Journalism Department Records, 1918-1988

Collection Overview

Title: Journalism Department Records, 1918-1988

ID: RG 091

Primary Creator: Oregon State University. Department of Journalism

Extent: 1.35 cubic feet. More info below.

Arrangement: The records are arranged in nine series: I. Briefs and Statements, 1920-1928; II. Clippings on OSSHE Budget and Survey of Higher Education, 1930-1931; III. Miscellaneous, 1921-1925; IV. Oregon Newspaper Scrapbooks, 1918-1951; V. Accreditation, 1977-1988; VI. Special Event Records, 1979-1988; VII. Subject Files, 1966-1988; VIII. Journalism Advisory Council, 1988; and IX. Sound Recordings, 1970-1971.

Languages of Materials: English [eng]

Abstract

The Journalism Department Records document the undergraduate and graduate instruction programs in technical journalism at Oregon State University. The records also include materials pertaining to the reorganization of higher education in Oregon in the early 1930s and the controversy between the University of Oregon and Oregon Agricultural College (OAC) in the 1920s regarding the offering of journalism degrees at OAC.

Access to journalism advisee materials in Series 7 and 8 is restricted due to the presence of confidential information. All requests for access to this material should be directed to the University Archivist.

Scope and Content Notes

The Journalism Department Records document the development of undergraduate and graduate instruction programs in technical (industrial) journalism at Oregon State University. The records include materials pertaining to the reorganization of higher education in Oregon in the early 1930s and the controversy between the University of Oregon and Oregon Agricultural College in the 1920s regarding the offering of journalism degrees of OAC.

Much of the collection consists of microfilmed scrapbooks of newspaper clippings from Oregon newspapers. The clippings are of articles about Oregon State and/or ones written by Oregon State students for the newspapers. Many of the scrapbooks have accompanying subject indexes.

The remainder of the collection was created or assembled by department chair Fred Zwahlen and includes materials pertaining to accreditation and special events, including the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication annual convention in Corvallis in 1983; subject files pertaining to curriculum, faculty, budgets, and graduates and advisees; and materials assembled for the Journalism Advisory Council. Of particular note in the subject files are materials regarding former Oregon Governor Tom McCall's position at OSU in the early 1970s.

Also of note in the collection are sound recordings of Associated Press science writer and editor, Alton Blakeslee; New York Times science writer, Sandra Blakeslee (with KOAC reporter Shirley Howard); Oregonian editor, J. Richard Nokes, and KGW-TV News Director, Ed Godfrey recorded in 1970-1971.

Biographical / Historical Notes

Journalism courses were first offered at Oregon Agricultural College during the 1914/15 school year, and the Department of Industrial Journalism was created in 1918. The department's purpose was to train students "who wish to take positions on farm and trade journals, newspapers, and other publications, especially where writing on industrial subjects such as Agriculture, Home Economics, and Engineering is required" (1919/20 OAC Catalogue). On three occasions during the 1920s, the State Board of Higher Curricula was requested to consider restricting or eliminating industrial journalism at Oregon State.

During the 1930s and 1940s, journalism at Oregon State was administered jointly with the program at the University of Oregon as part of the higher education reorganization in Oregon. In 1969, departmental majors were offered for the first time; subsequently, thirty technical minors were added. In 1992, the Journalism Department was eliminated as part of university wide budget reductions.

Department chairs have included Frank Snow, 1928; Maynard Brown, 1929; Charles D. Byrne, 1929-1932; Fred M. Shideler, 1932-1967; Fred Zwahlen, 1967-1989; and Jon Franklin, 1989-1991.

Administrative Information

More Extent Information: 2 boxes; 11 microfilm reels

Statement on Access: Access to journalism advisee materials in Series 7 and 8 is restricted due to the presence of confidential information. All requests for access to this material should be directed to the University Archivist. All other materials in this collection are open for research.

Acquisition Note: Transferred in several accessions from the 1960s through 1995.

Related Materials: Photographs pertaining to the Journalism Department can be found in the Journalism Department Photographs (P 208) and in the Harriet's Photograph Collection (P HC). The Beaver Yearbook Photographs (P 003) and Barometer Photographs (P 035) include photographs taken by student photojournalists. The Special Collections and Archives Research Center includes the papers or records of several journalism faculty, alumni journalists, and journalism organizations, including the Fred M. Shideler Papers (MSS Shideler), Frank H. Bartholomew Collection (MSS Bartholomew), Ted Carlson Collection (MSS CarlsonT), Hope Chamberlin Newspaper Columns (MSS Chamberlin), A. Freeman Mason Scrapbook (MSS Mason), and the Theta Sigma Phi Records (MSS ThetaSigmaPhi).

Preferred Citation: Journalism Department Records (RG 091), Oregon State University Special Collections and Archives Research Center, Corvallis, Oregon.

People, Places, and Topics

American newspapers--Oregon.
Blakeslee, Alton L.
Blakeslee, Sandra.
Journalism--Study and teaching (Higher)--Oregon.
McCall, Tom, 1913-1983
Nokes, J. Richard
Oregon State System of Higher Education
Oregon State University--Faculty.
Oregon State University. Department of Journalism
University History

Box and Folder Listing

Series 1: Briefs and Statements, 1920-1928

Series 1 pertains to attempts by the University of Oregon in the 1920s to discontinue or reduce the courses in industrial journalism at Oregon Agricultural College (OAC) and OAC's responses.

Reel 1

Item 1: Correspondence, 1920-1922
Item 2: Statements on Industrial Journalism at Oregon Agricultural College, 1920
Item 3: Correspondence regarding establishment of a Sigma Delta Chi chapter at OAC, 1920-1921
Item 4: Correspondence regarding the OAC industrial edition of the Albany Herald, 1921
Item 5: Statements by OAC deans and extension agents, editors of student publications, and farm paper and other editors on the value of industrial journalism training, 1922
Item 6: Statement by the University of Oregon regarding alleged violations of rulings by the State Board of Higher Curriculum by Oregon State Agricultural College, 1928

Series 2: Clippings on OSSHE Budget and Survey of Higher Education, 1930-1931

Series 2 contains newspaper clippings about the Oregon State System of Higher Educations' budget and the survey of higher education in Oregon in the early 1930s which led to the reorganization of higher education and the transfer of academic programs between Oregon State College and the University of Oregon.

Reel 1

Series 3: Miscellaneous, 1921-1925

Series 3 pertains to attempts by the University of Oregon in the 1920s to discontinue or reduce the courses in industrial journalism at Oregon Agricultural College (OAC) and OAC's responses.

Reel 1

Item 1: Briefs, statements, and studies, pertaining to elimination of Industrial Journalism at Oregon State Agricultural College, undated
Item 2: Correspondence from editors of Oregon farm journals and newspapers, 1921-1925
Item 3: Correspondence from graduates of Oregon Agricultural College who studied Industrial Journalism, 1925
Item 4: President Kerr's response to the Board of Higher Curricula regarding the University of Oregon's petition to eliminate or reduce Industrial Journalism at Oregon Agricultural College, April 15, 1922

Series 4: Oregon Newspaper Scrapbooks, 1918-1951

Series 4 consists of 68 newspaper clippings scrapbooks that include articles about Oregon State and/or that were written by Oregon State students for the newspapers. Indexes are available for some of the scrapbooks. A few of the volumes have handwritten indexes. The scrapbooks are only available on microfilm; the indexes are available in original paper form.

Sub-Series 1: Indexes, 1923-1940

Box-Folder 1.1: Oregonian and Portland News, 1923-1924
Box-Folder 1.2: Oregonian, 1928-1929
Box-Folder 1.3: Oregonian, 1929-1930
Box-Folder 1.4: Oregonian, 1930-1931
Box-Folder 1.5: Oregonian, undated
Box-Folder 1.6: Oregon Journal, 1930-1931
Box-Folder 1.7: Oregonian, 1931-1932
Box-Folder 1.8: Oregon Journal, 1931-1932
Box-Folder 1.9: Oregon Journal, 1934-1935
Box-Folder 1.10: Oregon Journal, 1935-1936
Box-Folder 1.11: Oregonian, 1934-1935
Box-Folder 1.12: Oregonian, 1936-1937
Box-Folder 1.13: Oregon Journal, 1937-1938
Box-Folder 1.14: Oregon Journal, 1938-1939
Box-Folder 2.1: Oregon Journal, 1939-1940

Reel 2

Item 1: Oregonian, Oregon Journal, Portland Telegram and Portland News, 1918-1921
Item 2: Corvallis Gazette-Times and Benton Courier, 1920-1921
Item 3: Oregonian, Oregon Journal, Portland Telegram and Portland News, 1921-1922
Item 4: Corvallis Gazette-Times and Benton Courier, 1921-1922

Reel 3

Item 1: Oregonian, Oregon Journal, Portland Telegram and Portland News, 1922-1923
Item 2: Corvallis Gazette-Times and Benton Courier, 1922-1923
Item 3: Oregonian and Portland News, 1923-1924
Item 4: Oregon Journal and Portland Telegram, 1923-1924
Item 5: Gazette Times and Benton Courier, 1923-1924
Item 6: Oregonian and Portland News, 1924-1925
Item 7: Oregon Journal and Portland Telegram, 1924-1925
Item 8: Corvallis Gazette-Times, 1924-1925

Reel 4

Item 1: Oregonian and Portland News, 1925-1926
Item 2: Oregon Journal and Portland Telegram, 1925-1926
Item 3: Corvallis Gazette-Times, 1925-1926
Item 4: Oregonian and Portland News, 1926-1927
Item 5: Oregon Journal, 1926-1927

Reel 5

Item 1: Oregon Journal, Portland Telegram and Portland News, 1929-1930
Item 2: Oregonian, 1929-1931
Item 3: Oregon Journal, 1930-1931
Item 4: Portland News and Portland Telegram, 1930-1931
Item 5: Oregonian, 1931-1932

Reel 6

Item 1: Oregon Journal, 1933-1934
Item 2: Oregonian, 1934-1935
Item 3: Oregon Journal, 1934-1935
Item 4: Oregonian, 1935-1936
Item 5: Oregon Journal, 1935-1936
Item 6: Oregonian, 1936-1937
Item 7: Oregon Journal, 1936-1937

Reel 7

Item 1: Oregonian, 1937-1938
Item 2: Oregon Journal, 1937-1938
Item 3: Oregonian, 1938-1939
Item 4: Oregon Journal, 1938-1939
Item 5: Oregonian, 1939-1940
Item 6: Oregon Journal, 1939-1940
Item 7: Oregonian, 1940-1941

Reel 8

Item 1: Oregonian, 1941-1942
Item 2: Oregon Journal, 1941-1942
Item 3: Oregonian, 1942-1943
Item 4: Oregon Journal, 1942-1943
Item 5: Oregonian and Oregon Journal, 1943-1944
Item 6: Oregonian, 1944-1945
Item 7: Oregon Journal, 1944-1945

Reel 9

Item 1: Oregonian, 1946-1947
Item 2: Oregon Journal, 1946-1947
Item 3: Oregonian, 1947-1948
Item 4: Oregon Journal, 1947-1948
Item 5: Oregonian, 1948-1949
Item 6: Oregon Journal, 1948-1949
Item 7: Oregonian, 1949-1950
Item 8: Oregon Journal, 1949-1950

Reel 10

Item 1: Oregonian, Oregon Journal, Portland Telegram and Portland News, 1919-1920
Item 2: Oregon Journal and Portland Telegram, 1926-1927
Item 3: Oregonian, Oregon Journal, Portland Telegram and Portland News, 1927-1928
Item 4: Oregonian, 1928-1929
Item 5: Oregon Journal, Portland Telegram and Portland News, 1928-1929

Reel 11

Item 1: Oregon Journal, 1931-1932
Item 2: Oregonian, 1932-1933
Item 3: Oregon Journal, 1932-1933 and 1940-1941
Item 4: Oregonian, 1945-1946
Item 5: Oregon Journal, 1945-1946
Item 6: Oregonian, 1950-1951
Item 7: Oregon Journal, 1950-1951

Series 5: Accreditation, 1977-1988

Series 5 documents accreditation of the department by the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communication in 1977 and 1985.

Box-Folder 1.15: Accreditation and Evaluations, 1984-1988
Box-Folder 1.16: Materials (portion of) Assembled for Site Visit, 1984
Box-Folder 1.17: Pre-Visit Report, 1977

Series 6: Special Event Records, 1979-1988

Series 6 contains special event records from the 1983 annual convention of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication held in Corvallis and from the department's 75th anniversary activities in 1988.

Box-Folder 1.18: Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication - 1983 Annual Convention in Corvallis, 1979-1983
Box-Folder 2.2: Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication - 1983 Annual Convention in Corvallis, 1979-1983
Box-Folder 1.19: 75th Anniversary, 1988

Series 7: Subject Files, 1966-1988

Series 7 consists of subject files pertaining to advising, affirmative action, budgets, curriculum, faculty, and graduates. Many of the materials were created or assembled by department chair, Fred Zwahlen.

Access to the "Technical Journalism - Advisees and Minors" file is restricted due to the presence of confidential information. All requests for access to this material should be directed to the University Archivist.

Box-Folder 1.20

Item 1: Affirmative Action Plan, 1974
Item 2: Budgets, 1980-1981 (including Program Improvement Requests for 1981-1983)
Item 3: Correspondence, 1985-1988
Item 4: Curriculum and Instruction, 1973-1979
Item 5: Department Brochure, 1982
Item 6: List of Graduates, 1968

Box-Folder 3.1: RESTRICTED: Technical Journalism - Advisees and Minors, 1980

Box-Folder 1.21: Budgets, 1977-1979

Box-Folder 1.22: CETA position, 1978

Box-Folder 1.23: Curriculum Proposal for M.S. in Technical Writing, 1977

Box-Folder 1.24: Curriculum Proposal for M.S. in Technical Writing, 1977

Sub-Series 7: Faculty

Box-Folder 1.25: McCall, Tom, 1973-1975
Box-Folder 1.26: Scheel, Jean, 1976-1977
Box-Folder 1.27: Shideler, Fred, 1969-1975
Box-Folder 1.28: Smith, Robert Burr ("Bob"), 1978-1979: Environmental and wildlife photography.

Box-Folder 2.3: Faculty - General, 1967-1977

Box-Folder 1.29: Forestry annual report, 1980

Box-Folder 1.30: Journalism 110 study guide, undated

Box-Folder 1.31: Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association (ONPA) Board of Directors, 1978-1979

Box-Folder 1.32: Promotion and Tenure Policies and Procedures, 1972-1976

Box-Folder 1.33

Item 1: Liberal Education by Kenneth D. Patterson, 1966
Item 2: Anderson, N. Christian (Chris), 1988: Alumnus.

Box-Folder 2.4: Teaching Assignments, 1977-1980

Series 8: Journalism Advisory Council, 1988

Series 8 consists of an information book assembled for the Journalism Advisory Council. It includes summary and promotional information about the department and includes a curriculum proposal for a master's degree in scientific and technical communication, budget information, a site visit report, a list of journalism advisees, and a paper by Edwin J. Peterson, Black Hats: The Inevitable Garb of Lawyers and Reporters.

Access to the "Journalism Advisees" file is restricted due to the presence of confidential information. All requests for access to this material should be directed to the University Archivist.

Box-Folder 1.34: Information Book, 1988
Box-Folder 3.2: RESTRICTED: Journalism Advisees

Series 9: Sound Recordings, 1970-1971

The sound recordings consist of 13 reel-to-reel tape recordings, primarily of journalists. Several of the tapes are of Alton Blakeslee (Associated Press Science Writer) with Fred Zwahlen and Sam Bailey. The tapes also include recordings of Sandra Blakeslee (Science Writer with the New York Times), Science Journalism in the '70s, with KOAC radio reporter Shirley Howard; a news seminar with Richard Nokes of the Oregonian and Ed Godfrey of KGW; and a Professor of Journalism at the University of Wisconsin (Tickener?).

Box-Reel 1.1: Tickener, undated
Box-Reel 1.2: Al Blakeslee and Sam Bailey, 1970
Box-Reel 1.3: Richard Nokes and Ed Godfrey, 1971
Box-Reel 2.1: Fred Zwahlen, 1970
Box-Reel 2.2: Al Blakeslee, 1970
Box-Reel 2.3: Al Blakeslee, 1970
Box-Reel 2.4: Al Blakeslee, 1970
Box-Reel 2.5: Unknown, undated
Box-Reel 2.6: Al Blakeslee, 1970
Box-Reel 2.7: Al Blakeslee, 1970
Box-Reel 2.8: Al Blakeslee, 1970
Box-Reel 2.9: Al Blakeslee, 1970
Box-Reel 2.10: Sandra Blakeslee, 1971