Roy W. Howard Archive
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| Courtesy of Scripps Howard Foundation |
| Roy W. Howard |
The Roy W. Howard Archive in the Indiana University School of Journalism, founded in 1983 by the Scripps Howard Foundation and Roy Howard’s children, Jane Howard Perkins and Jack Howard, houses some 14,000 letters and memorabilia on Roy Howard and his storied career as journalist, president and general manager of United Press, and chairman of Scripps Howard Newspapers. Located in the School of Journalism’s Scripps Howard Foundation Suite in Ernie Pyle Hall on the Bloomington campus, the archive offers a significant historical record of one of the giants of U.S. journalism and the newspaper empire he commanded through four decades.
The archive reflects the many personalities and broad range of consequential events with which Howard dealt over the course of his career. Within the archive’s collection of letters can be found discussion of the major news stories from about 1910 into the 1960s. Howard’s perceptions of national politics, including some of his own behind-the-scenes maneuverings in presidential campaigns and stances on issues from the New Deal to the Cold War, are clearly evident. His concerns and conversations on international affairs are also well documented, especially through correspondence with his United Press contacts and prominent acquaintances made during his travels in Asia, South America and Europe.
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| Photo by Andrew Prinsen |
| The Roy W. Howard Archive provides material for researchers from all over the world. |
The bulk of the archive’s collection of correspondence consists of business communiques to and from Howard during his years as Scripps Howard chairman from 1922 to 1952, and documents the daily operations of the company. Voluminous exchanges between Roy Howard and top Scripps Howard executives such as his son Jack, Robert P. Scripps, William W. Hawkins and George B. Parker constitute a substantial portion of the collection. These letters reveal many of the internal dynamics of one of the largest and most influential newspaper empires in 20th Century America, as well as practices found throughout U.S. journalism.
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| Photo by Andrew Prinsen |
| The Roy W. Howard Room at the School of Journalism is open for researchers requesting access to the archives. |
The archive also houses a large collection of newspaper clippings and occasional rough drafts of columns written by or about Howard and his newspaper company. Also included are diverse personal mementos, including a sizable collection of photographs and items varying from the original cables of Howard’s “false armistice” dispatch to postcards from family and friends.
The archive at Indiana University complements the Roy W. Howard Papers housed in the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. This collection of correspondence and office files of Howard’s son and successor Jack Howard, includes about 115,000 items dating from 1911 to 1966, and is a rich repository for Howard’s executive correspondence from his years as chairman of Scripps Howard.
The archive has been used by scholars from the U.S., Finland and The Netherlands in their research, and four research monographs have been published from that research.
Inquiries about the use of the Roy W. Howard Archive at Indiana University should be directed to:
David H. Weaver Roy W. Howard Professor School of Journalism Ernie Pyle Hall 200 Bloomington, IN 47405-7108 Telephone: 812-855-1703
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