Title: Paul L. Martin Papers
Inclusive Dates: 1933-1977

Creator:

• Martin, Paul L., 1912-1978

Call Number: U.S. Mss 189AF; Micro 1122; PH U.S. Mss 189AF

Quantity: 0.6 cubic feet (2 archives boxes), 3 reels of microfilm (35 mm), and 17 photographs

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 of Paul L. Martin, a former head of the Gannett Group's Washington Bureau and editor with the U.S. News and World Report consisting primarily of writings and typed and handwritten research notes and memoranda concerning monopolies within the media, the alleged liberal bias of the press, presidential politics of the 1960s and 1970s, welfare, and other topics. Of special note among the writings are microfilmed scrapbooks, teletype articles, his background report on the civil rights movement in 1963, and writings based on his coverage of Vice-President Nixon's 1959 trip to Russia. Photographs include images of Martin and images from a scrapbook concerning Frank Knox, Secretary of the Navy, kept by Martin's wife.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-us0189af

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Journalist Paul L. Martin was born in Fort Worth, Texas on December 23, 1912, the son of Rev. and Mrs. Logan Martin. His grandfather was a pioneer country editor-publisher who started newspapers in Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas. In 1933 he graduated from Texas Christian University and began his newspaper career as a reporter with the Oklahoma City Times. From 1935 to 1936 he pursued advanced study at Harvard University while working at night as a re-write man for the Boston Herald. After one year as managing editor of the Quincy Evening News, he returned to Boston as re-write man with the Boston American.

From 1937 through 1940 he was a political and legislative correspondent for the Associated Press at the State Capitol in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and from 1940 until the beginning of World War II he was radio news editor for the AP in New York. During the war he served in the Air Force, rising from private to major.

Upon his return from the military he took a job as reporter on the Los Angeles Examiner, joining the Gannett Newspaper Group in the following year as a political and legislative correspondent in Washington. In 1950 he became chief of the Gannett Washington Bureau, having served as acting director for several months.

In 1950 Martin won the Raymond Clapper Memorial Award for capital reporting for his series of eighteen articles on the men of the Truman administration. In 1949 he had received an honorable mention designation for the same award.

Martin left the Gannett Group in 1967 to become political editor for U.S. News and World Report. He resigned from that post in 1977 and died of cancer on May 5, 1978. He was survived by his wife, Kathleene Gibbs Martin, and a daughter.

The Martin Papers are a small and incomplete collection consisting primarily of research notes and printed articles and stories. The files were received from Mrs. Martin only months after her husband's death. In correspondence she indicated at that time that his files, which were in great disarray, included tapes of conferences with various national political leaders, off-the-record memoranda, and internal memoranda and files concerning his work with the Gannett Group. These materials were not received, however, by the Historical Society. The files primarily document his career with the Gannett Group, although even for this limited period the documentation is incomplete.

The material accessioned by the Historical Society consists of research files and writings. Because most of Martin's notes and background memoranda were typed rather than handwritten, the RESEARCH FILES are of greater value than similar files created by most journalists. For preservation purposes, the files have been divided into two subfiles, which correspond to earlier and later periods in his career. Because the early files were comprised of a large quantity of deteriorating high-acid paper, they have been microfilmed and are available only in that form. The later files are comprised of original materials. Among the extensively documented subjects are files on monopolies within the media, the alleged liberal bias of the press, presidential politics of the 1960s and 1970s, and welfare.

The remainder of the collection primarily consists of microfilmed scrapbooks of clippings of his WRITINGS. For a few stories there are teletyped stories. The writings have been grouped as pre-publication and published writings and then filed in chronological order. Because the majority of the writings were also comprised of deteriorating paper, this file is also available only on microfilm. It is unlikely that the collection represents the totality of Martin's writings even for the period of his career that is represented in the papers. Of special note, however, are the materials based on his coverage of Vice-President Nixon's 1959 trip to Russia and his background report on the civil rights movement in 1963.

Also included is a file of miscellaneous biographical information and correspondence, photographs, and a file on Mrs. Martin's work as secretary to Frank Knox during World War II. The correspondence includes several letters written during the 1930s and a letter to Frank Gannett after Paul Martin's appointment as head of the Washington, D.C., bureau. The photographs include images of Paul Martin and images from a scrapbook concerning Frank Knox, Secretary of the Navy, kept by Mrs. Martin, circa 1942-1943.

Acquisition Information

Presented by Kathleene Gibbs Martin, Arlington, Virginia, January 31, 1979. Accession Number: MCHC79-008

Processing Information

Processed by JS and Joanne Hohler, 1981, and by Carolyn Mattern, 1987.

	Series: Research Files
Micro 1122	Early filmed research files
Reel   1 Frame   1	Civil rights, 1960-1964
Reel   1 Frame   162	Crime, undated
Reel   1 Frame   346	Kennedy administration, 1961
Reel   1 Frame   416	Kennedy wealth, 1961-1966
Reel   1 Frame   175	Liberalism, undated
Reel   1 Frame   185	Monopolies in the media, 1962-1963
Reel   1 Frame   234	Diversification of the media, 1900-1962
Reel   1 Frame   313	Nixon trip to Russia, 1959
Reel   1 Frame   439	Charles Percy, 1966-1967
Reel   1 Frame   449	Press and anti-Communism, 1965-1966, undated
Reel   1 Frame   560	Supreme Court-Everson Case, undated
Reel   1 Frame   579	Vietnam, circa 1964-1965
U.S. Mss 189AF	Later research files
Box   1 Folder   1	Conservatives, 1977
Box   1 Folder   2	Energy, 1977
Box   1 Folder   3	Federal campaign subsidies, 1977
Box   1 Folder   4	Gerald Ford, 1975-1976
Box   1 Folder   5	Kennedy Center, 1967
Box   1 Folder   6	Pearl Harbor, 1966
Box   1 Folder   7	Political broadcasting, 1970
Box   1 Folder   8	Poverty program, 1969
Box   1 Folder   9	Presidential press conferences, 1970
Box   1 Folder   10	Dean Rusk, 1967
Box   1 Folder   11-12	Welfare, 1969-1971
Box   2 Folder   1-2	Welfare, 1969-1971 (continued)
Box   2 Folder   3	Youth, 1970
Micro 1122	Series: Writings	⇧
	Draft articles and stories and prepublication teletype writings
Reel   1 Frame   617	1954-1959
Reel   1 Frame   662	Russian speech, 1959
Reel   1 Frame   720	1960
Reel   1 Frame   736	, 1961 (Includes Journey Behind the Iron Curtain)
Reel   1 Frame   809	1962
Reel   1 Frame   827	1963
Reel   1 Frame   855	1964
Reel   1 Frame   908	1965
Reel   2 Frame   1	Undated
	Published writings
Reel   2 Frame   43	Newspaper law, 1962
Reel   2 Frame   75	Race relations, 1963
Reel   2 Frame   169	Morality in government, 1964
Reel   2 Frame   229	Journalistic ABC's, 1965
Reel   2 Frame   238	Clipping scrapbooks Note: Remainder filmed without counter.
	1933-1935
	1947
	1950-1953 December
Reel   3	1953 December (continued)-1966
U.S. Mss 189AF	Series: Biographical Miscellany	⇧
Box   2 Folder   5	Biographical miscellany and correspondence, 1935-1952, undated
Box   2 Folder   6	Kathleene Gibbs Martin scrapbook, 1942-1947
PH U.S. Mss 189AF	Photographs
	Paul L. Martin
Item   1	Martin in Air Force uniform Note: Photographer: Marcus Blechman.
Item   2	Martin in front of Gannett Newspapers' Washington office
Item   3	Martin as Bureau Chief of the Gannett Washington Bureau, at his desk
Item   4	Martin Note: Photographer: City News Bureau, Washington, D.C.
Item   5	L.B. Sheffington, Editor of Democrat and Chronicle; Ezra Taft Benson, Secretary of Agriculture; and Paul L. Martin Note: Photographer: Reni Newsphoto Service.
Item   6	Martin and Ladong Maenpagal?, Manila, 1957 November 20
	Scrapbook about Frank Knox, Secretary of the Navy
Item   7	Lua lua lei: the Secretary, Admiral Nimitz, Commander McComsey, and Captain Frank E. Beatty, Aide to the Secretary of the Navy
Item   8	Buffet luncheon by Com. 14, at the beach residence of Mr. H. Alexander Walker, given for the Secretary of the Navy, 1942 September Note: Raleigh Warner is in the foreground.
Item   9a	Admiral McCain, Admiral Nimitz, and the Secretary of the Navy with group of men
Item   9b	Secretary of the Navy on deck of boat in the South Pacific
Item   9c	[Secretary of the Navy presenting awards to two men]
Item   9d	Admiral Nimitz, Nurse Ann Berientos, Admiral Merrill, the Secretary of the Navy, and Admiral McCain seated at table
Item   9e	The Secretary of the Navy, Nurse Berientos, and Admiral Nimitz with group of men
Item   10a	Captain L.S. Perry, United States Navy (Aide to the Secretary of the Navy) and Captain L.P. Lovett, United States Navy (Director of Public Relations), Casablanca, 1943 September
Item   10b	Secretary of the Navy and Captain Perry on trip to Italy, 1943 September
Item   11a	Sergeant Thomas Jones Jr., USMCR, and friend with Secretary of the Navy's party, Palmero, 1943 September 28
Item   11b	Secretary of the Navy and party at Admiral Hewitt's headquarters, Algiers, 1943 September Note: Secretary Knox's inspection of headquarters.