Collection: Craig B. Fisher papers | Archival Collections

Craig B. Fisher (1932-2006), a graduate of the University of Maryland, was an American network and cable television producer. He spent more than 25 years with the news divisions of ABC, CBS, and NBC in New York and Washington, D.C., and more than two decades as a freelance writer and producer.

The Fisher papers cover a period from 1956 to 1970 and include material from when he worked for CBS and NBC. Fisher's professional projects encompassed a range of interests, from news programs on social, political, and economic issues to educational programs on nature, history, science, and art. It includes research materials, notes, outlines, proposals, scripts, budgets, press clippings, and similar documents related to programs in which he was a creator or contributor.

Dates

circa 1956-1977

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open to the public and must be used in the Special Collections reading room. Researchers must register and agree to copyright and privacy laws before using this collection.

Conditions Governing Use

Photocopies or digital surrogates may be provided in accordance with Special Collections and University Archives duplication policy.

Copyright resides with the creators of the documents or their heirs unless otherwise specified. It is the researcher's responsibility to secure permission to publish materials from the appropriate copyright holder.

Archival materials may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal and/or state right to privacy laws or other regulations. While we make a good faith effort to identify and remove such materials, some may be missed during our processing. If a researcher finds sensitive personal information in a collection, please bring it to the attention of the reading room staff.

Extent

4.5 Linear Feet (3 record storage boxes)

91 Film Reels (91 film reels inside 74 canisters (some canisters contain more than one reel))

Inventories/Additional Information

Additional Description

Content Description

The Craig B. Fisher papers cover a period from 1956 to 1970 and include material from his career at CBS and NBC. It includes research materials, notes, outlines, proposals, scripts, budgets, press clippings, and similar material related to programs in which he was a creator or contributer. Among the topics represented in this collection include Cold War-era civil defense and diplomacy, youth culture, Jewish Americans, women’s issues, the 1960 and 1964 presidential elections, the Kennedy Assassination, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and similar topics. It also includes material related to a documentary on Russian-American photographer Roman Vishniac, several nature and history documentaries, a study done on the children’s program “Exploring,” and a series inspired by artifacts in the Smithsonian Institution.

For a more complete listing of programs represented, see the series descriptions or the detailed listing located under Inventories/Additional Information.

Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements

This collection contains audiovisual materials. Items that cannot be used in the Special Collections reading room or are too fragile for researchers require that a digital copy be made prior to use. If you would like to access these materials, please contact us prior to your visit.

Custodial History

This collection was donated by Craig Fisher to the University of Maryland Department of Radio, Television, and Film. It was transferred to the University Archives in 1997 and transferred later to the Mass Media and Culture unit in Special Collections and University Archives.

Processing Information

This collection has been minimally processed. It was partially processed at an earlier date, and it was unclear if an original order existed or to what degree that order may have been altered. The archivist who completed the processing preserved the separation of CBS and NBC program files, turning this distinction into separate series. Within those series, folders were arranged alphabetical by program title, and folders containing information about the same program were arranged roughly chronologically.

Duplicate documents were removed when detected, and when there was an excess of similar rough drafts with only minor edits, a representative sample was preserved. The NBC News Political Handbook was removed from its plastic binder and rehoused in archival folders, and many of the original folders were relabeled or replaced to accomodate more precise labeling.

Administrative Information

Title: Guide to the Craig B. Fisher papers
Status: Completed
Author: Tracee Haupt.
Date: 2018-05-22
Description rules: Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description: English
Script of description: Latin

Revision Statements

2021-08-13: Jim Baxter re-wrote the collection abstract.

Library Details

Part of the Special Collections and University Archives

http://www.lib.umd.edu/special

Contact:
University of Maryland Libraries
Hornbake Library
4130 Campus Drive
College Park Maryland 20742
301-405-9212
askhornbake@umd.edu

Craig B. Fisher papers

Dates

Conditions Governing Access

Conditions Governing Use

Extent

Inventories/Additional Information

Additional Description

Content Description

Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements

Custodial History

Processing Information

Administrative Information

Revision Statements

Library Details

Library Details

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