Gunnar Rasmuson papers, 1935-1942

The bulk of this collection consists of instructional newsletters from The Scripps League of Newspapers, Inc. to its subsidiaries. Entitled “Improving Our Newspapers,” these materials are divided into “chapters” written weekly by E. W. Scripps and mailed from Seattle, Washington. Although the collection is incomplete, a majority of the chapters from 1935 to 1936 are present. From 1937 to 1938 E. W. Scripps also sent five letters with instructions to his editors, which would have included Rasmuson and others. Like the newsletters, this correspondence provides guidance from Scripps to the newspapers under his purview.

Individual items include a personal letter from Louis Gilman, who appears to have been a national representative for Scripps League Newspapers, to Rasmuson dated Oct. 8, 1942, and an undated obituary written by Gunnar Rasmuson for Frank Dusenberry. Present are a draft copy with notes and a newspaper clipping.

The materials in this collection cover topics from the mundane (writing styles and editing) to the politically charged (fascism and communism). For this reason they should be of interest to anyone researching early 20th century journalism.