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Creator
New York Times Company
Call number
MssCol 17788
Physical description
1.89 linear feet (5 boxes)
Preferred Citation

New York Times Company records. James Reston papers, Manuscripts and Archives Division, The New York Public Library.

Repository
Manuscripts and Archives Division
Access to materials
Request an in-person research appointment.

The James Reston papers document Reston's career at The New York Times as editor, administrator, and columnist with the bulk of the collection covering the late 1960s through the 1970s. The collection, which originates from Reston's New York office, contains correspondence and memoranda with The Times publishers and fellow staff members, Times administrative and financial reports, writings and speeches by Reston, photographs of Reston, and some records relating to his finances and retirement.

Biographical/historical information

Prominent journalist James Barrett "Scotty" Reston (1909-1995) had a fifty-year career at The New York Times as a reporter, editor, vice president, and columnist. Reston is best known for his reporting on Washington politics, including his coverage of the Dumbarton Oaks Conference; his role in The Times' publishing of the Pentagon Papers; and his nationally syndicated editorial column (1974-1989).

Reston was born in Clydesbank, Scotland, and moved to the United States with his family in 1920. He received an undergraduate degree in journalism from the University of Illinois in 1932, and for the next two years worked as a sports journalist for Daily News (Springfield, Ohio) and in the publicity departments at The Ohio State University and the Cincinnati Reds. Between 1934 and 1939, Reston was a reporter for The Associated Press, first in New York City and then in London during the escalation of World War II. The New York Times hired him to their London Bureau at the outbreak of war in 1939, and in 1941 he moved to the Washington Bureau to cover diplomatic news. Reston served in numerous reporting, editorial, and administrative roles for The Times in Washington, and in 1953 he succeeded Arthur Krock as the Washington bureau chief. In that role, Reston directed The Times' coverage of United States politics and governmental affairs and managed such rising stars as Max Frankel, David Halberstam, and Tom Wicker. At the same time he continued writing and reporting, which gained him intimate access to many of Washington's most prominent insiders, such as John Foster Dulles and Henry Kissinger. As associate editor from 1964 to 1968, Reston gave up many of his administrative duties to concentrate on column writing. Arthur Ochs Sulzberger promoted Reston to executive editor in 1968, transferring him to New York to head the paper's entire news operations with the mandate to improve relations between New York leadership and the Washington Bureau. Reston returned to Washington in 1969 as a vice president, a position he held until 1974. As vice president, Reston was involved in high-level Times journalistic, editorial, and business decisions. Reston retired from Times administration in 1974 but stayed on as a consultant to the director of the company. He continued contributing editorial columns until 1989.

In addition to his writings for The Times, Reston wrote numerous books, including Prelude to Victory (1942), and his autobiography, Deadline: A Memoir (1991). He won Pulitzer Prizes for his reporting on the Dumbarton Oaks Conference (1946) and for his coverage of the 1956 presidential campaign (1957), and received the Presidential Medal of Freedom (1986), among many other journalist awards. Reston is also credited with greatly raising awareness of acupuncture in the United States by writing an article in The Times about treatments he received while recovering from an emergency appendectomy he suffered during coverage of Richard Nixon's visit to China in 1971.

Reston married Sarah (Sally) Jane Fulton in 1935 and together they had three children. Reston died in Washington, D.C., in 1995.

Sources: Apple, R.W., Jr. "James Reston, a Journalist Nonpareil, Dies at 86." The New York Times. December 7, 1995, A-1.

Talese, Gay. The Kingdom and the Power. New York: Ivy Books, 1966.

Scope and arrangement

This collection is primarily made up of correspondence and memoranda from James Reston's time as The New York Times' executive editor (1968-1969) and vice president (1969-1974) These documents came from Reston's New York City office and include communications with Arthur Ochs Sulzberger concerning Washington operations and editorial decisions, administrative memos that Reston was copied on, business correspondence handled by Reston's New York assistant Herbert Andree, and some personal correspondence. Also present are a few files of correspondence dated from the 1950s and 1960s between Reston in Washington, D.C., and various staff members in New York. Of note are copies of Reston's speeches and writings, and photographs of Reston and his wife Sarah Fulton Reston. The collection does not contain any papers from Reston's (primary) Washington, D.C., office, which he donated to the University Archives at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

The collection is divided into three series: I. People, II. Subjects, and III. Additions. The People files consist of records pertaining to individuals, while the Subjects files contain items on specific topics, institutions, or document types (speeches, photographs, etc.). Items germane to two or more people or subjects are often cross-referenced in the finding aid; documents related to specific issues are generally located in subject files rather than the people folders of those involved. Of note are the letters and memoranda from Arthur Ochs Sulzberger that are collected in the Sulzberger file and also scattered throughout both the People and Subject series. Additions are a few letters from Arthur Hays Sulzberger, Arthur Ochs Sulzberger, and Cyrus Sulzberger to Reston, and Reston's copies of monthly staff budget and expense reports, with accompanying memoranda, spanning 1967 to 1970.

The New York Times Company records. James Reston papers are arranged in three series:

  • Series I: People

    This series is made up of files that contain items to, from, or concerning various individuals, such as New York Times publishers and staff members and Reston's personal and professional contacts outside of The Times. Present are letters to Reston and carbon copy responses from either Reston or his personal assistant in New York, Herbert Andree, written on his behalf. Additional items include memoranda that Reston was copied on. Letters typically concern Reston's columns, administrative and operational matters related to the News Department in New York and the Washington Bureau, or feature discussions of news events, politics, and journalism. The majority of these records are from Reston's tenure as vice president (1969-1974). A small amount of items are personal in nature.

    Files are arranged alphabetically by name. Entries without box and folder numbers cross-reference related material in other files. These files do not necessarily collect every letter, memorandum, or document related to the individual; subject files should also be consulted. Miscellaneous Correspondence files are organized by last name within each folder and contain a contributor, recipient, or subject list.

  • Series II: Subjects

    This series is made up of alphabetical subject files that are organized (and titled) by topical keywords, events, institution, or document type. These records include letters and memoranda relating to various administrative topics at The Times, primarily concerning Reston's responsibilities as vice president, as well as communications with outside organizations with which Reston worked. Other items include speech drafts and personal financial documents. Of note are the Pictures files that hold portraits of Reston, images of Reston in Times offices, and photographs of Reston's travels in Vietnam (1965) and China (1971). Also of interest is the Acupuncture file that collects reader responses to Reston's influential 1971 article on that topic.

    Files are arranged alphabetically by file title. Entries without box and folder numbers cross-reference related material in other files.

  • Series III: Additions

    The additions consist of a few personal letters between Reston and Arthur Hays Sulzberger (1960), Arthur Ochs Sulzberger (1965), and Cyrus Sulzberger (1977), and Reston's copies of budget and expense reports, with accompanying memoranda, spanning 1967 to 1970. The reports, which were circulated to all of the department heads and executives, document the monthly expenses for each major department at The Times as well as general Times expenses. The additions were transferred from the James B. Reston papers at the University Archives, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1999.

Administrative information

Custodial history

The bulk of this collection was originally re-housed and organized in 1995 by Charles G. St. Vil of The Times archives staff. The collection was initially three linear feet and was reduced to less than two linear feet. Most of the readers' mail was discarded and papers related to personal matters were returned to Reston. The additions came to The Times archives in 1999 from the James B. Reston papers at University Archives, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. These additions were never processed by The Times.

Source of acquisition

New York Times Company, donated 2007.

Processing information

The order and folder titles, which The Times archives staff imposed on the collection, have been maintained. The original order for the additions has also been maintained.

Compiled by Philip Heslip.

Related Material

James B. Reston papers. University Archives, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Using the collection

Location

Manuscripts and Archives Division
Stephen A. Schwarzman Building
Fifth Avenue at 42nd Street, New York, NY 10018-2788
Brooke Russell Astor Reading Room, Third Floor, Room 328

Conditions Governing Use

Copyright for documents created by New York Times Company principals and staff has been transferred to The New York Public Library.