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Creator
Schanberg, Sydney H. (Sydney Hillel), 1934-2016
Call number
MssCol 24889
Physical description
118.82 linear feet (275 boxes, 10 tubes, 13 oversize folders). 1.8 gigabytes (940 computer files)
Language
Multiple languages; English, Khmer, Vietnamese, French, Bengali, Hindi, and German.
Preferred Citation
Sydney H. Schanberg 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

Sydney H. Schanberg (1934-2016) was an American journalist and war correspondent who spent fifty years writing extensively on international affairs, politics, New York City, corporate excess, and the mass media. He was awarded the 1976 Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting for his work covering the Cambodian Civil War; his experience in Cambodia, along with the photojournalist Dith Pran, was later dramatized in the 1984 film, The Killing Fields. The Sydney H. Schanberg papers span 1895 to 2016, covering all aspects of his professional career, in addition to personal files and correspondence. The collection is represented through drafts, notes, cables, notebooks, photographs, clippings and research, and audio and moving image recordings.

Biographical/historical information

Sydney H. Schanberg (1934-2016) was an American journalist and war correspondent who spent fifty years writing extensively on international affairs, politics, New York City, corporate excess, and the mass media.

Born in Clinton, Massachusetts, Schanberg graduated from Clinton High School in 1951, then attended Harvard University where he obtained a Bachelor of Arts in Government in 1955. After briefly attending and then dropping out of Harvard Law School, Schanberg was drafted into the military, serving in West Germany. Schanberg's journalism career began while writing for the 3rd Armored Division newspaper. Following his military service and travel around Europe, Schanberg returned to the United States and was hired by The New York Times in 1959. He stayed at the Times for the next twenty-six years in various capacities, working from clerk to news assistant to general assignment reporter.

In 1965, Schanberg began covering state and national politics. He was promoted to Albany bureau chief in 1967, and covered the New York State Legislature and governorship of Nelson Rockefeller. Schanberg became a foreign correspondent in 1969 when he was appointed New Delhi bureau chief. While in India, Schanberg extensively covered the conflict between East and West Pakistan, which would result in the formation of the nation of Bangladesh and the ensuing India-Pakistan war. For his coverage in India, Schanberg was awarded the George Polk Award for excellence in journalism in 1971. During this time Schanberg also covered other stories throughout South and Southeast Asia, including the Vietnam War and its impact on Cambodia.

In 1973, Schanberg was transferred to Singapore as bureau chief, but regularly returned to Cambodia to cover the civil war and rise of the Communist Party of Kampuchea and its followers, the Khmer Rouge. Photojournalist Dith Pran assisted Schanberg, serving as stringer and translator. Schanberg and Pran developed a close friendship while collaborating on stories that exposed the human impact of war.

In 1975, as the Khmer Rouge advanced on the capital city of Phnom Penh, Schanberg continued to file dozens of stories, refusing to evacuate with the United States Embassy and most other foreign correspondents. Although Schanberg did arrange for the safe passage of Pran's family with the American entourage, Pran chose to stay behind with Schanberg. Four days later, Schanberg witnessed the fall of the city to the Khmer Rouge. Taking refuge in the French Embassy, Schanberg and other foreigners were detained by the Khmer Rouge. Despite attempts to pass Pran off as a foreigner, Schanberg and Pran were separated. After two weeks, Schanberg and other foreigners were trucked to and released at the Thailand border. For his coverage "at great risk" Schanberg was awarded the 1976 Pulitzer Prize for international reporting, but the unknown fate of Pran continued to haunt Schanberg.

In 1979, after years of imprisonment in labor camps, Dith Pran escaped from Cambodia to a refugee camp in Thailand. Upon receiving word, Schanberg immediately traveled to Thailand and reunited with Pran. His account of their friendship, experience, and Pran's ordeal was recounted in the 1980 New York Times Magazine piece "The Death and Life of Dith Pran," later published as a book and adapted into the 1984 film The Killing Fields. Directed by Roland Joffé and starring Sam Waterston as Schanberg and Haing S. Ngor as Pran, the film was a critical and commercial success winning three Academy awards. Schanberg and Pran remained close friends until Pran's death in 2008.

Schanberg served as Metropolitan editor of the Times from 1977 to 1980. In 1981, he was appointed a columnist for the Times' editorial page. The "New York" column focused on issues impacating the city, such as gentrification; the Koch administration; and real estate development including projects overseen by the Trump Organization. Schanberg's pursuit of stories connected to big money rankled Times management. In 1985, after publishing a piece criticizing the Westway highway project, Schanberg's column was canceled. He resigned and moved to New York Newsday, where he maintained his candid critiques of money and power in New York City, and continued writing about Cambodia as well as Prisoner of War/Missing in Action (POW/MIA) issues.

In 1995, New York Newsday was closed and Schanberg became a freelance writer, with notable stories in Vanity Fair, LIFE, The Nation, and other publications. In 2002, Schanberg began writing for The Village Voice, but he resigned in 2006 in solidarity with staff who had been laid off. Schanberg continued to write, teach, and make public appearances for the rest of his life, and in 2010 published an anthology of his war writing, Beyond the Killing Fields.

He died in Poughkeepsie, New York in 2016.

Scope and arrangement

The Sydney H. Schanberg papers date from 1895 to 2016 (bulk dates 1957 to 2016), and chart the professional and personal life of the journalist, covering his long career at The New York Times, New York Newsday, The Village Voice, and other publications. In addition to his journalism career, the collection also covers the adaptation of Schanberg's work into the film, The Killing Fields; books published; work as a teacher and public speaker; personal and professional correspondence; research and subject files; and drafts of unpublished memoirs.

The collection is arranged into six series of journalism and writing; correspondence; personal files; teaching and public speaking; awards, artwork, and artifacts; and books and printed material. These topics are represented through notebooks, drafts, correspondence, cables, clippings, photographs, artifacts, and audio and moving image recordings. In many cases original folder titles were retained.

The Sydney H. Schanberg papers are arranged in six series:

  • Series I: Journalism and Writing
    1957-2016
    93.72 linear feet (219 boxes, 8 tubes, 11 oversize folders). 465.0 megabytes (457 computer files)

    Sydney Schanberg's career as a journalist spanned fifty years across a number of publications. Series I covers his journalism and writing career and is represented through drafts, correspondence, clippings, cables, photographs, research and subject files, and ephemera. The series is arranged into five subseries that cover Schanberg's career at The New York Times; his Cambodia reporting and its adaptation into the film The Killing Fields; his career at New York Newsday; his work reporting POW/MIA issues; and writing and reportage for numerous other publications. Files are ordered in a semi-chronological manner that reflect Schanberg's career. Some writings are found in multiple subseries in cases where Schanberg revisited topics.

  • Series II: Correspondence
    1939-2015
    5.0 linear feet (12 boxes). 1.6 megabytes (42 computer files)

    The correspondence series spans 1939 to 2015 and contains a mix of personal and professional correspondence.

    Files are arranged by date and move chronologically through Schanberg's life. Correspondence files may contain other materials such as drafts, notes, clippings, and photographs.

    The India and Asia correspondence covers Schanberg's time as a foreign correspondent. Held here are letters and cables from the New Delhi office, including correspondence with colleagues; correspondence regarding visas for his family; banking correspondence; and congratulations received on the birth of his daughters, Jessica and Rebecca. Also present are congratulations for awards received, including his George Polk award for his coverage of Bangladesh. Also held with Asia correspondence are exchanges with Schanberg's Vietnam stringer, Vo-Tuan-Chan, and correspondence sent and received while in Singapore, including letters to and from David Halberstam. Some correspondence in this group may be addressed to Schanberg's first wife, Janice.

    The Cambodia correspondence contains various letters, cables, and postcards sent and received while working in Cambodia. This includes: correspondence about a potential transfer to Poland; various administrative discussions with Times editors and managers; 1973 correspondence with Ambassador Emory Swank; 1973 correspondence with The New Republic; and correspondence regarding his 1975 Pulitzer Prize. Also present are cables and correspondence from the fall of Phnom Penh, including congratulations upon his return to safety, return to the United States, and promotion to Metropolitan editor. Examples of congratulatory correspondence include letters from Al Rockoff, Senator Ted Kennedy, Mayor Abraham Beame, Arthur Ochs Sulzberger, and a letter from Schanberg's cousin, Abbie Hoffman, who sent the letter while on the run from the FBI.

    Also held with Cambodia correspondence are publisher queries; correspondence with the photographer, Sarah Webb Barrell; an unsent letter to the Foreign Desk after he received his Pulitzer; correspondence with Dith Pran's family after they settled in San Francisco, and other correspondence related to Pran and Cambodian refugees.

    Following the Cambodia correspondence are files covering Schanberg's return to the United States and promotion to Metropolitan Editor. Topics covered include reaction to "Life and Death of Dith Pran"; reaction to the creation of his "New York" column; and reaction correspondence to a 1977 column regarding being a Boston Red Sox fan living in New York. Included here are letters from Senator Jacob Javits, Tom Wicker, Elie Wiesel, Robert Silvers, Mayor Ed Koch, Gay Talese, and more colleagues, friends, public officials and dignitaries offering congratulations for Schanberg's achievements, writing, and promotions. Also contained here are letters from his daughters and correspondence and photographs from Dith Pran's wife and family.

    Correspondence from literary agents and publishers contain: exchanges with Random House regarding a contract for an unpublished book on Cambodia and Schanberg's returning of the advance payment; correspondence regarding a book published with a character similar to Schanberg; correspondence with various literary agents; and book ideas proposed by publishers regarding Schanberg's coverage of New York real estate development and his Times column being terminated.

    Correspondence regarding the cancellation of Schanberg's Times column and it's aftermath contain material sent and received. This includes reader reactions; job offers; speaking engagement offers; book offers; teaching offers; condolences for the death of his father; a letter from Governor Mario Cuomo congratulating Schanberg after a C-Span appearance; an exchange with The Killing Fields producer, David Puttnam; and a card from Abbie Hoffman.

    Personal correspondence covering years spent at New York Newsday contain an invitation to the 1993 inauguration of President Bill Clinton; publisher requests to write blurbs for various books; and correspondence with representation for New York Mets pitcher, Dwight Gooden, about a possible story. Also held here are letters of recommendation written by Schanberg.

    The carreer transition correspondence covers the closing of APBNews.com and his departure from The Village Voice. This includes exchanges with: Chea Sokhan, a Cambodian friend, including photographs and details of Schanberg's daughter, Rebecca, visiting Cambodia in 2002; Hamilton Fish and other staff from The Nation, regarding an abandoned series on police brutality; Rick Kaplan, then president of CNN; David Remnick, editor of The New Yorker; Joe Calderone, regarding a proposal for a news website, TheCity.com; Arthur Sulzberger, Jr., publisher of The New York Times; Katrina vanden Heuvel of The Nation; and Nathalie Duong Sung, daughter of a Belgian woman quoted by Schanberg in an article from the Fall of Phnom Penh. Also held here are letters from students after an appearance at The East Harlem School; correspondence with producers from Newshour and On the Media; correspondence regarding his teaching fellowship at SUNY New Paltz; a 2009 New York Times Letter to the Editor, responding to "Abdullah II: The 5-State Solution" by Thomas Friedman; and correspondence about the death of Arthur 'Punch' Sulzberger and the obituary written by Clyde Haberman that had inaccuracies about Schanberg. Some correspondence may be addressed to Schanberg's second wife, Jane.

  • Series III: Personal Files
    1955-2016
    8.26 linear feet (16 boxes, 1 oversize folder). 1.3 gigabytes (422 computer files)

    The Personal Files series spans 1955 to 2016 and contains address books, date books, biographies, photographs, and ephemera. Files are arranged alphabetically by topic.

    Held here are files on Schanberg's personal life and files from his home office. This includes: files on Dith Pran, including correspondence, photographs, and documents regarding Pran's 2008 death; drafts of Schanberg's eulogy for Pran; Schanberg's files for an unpublished memoir, including outlines, notes, drafts, and research files; press coverage of and media appearances by Schanberg including clippings and correspondence; photographs from across Schanberg's life; and story ideas and research.

    Arranged at the end of the series are files related to Schanberg's death, including obituaries and condolences.

  • Series IV: Teaching and Public Speaking
    1977-2011
    2.75 linear feet (6 boxes, 1 tube). 372.7 kilobytes (14 computer files)

    Series IV addresses Schanberg's tenures teaching at the University of Southern California and the State University of New York at New Paltz, as well as public speaking engagements between 1977 and 2011.

    The Teaching files are arranged by date and are represented through correspondence, notes, resources, and teaching materials. The State University of New York at New Paltz files include material from his tenure as the James H. Ottaway Sr. Visiting Professor in Journalism and a 2008 seminar, "Democracy and The Press." The University of Southern California files cover a writing seminar taught by Schanberg.

    Public Speaking files are arranged alphabetically by location or organization and holds notes, drafts, correspondence, and promotional material from various speaking events and appearances. Also held here are files for eulogies given at funerals and memorial services of friends, colleagues, and family.

  • Series V: Awards, Artwork, and Artifacts
    1895-2010
    3.34 linear feet (9 boxes, 1 oversize folder, 1 tube). 117.7 kilobytes (5 computer files)

    The Awards, Artwork, and Artifacts series contain various awards and honorary degrees from across Schanberg's career, and artwork and photographic prints, including items from Schanberg's office. Also held here are artifacts such as a bag and hats used by Schanberg while a foreign correspondent, and two typewriters.

    Awards include the Pulitzer Prize, George Polk Award, and Overseas Press Club. The Pulitzer files also contain records and entry forms related to work he submitted for the prize throughout his career. Office Wall Hangings include his 1976 Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting and a letter from Garry Trudeau with accompanying Doonesbury strips with allusions to Schanberg.

    Files are arranged alphabetically by item type.

  • Series VI: Books and Printed Material
    1945-2010
    6.92 linear feet (17 boxes)

    The Books and Printed Material series contain books and magazines written by or including contributions by Schanberg, or making mention of Schanberg. Also contained here are other print publications held by Schanberg, including: books inscribed to Schanberg; correspondence and notes removed from books held in Schanberg's personal library; and a number of pre-1975 Cambodian magazines. These magazines offer insight to Cambodian society and culture before the Khmer Rouge takeover and ensuing genocide. Titles are arranged alphabetically.

Administrative information

Source of acquisition

The collection was purchased from Jane Schanberg in 2019.

Processing information

Processed by Christopher Arena in 2022 and 2023.

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

Access restrictions

Contact the Manuscripts and Archives division (manuscripts@nypl.org) with questions regarding access to audio and moving image materials.