John Newhouse was born in Janesville, Wisconsin, in 1909. He attended Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota, and graduated from the University of Minnesota in 1934. He worked for a bank briefly before he took his first journalism job with the Monroe Evening Times. Newhouse then worked freelance as a writer and photographer, traveling around Wisconsin looking for interesting stories before taking a job at the Rockford Morning Star in Illinois as a reporter. He married Franny, a reporting colleague, and they moved to Madison, Wisconsin, in 1943. Newhouse worked at the Wisconsin State Journal until he retired in 1974.
In 1975 Newhouse took on the job of researching and writing the history of Lee Newspapers, Inc. in Montana, beginning with their 1959 purchase of newspapers long owned by the Anaconda Copper Mining Company. His research included extensive interviews of relevant people in Montana as well as at the Lee Newspapers headquarters in Davenport, Iowa.
Newhouse died May 19, 1993.
This collection includes John Newhouse's correspondence, research, interviews conducted on 17 audio cassettes, and drafts of a book about the history of Lee Newspapers in Montana beginning with their 1959 purchase of newspapers long owned by the Anaconda Copper Mining Company. The correspondence briefly lays out the structure of the project while the research contains some background of the pre-1959 newspaper owners and policies. The body of research is in the interviews with Lee Newspaper Inc's personnel in Montana and in their Davenport, Iowa, headquarters.
This collection is divided into four series:
Series I: Correspondence and research, 0.1 linear foot, 1959-1975
Series II: Interview transcripts, 0.3 linear foot, 1975
Series III: Writing, 0.1 linear foot, circa 1975
Series IV: Audio Recordings, 17 audio cassettes, 1975
Researchers must use collection in accordance with the policies of Archives and Special Collections, the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library, and The University of Montana-Missoula.
Researchers are responsible for using in accordance with 17 U.S.C. and any other applicable statutes.
John Newhouse Papers, Archives and Special Collections, Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library, The University of Montana-Missoula.
Collection was held by John Newhouse or his family until donation.
Donated to the Archives by Eric Newhouse, 2001.
During processing, like materials were foldered together. Newhouse's audio cassette and transcript labels or descriptions were maintained as much as possible.
In 2019, audio interviews were identified as an oral history collection,
This collection is indexed under the following headings in the online catalog. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons, or places should search the catalog using these headings.
This series consists of interview transcripts of taped interviews with Lee Enterprises employees and individuals who studied the history of newspapers and newspaper ownership in Montana. Interviews were conducted in Davenport, Iowa, and in Montana.
Only a transcript exists for the Ron Semple interview and part of the Lloyd Schermer interview. The audio cassette for both of them is missing.
Electronic copies of these transcripts are available from the University of Montana's Archives and Special Collections
as oral history project OH 465.
Ron Semple interview; Lloyd Schermer interviews; Ron Rickman interview; Tom Williams interview; Tony Tatarka interview; Jim Burgess interview
Ron Semple interview; Lloyd Schermer interview; Ron Rickman interview
Tom Williams interview; Tony Tatarka interview; Jim Burgess interview; Lloyd Schermer interview
Sam Reynolds interview; John Toole interview
John Toole interview (cont.); Warren Brier interview; Nathan Blumberg interview; K. Ross Toole interview
K. Ross Toole interview (cont.); Dick Morrison interview; Ed Coyle interview; Ed Erlandson interview; John Talbot interview
John Talbot interview (cont.); Henry Pennypacker interview; Fred W. DeMoney interview
Fred W. DeMoney interview (cont.); Walter Nelson interview
Walter Nelson interview (cont.); Albert Gaskill and Jeff Gibson interview
Albert Gaskill and Jeff Gibson interview (cont.); Ed Winter interview
Duncan "Scotty" Campbell interview; George O'Connor interview; Bob Corbett interview; Alec Hansen interview; Bill Christiansen interview
Bill Christiansen interview (cont.); John C. Harrison interview; Sam Gilully interview
Sam Gilully interview (cont.); S. Keith Anderson interview; Mike Voeller interview; Gary Langley interview; George Remington interview
George Remington interview (cont.); J. Strand Hilleboe interview
J. Strand Hilleboe interview (cont.)
Seip (first name unknown) interview; Russ Hart interview; Bernard "Bud" Longo interview; Duane "Doc" Bowler interview
Duane "Doc" Bowler interview (continued)
This series consists of audio recordings of the oral history interviews that Newhouse conducted. Three of the cassettes contain interviews recorded in Davenport, Iowa, with Lee Enterprises employeees. The rest of the cassettes contain interviews recorded in Montana with Lee Enterprises employees and individuals who studied the history of newspapers and newspaper ownership in Montana.
In 2019, the audio interviews were assigned an oral history collection name,
Davenport Tape 1 is missing. This tape contains the interview with Ron Semple and part of the interview with Lloyd Schermer. Full transcripts of both interviews are available in Series II of this collection.
Audio was originally recorded on cassette tape. In 2019, the audio was digitized for access and preservation purposes.
Electronic copies of the audio are available from the University of Montana's Archives and Special Collections
as oral history project OH 465.
The first part of Lloyd Schermer interview was recorded on Davenport Tape 1, which is missing.