Scope and Content of the Collection
The Morris S. Novik Papers document Novik's career as radio and television consultant for the AFL, AFL-CIO, various unions (ILGWU, International Association of Machnists, and International Longshoremen's Association), and other organizations (Entertainment Unions Committee, George Meany Foundation, and various radio stations and political campaigns). Dates span from 1940 to 1989 but mostly represent the period 1947-1967. The papers consist mostly of correspondence and radio and television scripts but also include transcripts, reports, press releases, speeches and statements, clippings, photographs, and posters. Major topics include the AFL's and AFL-CIO's campaigns (Taft-Hartley, political, Right-to-Work, civil rights), union involvement in the radio and television industry, George Meany, Edward Morgan's programs, and television programs produced through the George Meany Foundation.
Significant correspondents include George Meany, news commentator Edward Morgan, Joseph Keenen, senator and FCC commissioner Warren B. Magnuson, and news correspondent Harry Flannery. Also represented in the correspondence are the Entertainment Unions Committee, the George Meany Foundation, and various unions and AFL/AFL-CIO departments. There is also a large number of postcards and letters that reveal public reaction to the AFL's anti-Taft-Hartley radio programs.