The papers primarily document Ford's activities and interests as a member and chairman of the Federal Communications Commission. The most important documentation consists of his speeches, congressional testimony, and statements to the Commission. These papers represent his ideas during a period when the Commission was subject to widely varying views toward the regulation of broadcasting. A few files concern Ford's earlier legal career with the Commission, as well as with the Office of Price Administration and the Federal Security Agency, and scattered correspondence and subject files touch on his activities with the National Community Television Association. No papers concerning his personal life are included.
The amount of BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION is small, consisting mainly of biographical sketches prepared by Ford. An oral history interview of Ford was conducted by Columbia University, but no copy of this was included with the papers.
The CORRESPONDENCE focuses primarily on Ford's years with the FCC. The material is arranged chronologically and includes incoming and outgoing exchanges with individuals and organizations concerned with broadcasting. A large part of the correspondence concerns arrangements for speeches, but some of this mail contains useful reactions to the content of Ford's talk. Overall, few letters here deal with FCC policy and operations, although there are isolated items of interest such as letters from John Conlin (May 4, 1960), Edgar Kobak (September 9, 1959, May 10, 1960, and November 9, 1961), Paul A. Porter (December 8, 1958), as well as correspondence to Edward Benedict (February 13, 1959) and Arch Moore (November 6, 1963). Several letters to and from Newton Minow suggest the transition between the two chairmen in 1961.
The EARLY CAREER FILES document Ford's years at the Federal Security Agency, with a smaller quantity of material concerning the OPA. The Social Security files are largely made up of handwritten and typed notes and memoranda about legal precedents and coverage.
SPEECHES AND STATEMENTS, perhaps the most important part of the collection, consists of speeches dating from Ford's years on the Commission, congressional testimony, and mimeographed copies of dissenting and concurring opinions on FCC rulings. Also filed here is Ford's FCC clipping file, as it consists largely of press coverage of his public pronouncements. As noted above, response to his speeches is also an important focus of the CORRESPONDENCE. Also listed here is a recording of one speech for which there is no available paper copy.
The alphabetically-arranged SUBJECT FILES comprise the bulk of the collection. For the most part, they consist of material about issues with which Ford was involved as commissioner and chairman, although the largest categories (the Paramount anti-trust suit, the Richards suit, and the 1953 Presidential Conference on Administrative Procedures) relate to earlier work as a hearing officer for the Commission. The subject files have been extensively weeded to remove documentation which duplicates the FCC docket files at the National Archives. Among the most prominent subjects here are equal time and political broadcasting, the fairness doctrine, and UHF/VHF allocations. There are also files of testimony presented before various legislative committees such as the Legislative Oversight Subcommittee's investigations of the FCC during the late 1950's and many speeches sent to Ford by other FCC commissioners and by individuals involved in broadcasting.
