Scope and Content Note
The papers of Allen Neuharth (1924-2013) span from 1949 to 2013. Neuharth's papers document his career in news media and are arranged in seven series: Correspondence, Gannett Company, Media File, Organizations, Speeches and Writings, Subject File, and Oversize.
The Correspondence series, arranged both chronologically and alphabetically, contains primarily correspondence and memoranda covering the breadth of Neuharth’s personal and professional life. Memoranda concerning Gannett and USA Today cover the majority of the series, via notable Gannett employees including: Cathie Black, John Curley, Mimi Feller, Phillip Gialanella, Sheila Jean Gibbons, Jack Heselden, Madelyn Jennings, William J. Keating, Jack Marsh, David Mazzarella, Doug McCorkindale, Paul Miller, Charles Overby, Ken Paulson, Peter Prichard, John C. Quinn, and Vince Spezzano. Neuharth’s position as head of a major news corporation offered him many other friendships, acquaintances, and professional relationships; some of these correspondents include Louis D. Boccardi, Tom Brokaw, Warren E. Burger, Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter, Walter Cronkite, Malcolm S. Forbes, Katharine Graham, Barron Hilton, Lee A. Iacocca, Larry King, Carl Rowan, George M. Steinbrenner, Arthur Ochs Sulzberger, and Ted Turner. Other correspondence includes various solicitations, invitations, responses to Neuharth's "Plain Talk" column, and love letters, the term Neuharth used for charitable requests in his book, Confessions of an S.O.B.
The Gannett Company series includes meeting files, working files, and memoranda regarding the management of Gannett Company, such as board meetings, shareholders meetings, and publisher reports. Notable in the Gannett Company files are the files concerning the creation of USA Today. Beginning in 1980, Neuharth formed Project NN with a handpicked selection of young Gannett employees to create the country’s first daily national newspaper. Covered in the USA Today section of the Gannett Company series are the study summaries, reports, and research used by Project NN members in the creation of USA Today. Other material prominently featured in this series concern the BusCapade and JetCapade, Neuharth’s promotion tour which saw him traveling the United States and later, countries around the world.
The Media File includes working files and memoranda from different newspapers and media companies, originally maintained by Neuharth’s office. Some files include research and acquisition possibilities by Gannett, while some concern the general management of Gannett-owned newspapers, while others still are professional correspondence between Neuharth and publishers, presidents, or other employees of media companies. Major files of Gannett-owned papers include the Honolulu Star Bulletin, Oakland Tribune, Detroit News, Reno Gazette Journal, Louisville Courier Journal, Today, Des Moines Register, and the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle. Also represented in the Media File series are papers related to Neuharth’s employment prior to Gannett Company, with Knight-Ridder and the Associated Press.
The Organizations series covers the various boards and memberships that Allen Neuharth participated in outside of Gannett Company. In 1986, Neuharth was named chairman of the Gannett Foundation, and in 1991, he sold its name and assets back to Gannett Company in order to create the Freedom Forum, whose primary mission was to advocate for first amendment rights. Other material in the Organizations series includes Neuharth’s membership and chairmanship of the American Newspaper Publishers of America, as well as foundations he supported in his home state of South Dakota, including the University of South Dakota Foundation, the Mount Rushmore National Memorial Society, and the Crazy Horse Memorial Foundation.
The Speeches and Writings series contains the speeches and writings of Neuharth, and span his professional career and retirement. Neuharth wrote several books, but featured most prominently are the files related to his memoir, Confessions of an S.O.B. Included are interviews with family and colleagues, and oral history interviews which he called his BookCapade. Also included in the Speeches and Writings series are articles written by Neuharth beginning while he was a reporter with the Miami Herald, and his “Plain Talk” column which ran in USA Today weekly from 1988 until his death in 2013.
The Subject File series contains primarily memoranda and correspondence with various companies and institutions in which Neuharth was not a member, but had frequent contact with, such as the New York Yankees or Hilton Hotels. Other institutions are related to charity or speaking engagements, such as the University of Florida and Northwestern University. Other material featured includes Neuharth’s interviews, schedules, and news clippings.