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.
