   8	Pre-trial reporting, 1964
	Speeches (not by Colburn)
Box   5 Folder   9	1960, 1965-1966
Box   6 Folder   1	1967
	Freedom of Information
Box   6 Folder   2	1952-1959
	Kennedy administration
Box   6 Folder   3	1961-1962 October
Box   6 Folder   4	1962 November
Box   6 Folder   5	1962 December 1-14
Box   6 Folder   6	1962 December 15-1963 February
Box   6 Folder   7	1963 March-September
Box   6 Folder   8	1965-1972
Box   6 Folder   9	1973
Box   7 Folder   1	1974-1975
	Journalism Trends
Box   7 Folder   2	1955-1969
Box   7 Folder   3	1970-1973
Box   7 Folder   4	Correspondence with Loyal Gould, 1972-1974
Box   7 Folder   4	Journalism education reports, 1958 - 1968
	Series: Richmond Times-Dispatch Topics	⇧
Box   8 Folder   1	1-40, 1955
Box   8 Folder   2	41-70, 1955 December-1956 June
Box   8 Folder   3	71-95, 1956 July-1957 February
Box   8 Folder   4	96-113, 1957 February-December
Box   8 Folder   5	114-123, 1958
Box   8 Folder   6	124-137, 1959
	Series: Speeches by John H. Colburn	⇧
Box   9 Folder   1	1962-1963
Box   9 Folder   2	1964
Box   9 Folder   3	1965
Box   9 Folder   4	1966-1968
Box   9 Folder   5	1970-1971
Box   9 Folder   6	1972-1975