The Don Anderson Papers consist almost entirely of correspondence concerning his work as publisher of the Wisconsin State Journal. Occasional clippings, reports, speeches, and other materials are included as is a small amount of information on his more personal interests. With the exception of one folder of miscellaneous personal items filed at the beginning, arrangement is alphabetical by name of correspondent or subject.
About half of the correspondence is between Anderson and various people associated with the Lee newspaper syndicate. E. P. Alder, Phil Adler, and Lee Loomis, all Lee officers, consulted closely with Anderson, particularly about financial and personnel matters. The 1934 and 1949 consolidations with the Capital Times plus later joint radio and television ventures prompted many exchanges concerning progress and problems in these cooperative efforts. William T. Evjue, Capital Times founder and publisher, is also a frequent correspondent.
Others represented in the collection by small amounts of material are State Journal employees, Madison and Wisconsin civic and political figures, and nationally notable people such as architect Frank Lloyd Wright, author Erle Stanley Gardner, Interior Secretary Fred Seaton, and politicians Wendell Willkie and Richard Nixon.
A sizeable segment of the collection concerns the history of the Wisconsin State Journal prior to Anderson's employment there. Included is a corporate record book, 1890-1919; correspondence concerning the 1919 purchase by the Lee syndicate; and various other letters, statistical reports, and clippings.
Substantial amounts of information on World War II can be found in (1) materials on wartime newspaper censorship and (2) correspondence with Madison area servicemen.
