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Creator
New York Times Company
Call number
MssCol 17801
Physical description
9.66 linear feet (23 boxes)
Preferred Citation

New York Times Company records. Seymour Topping papers, Manuscripts and Archives Division, The New York Public Library.

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

Journalist Seymour Topping was a longtime reporter and influential editor for The New York Times. The Seymour Topping papers contain many of Topping's office files, primarily from his time as deputy managing editor and managing editor of The Times between 1976 and 1986, with a small amount of records from the late 1960s and early 1970s. Files document the day-to-day operations of the News Department, as well as Topping's interactions with fellow editors of the various newspaper sections and staff in The Times' advertising and production departments.

Biographical/historical information

Seymour Topping (born 1921) was an influential foreign news reporter, editor, and newspaper administrator who spent much of his career at The New York Times.

Topping was born in New York City and graduated from the Missouri School of Journalism in 1943. During World War II, he served in the United States Army in the Pacific theater, and in 1946 began covering Southeast Asia for the International News Service. He joined the Associated Press in 1948, and over the next decade was stationed as a reporter in the French Indochina region, London, and Berlin. The Metropolitan Department of The New York Times (which covers regional New York City news) hired Topping in 1959, and the following year he became chief Times correspondent in Moscow. His next assignment, in 1963, was in Hong Kong as chief correspondent of Southeast Asia. Topping returned to New York in 1966 as The Times' foreign editor; in this role he managed all correspondents stationed abroad. He continued to rise through The Times editorial ranks, becoming assistant managing editor in 1969, deputy managing editor in 1976, and managing editor from 1977 to 1986. While having increasing influence over news coverage, editorial decisions, and the general operations of the News Department, Topping continued to travel around the world and contribute major stories based on his travels. In September 1985, Times Publisher Arthur Ochs Sulzberger assigned Topping to be a consultant to the editors and publishers of The Times' 32 regional newspapers. Starting in 1986, Topping focused exclusively on improving the journalistic quality of the regional papers and received the new title of director of editorial development.

Topping retired from The Times in 1993 and for the next ten years served as Administrator of the Pulitzer Prizes at Columbia University's School of Journalism. Topping was the president of the American Society of Newspaper Editors from 1992 to 1993, and chaired that group's Committee on International Communications.

Topping married journalist and documentary filmmaker Audrey Ronning in 1948 and together they had five children.

Source: "Seymour Topping: Former Foreign Correspondent, Foreign Editor, Managing Editor and Director of Regional Newspapers at The New York Times (Retired)." University of Missouri, accessed July 9, 2013: http://journalism.missouri.edu/alum/seymour-topping/

Scope and arrangement

The Seymour Topping papers are composed of Topping's office files, primarily from his time as deputy managing editor and managing editor of The New York Times between 1976 and 1986. The collection also contains some items from between 1968 and 1975 when Topping was Times foreign editor and assistant managing editor, as well as photographs of Topping and his family dated as early as 1963. The bulk of the collection documents the day-to-day operations of the News Department under Topping, as well as his interactions with fellow editors and staff members of the various newspaper sections (culture, education, family, financial, metropolitan news, sports, style, and others), desks, city bureaus, and with The Times' advertising and production departments.

Topping's contributions to the paper are numerous, as evidenced by the large amount of internal memoranda between Topping and his associates in the News Department present in this collection. Memoranda and notes reflect all manner of issues facing the News Department, especially the working relationship between the news and editorial departments, and concerning general editorial policies, news coverage and assignments, publication space issues, story schedules and deadlines, production schedules, and headline development. Also present are records that touch on Topping's involvement with the launching and development of The Times regional newspapers and various national editions.

The collection is divided into two series: I. People and II. Subjects. The People files consist of records pertaining to individuals, while the Subjects files contain items on specific topics, institutions, geographic locations, and many of the paper's departments, sections, and columns. 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.

Topping's correspondence and memoranda with the executive editor can be found in the New York Times Company Records. A.M. Rosenthal papers. Throughout his editorial tenure at The Times and as head of the news department, Topping worked closely with Rosenthal, who was managing editor from 1969 to 1976 and then executive editor from 1976 to 1986. Topping's memoranda with Rosenthal are not duplicated in the Topping papers. Records from Topping during his time as New York Times foreign correspondent and foreign news editor can be found in the New York Times Company records. Foreign Desk records (1959-1966).

The New York Times Company records. Seymour Topping papers are arranged in two series:

  • Series I: People

    This series is made up of files that contain items to, from, or concerning various individuals. People include staff members and others affiliated with the New York Times, as well as prominent individuals. Files consist of correspondence and memoranda documenting staff assignments, personnel issues, and letters of recommendation from Topping. Files for prominent individuals contain memoranda discussing coverage of them in The Times or correspondence regarding scheduling meetings and interviews. The most extensive files are those for Arthur Ochs Sulzberger, which contain memoranda on news coverage, story ideas, formatting and layout, and editorial suggestions; and for Iphigene Sulzberger, which hold her suggestions for news stories and correspondence surrounding the publication of her 1981 memoir.

    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.

  • Series II: Subjects

    This series is made up of alphabetical subject files that are organized (and titled) by topical keywords, institution names, geographic location, and Times departments and newspaper sections. The bulk of these files contain memoranda distributed among Topping's senior colleagues, including Arthur Gelb, John Pomfret, Sydney Gruson, Allan M. Siegal, Louis J. Silverstein, Max Frankel, and sometimes Executive Editor A.M. Rosenthal and Publisher Arthur Ochs Sulzberger. Memoranda reveal all manner of news department operations, mostly regarding staff assignments, news coverage, developing news stories, editorial processes, introductions of new features and special sections, space and layout issues, and staff meeting and luncheon notes. Several files, particularly those pertaining to specific columns or sections, feature readers' mail and complaints. While Topping's focus was on national, foreign, and New York City news, financial news is also particularly well documented.

    Of special note are the Enterprise Meetings files. The Enterprise Meetings were weekly meetings of editors designed to generate ideas, proposals, and coordination for special investigative projects. The meetings fostered story ideas across newspaper sections, irrespective of department lines. These files consist of follow-up reports on the Enterprise Meetings, memoranda on specific topics for stories, and rules and procedures for the projects. Also of interest are the National Edition memoranda regarding the planning, testing, and launching of the new edition in 1980.

Administrative information

Custodial history

This collection was originally re-housed and organized in 1990 by The Times archives staff.

Source of acquisition

Donated by New York Times Company, 2007.

Processing information

The order and folder titles, which The Times archives staff imposed on the collection, have been maintained.

Compiled by Philip Heslip.

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.

Access restrictions

Some materials are closed until 2018.