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Leonard Downie Jr. papers, 1961-2020

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BOX 1-2 Personal File, 1964-2019
The Personal File contains biographical material, photographs, and press clippings and profiles of Downie in various publications and magazines, as well as tributes and retrospectives relating to Downie’s retirement from the Washington Post in 2008.
Material types include printed matter, photographs, and two small enamel pins.
Arranged alphabetically by subject.
BOX 1 Biographical sketches, 1998-2009
BOX 1 Enamel pins, 1996-1998
(2 pins)
BOX 1 Myers-Briggs Type Indicator report, 2005
BOX 1 Photographs, 1964-1991, 1998-2007, undated
BOX 2 Press clippings and profiles, 1987-1988, 1996-2010, 2018-2019
BOX 2 Retirement from the Washington Post, 2008-2009, 2016 See also Container OV 1, Satire and joke section of the Washington Post
BOX 2-9 Subject File, 1972-2020
The Subject File contains clippings and articles, notes, printed matter, correspondence, and other material covering twentieth century news events, committees and groups Downie served on, and files containing materials relating to individual organizations or people. Many of the files appear to have been assembled or added to by Downie as reference and research for his memoir, All About the Story, to provide background and context for the significant events in Downie’s life and career, and include general notes, handwritten timelines, and notes from personal interviews on these topics conducted with former colleagues and associates. For many topics, the files reflect a snapshot of the Washington Post's general coverage of various news events and Downie’s involvement and management in that coverage; these files also include Washington Post staff memos and internal correspondence. Organizational files include correspondence and meeting minutes. Major topics include Bill Clinton’s political scandals, including his affair with White House intern Monica S. Lewinsky; the War in Iraq; the Valerie Plame Wilson affair and CIA leak; Downie’s coverage of the Jonestown mass suicide; the Unabomber, including a copy of the Unabomber manifesto annotated by Downie; and Steven Spielberg’s 2017 film The Post, including a draft of the movie’s script annotated by Downie. Notable material relating to the Watergate affair include carbon copies of the original police incident reports of the Watergate Hotel break-in and a copy of Bob Woodward’s handwritten notes during the June 18, 1972, arraignment of the individuals accused in the break-in.
Material types include clippings and articles, notes, printed matter, meeting minutes, and correspondence.
Arranged alphabetically by subject.
BOX 2 2000 presidential election, 2000-2001, 2008, 2016-2019
BOX 2 Afghanistan, 2001-2005, 2011-2019
BOX 2 Agnew, Spiro T., 2017-2021
BOX 2 Albert, Carl Bert, 1972, 2017
BOX 2 American Society of Newspaper Editors, Freedom of Information Committee, 1984-1986
BOX 2 Associated Press, 1991-1996
BOX 2 Barry, Marion, 1983-1990, 2014-2019
BOX 2 Bradlee, Benjamin C., 1979-1984, 1991, 2002-2018
(2 folders)
BOX 2 Bush, George, 1992, 2004, 2017-2019
BOX 2 Cartwright, James E., 2012-2016
BOX 2 Center for News Literacy, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, N.Y., 2008-2010
BOX 2 CIA covert war against terrorism, 2002-2005, 2017-2018
BOX 2 CIA secret prisons, "Black Sites," 2005-2006, 2014-2018
BOX 3 Clinton, Bill
BOX 3 Clinton-Lewinsky scandal, 1998-2001, 2016-2019
(3 folders)
BOX 3 Miscellany, 1993-1996
BOX 3 Notes and timelines for All About the Story, undated
BOX 3 Sexual assault and misconduct allegations, 1992-1998, 2017-2019
BOX 3 Commission to Reform the Federal Appointments Process, Aspen Institute, 2009-2012
BOX 3 Confidential sources, policy and position, 1983, 1997-1998, 2004, 2012-2013
BOX 3 Council on Foreign Relations, 1984-1985, 1996
BOX 3 Dole, Robert J. ("Bob"), 1996-1997, 2002, 2018-2019, undated
BOX 3 Edwards, John, 2008-2018
BOX 3 Fannie Mae, 1995, 2000
BOX 3 Gellman, Barton, and Richard B. ("Dick") Cheney, 2008, 2019
BOX 3 Glendenning, Parris N., 2001-2002, 2019
BOX 3 Graham, Katharine, 1979-1981, 1997-2002, 2009, 2017-2018
(2 folders)
BOX 4 Greenbrier bunker, 1992-1997, 2006-2019
BOX 4 Hanafi siege, 1977, 2007, 2016-2019
BOX 4 Hart, Gary, 1984-1995, 2018-2019
BOX 4 Hays, Wayne, 1976, 2017-2019
BOX 4 International Herald Tribune, 1983-1984, 2002-2008, 2017-2018
BOX 4 Iran-Contra Affair, 1985-1994, 2016
BOX 4 Iraq
BOX 4 Abu Ghraib Prison, 2004-2005, 2018-2019
BOX 4 Bush administration and the press, 2002, 2008
BOX 4 Media coverage, 1983, 1989-1993, 2001, 2019
BOX 4 Pre-war articles and notes, 2002-2003, 2018-2019
BOX 4 Terror threat alert, Washington Post War on Terrorism task force, 2004, 2019
BOX 4 War coverage, 2001-2013, 2017-2020
(4 folders)
BOX 5 War coverage, 2001-2013, 2017-2020
(2 folders)
BOX 5 Weapons of mass destruction, 2003, 2018-2019
BOX 5 Washington Post Baghdad bureau, 2004-2013, 2019
BOX 5 Wolfowitz, Paul, 2002-2003, 2019
BOX 5 Jonestown mass suicide, Jonestown, Guyana, 1978, 2017-2018
BOX 5 Kerry, John, 2004
BOX 5 McCain, John, and Vicki Iseman, 2007-2010
BOX 5 Mills, Wilbur D., 1974, 1998, 2017-2019
BOX 5 National Security Agency (NSA) surveillance, 2005-2006, 2014
BOX 5 National security decisions, 1985-1986, 2006-2019
BOX 5 News media and presidential administrations, 2013-2017
BOX 5 Operation Ivy Bells, 1986, 2007, 2015-2017
BOX 5 Packwood, Bob, 1992-1995, 2001, 2016-2018
BOX 6 Plame Affair
BOX 6 Cooper, Matthew, Time magazine, 2005, 2019
BOX 6 Kessler, Glenn, 2004-2005
BOX 6 Miller, Judy, New York Times, 2005-2006
BOX 6 Pincus, Walter, 2004-2006
BOX 6 Press, 2003-2006, 2019
BOX 6 Woodward, Bob, 2005-2006, 2018-2019
BOX 6 The Post (film)
BOX 6 Press, 2016-2018
BOX 6 Production, 2017
BOX 6 Production badges, 2017
BOX 6 Production travel and payroll, 2017
BOX 6 Screenings and premiere, 2017
BOX 6 Script draft and comments, 2017
BOX 6 Press credentials, 1984-1991, 2000-2008
(2 folders)
BOX 7 Press credentials, 1984-1991, 2000-2008
(2 folders)
BOX 7 Priest, Dana, 2011-2018, undated
BOX 7 Pulitzer Prizes, 1993, 2000-2008, 2019
(2 folders)
BOX 7 Robb, Charles S. ("Chuck"), 1988-1991, 2017
BOX 7 September 11 Terrorist Attacks, 2001-2002, 2019, undated
BOX 7 Shalit, Ruth, "Race in the Newsroom," The New Republic, 1995, 2017
BOX 7 Simons, Howard, 1984-1989, 2018
BOX 7 Spy satellite story, 1984-1985
BOX 7 Thatcher, Margaret, 1988-1992
BOX 7 Unabomber, 1995-2001, 2008, 2015-2019, undated
(2 folders)
BOX 7 Virginia Tech shootings, 2007, 2019
BOX 7 Wall Street Journal, 2002-2008
BOX 8 Walter Reed Army Medical Center neglect scandal, 2006-2008, 2017-2019
BOX 8 Watergate Affair
BOX 8 All the President's Men (book and film), 1976, 1997, 2006, 2012-2016
BOX 8 Background information, 1982, 2011-2017
BOX 8 Dean, John, 1972-1977, 2014-2015
BOX 8 Deep Throat, 1999-2017
(3 folders)
BOX 8 Material copied from the Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein Watergate Papers, Harry Ransom Center, University of Texas at Austin, 1972-1974, 2017-2018
BOX 8 Miscellany, 1973, 1992, 2004-2018
BOX 8 New York Times Watergate lead, 2009-2010
BOX 8 "Watergate at 40," essays and event, 2012-2014
BOX 8 Watergate record copies, 1972
BOX 8 Washington, D.C., 1968 riots, 2018, undated
BOX 8 Washington, D.C., police shootings, 1998, 2003
BOX 8 Washington, D.C. sniper, 2003
BOX 8 Wen, Jiabao, 2003
BOX 8 Whitewater Inquiry and Hillary Rodham Clinton, 1992-2007, 2016-2019
BOX 9 Woodward, Bob, 2004-2018
(2 folders)
BOX 9-14 Washington Post, 1966-2019
The Washington Post series is comprised of correspondence, staff memos, policy documents, clippings, photographs, proposals and reports, and budget materials related to the internal operations of the Washington Post newspaper and newsroom. This series is divided into two groups: the Career file and the Subject file. The Career file reflects the activities Downie participated in or contributed to while holding various positions during his career at the Washington Post, maintaining the arrangement of material as received. The Subject file includes material on topics such as individual newspaper features and sections, guidance on story and editorial decisions, newsroom operations and diversity, committee reports, and organizational infrastructure. A significant amount of files cover Downie’s attendance at “Pugwash,” the annual planning retreat for top management and senior editors of the Washington Post. These include meeting agendas and minutes, presentation slides and notes, correspondence, planning proposals and reports, travel documents, statistics, and budget materials.
Material types include correspondence, staff memos, policy documents, clippings, photographs, proposals and reports, budget materials, meeting agendas and minutes, and presentation slides and notes.
Arranged alphabetically by subject.
BOX 9 Career file
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