The Karl E. Meyer Papers primarily document his career as head of the Washington Post's London office from 1965 to 1969. Material prior to 1963 and after 1969 is limited. The Karl Meyer Papers are arranged as WRITINGS, CORRESPONDENCE, and MISCELLANEOUS PAPERS.
The WRITINGS series is subdivided into Newspaper Articles, Brief Freelance Writings, and Books. The section of newspaper articles is further separated into files for the New Statesman, the British paper for which Meyer was an American correspondent from 1962 to 1965, and the Washington Post, and both are thereunder arranged chronologically. Because of the time coverage of the collection there are no articles or related information about Meyer's award-winning 1958 interview with Fidel Castro.
The articles for the New Statesman include pieces on the civil rights movement including the March on Washington, Vietnam, U.S. relations with the Soviet Union and Cuba (including articles on the Cuban Missile Crisis), President Kennedy's assassination, the 1964 presidential campaign and candidates Johnson, Goldwater, and Wallace. The Post articles, all of which date from Meyer's years in London (1965-1969) reflect his reporting on the British government's policies and view on topics such as Vietnam, nuclear disarmament, race relations, and the economy as well as a series of articles on the 1966 British general election. Articles about British television, sports, gambling, religion, music, movies, and the royal family were also frequent. Meyer also wrote extensively about Rhodesia's declaration of independence and subsequent withdrawal from the British Commonwealth. In 1968, Meyer covered the arrest of James Earl Ray in London and the subsequent extradition trial. From August to December of 1969, Meyer was temporarily assigned to Czechoslovakia and during this period he wrote about the occupation of that country by Warsaw Pact troops. Articles dating from Meyer's return to the United States in 1970 cover such topics as race relations, crime, power shortages, and strikes.
The section of Short Freelance Writings contains draft and final copies of articles, essays, scripts, and other brief writings, all arranged chronologically by date. Included are several early pieces relating to his interest in Senator Joseph McCarthy and a draft speech prepared for Senator John F. Kennedy on Latin American affairs. Documentation on his 1963 article “The President's Men” includes typed notes on interviews with McGeorge Bundy, Walter Heller, Lawrence O'Brien, Arthur Schlesinger Jr., and Ted Sorenson. Also grouped with the short writings is a file of manuscript drafts of freelance articles, many of which were unpublished; book reviews; and clippings. The Books section contains drafts, reviews, and an incomplete version of Meyer's doctoral dissertation.
The CORRESPONDENCE series is divided into two categories: General Files and Alphabetical Files. The content of both is primarily professional, reflecting Meyer's wide acquaintance within the fields of journalism and politics, but there are also many letters to and from individuals with whom Meyer's relationship was more personal. The chronologically-arranged general correspondence is most complete for the period 1965 to 1969. Included here are incoming and outgoing letters although the outgoing file is probably not complete. These letters relate to freelance assignments, arrangements for public speaking, arrangements for and coverage of particular stories, and some personal matters. Among the prominent correspondents are Bernard B. Fall, Mark Lewis, Donald H. Louchheim, I.F. Stone, Paul Tillett, and Murray M. Weiss. Several letters document Meyer's association with some of the leading American politicians of the day such as Paul Douglas, William Fulbright, and Robert Kastenmeier. Scattered throughout the correspondence are notes which include memoranda prepared for Selig Harrison on American sugar policy and a critique of American expectations of the Bay of Pigs and interviews with George Ball, Maurice Couvre de Murville, Lester B. Pearson, and Miles Posonby. Also filed here are occasional letters from readers of Meyer's writings, among the most interesting of which is a lengthy letter from Paul Booth of SDS commenting on The New America. Also here are additional cables containing further information on the James Earl Ray incident.
The Alphabetical correspondence files document Meyer's professional relationship with periodical and book publishers such as the New Statesman, Morris Rubin of The Progressive, and the Washington Post. These letters concern assignments, contracts, advances, revisions, deadlines, etc. The largest and most important section deals with Meyer's employment by the Post during the 1960s. These files include correspondence with Ben Bradlee, Robert Estabrook (separately filed under his own name), Philip Foisie, Alfred Friendly Jr., James Russell Wiggins, and other members of the Post's editorial staff. In addition to correspondence, the Post files contain routine administrative memoranda and weekly “pipeline” lists of stories in development by the Post's foreign correspondents.
The Miscellaneous Papers reflects Meyer's involvement with the American Civil Liberties Union as head of the New Jersey region, 1952-1953; notes on interviews with various industrial and union leaders conducted while at Princeton; a few letters reflecting Sarah Meyer's work as Hubert Humphrey's press officer in 1960; and notes for stories on Africa (1967) and Czechoslovakia (1969). Also included here is a small file of biographical information primarily concerning his Sigma Delta Chi Distinguished Service Award and a few biographical clippings.
