Public Engagement Files and Scrapbooks, 1932-1980s

This series consists of correspondence, pasted news clippings, scrapbooks, and bound volumes of periodicals, all of which relate in one way or another to civic advocacy or reader engagement. Both the Baltimore News-Post and the Baltimore News American are represented. Twelve unbound scrapbooks, which date from the mid-1930s to mid-1940s, contain thank-you letters and other types of correspondence praising various activities undertaken by the Baltimore News-Post. Two volumes contain thank-you letters pertaining to the newspaper's civic advocacy through its "Mr. Fixit" column. Many of the thank-you letters reflect the political and social concerns of Americans (especially those on the home front) before, during and after World War II. Additionally, "In the News," a nationally syndicated column written by William Randolph Hearst, Sr., and his editorial staff, comprises six archival boxes of material, some of which contain editorial memos and telegraphs which Hearst sent to his newspaper editors around the country. The J. William Joynes accession, which includes thirty-two journalism scrapbooks and issues of Maryland Living and Extra: Magazine of the News American, has been incorporated into this series. A longtime editor for the News American, John William Joynes had written for the "Mr. Fixit" column before becoming the editor of the Sunday magazine, Maryland Living during the 1960s. Correspondence relating to the consumer help column, "Action Line," documents how the News American served as a public service to its readers. Begun in the 1970s as "Main Line," the column "Action Line" featured "representative" questions from readers (identified only by initials and street names) with answers from newspaper staff. Printed semi-regularly in the newspaper into the 1980s, the column addressed concerns such as misdirected mail, faulty consumer goods, social security checks, and neighborhood activities. Some correspondence is restricted. Arrangement of the series is alphabetical by subject and then by date. Occasionally, folder titles have been modified, based on content within the files, to aid identification and to protect individuals' privacy.