The collection includes correspondence, advertising files, internal memos and management documents, copy files of materials published in issues (final and raw copy), some photographs, and various ephemeral resources collected by staff and/or sent to the News-Telegraph. The collection is divided into four series: News Resources, Jim Thomas, Administration, and Production. The geographic scope of the collection includes Missouri, Illinois, Kansas, Arkansas, and Iowa, with materials from Missouri comprising the bulk of the collection. The collection dates from 1965 to 2000 with date gaps from 1966 to 1970 and from 1972 to 1977. The bulk of the materials date from 1982 to 1997. The original collection has been rearranged to include the 1999 donation. The News Resources series is arranged alphabetically by name of agency/organization or by topic. Miscellaneous newspaper clippings arranged alphabetically by region appear at the end of the series. Materials date from 1965 to 2000, with a date gap from 1966 to 1970. The bulk of the items date from 1982 to 1996. The News Resources series includes a variety of mostly ephemeral materials from businesses, arts and entertainment companies, travel, local and national non-profit organizations, sports groups, professional associations, and political groups. Items found within the series include, but are not limited to: event flyers, broadsides, posters, and programs; newsletters; newspaper clippings; press releases and press kits; brochures, postcards, mailers, and calendars; a small number of reports, meeting minutes, and bylaws from local non-profit organizations; and political/campaign information on local, regional, and national candidates, organizations, and issues. Much of this material was mailed and/or faxed to the paper for inclusion in the paper’s calendar and directory sections. It is also likely that staff used some of the topical files for research related to content produced for the News-Telegraph. Some materials might reflect staff interest and/or participation in community activities. For example, much of the staff was involved when St. Louis hosted the Gay and Lesbian Press Association Midwest Regional Caucus in 1982 and in 1988 (B5/f.7-9, B16). Jim Thomas was active with the National Association of Gay and Lesbian Democratic Clubs (B9/f.4-6). While most of the News Resources series is filed according to the agency/organization which issued the material or by the title of publications/reports, there is some overlap between the name of agency files and the topical files. “See also” notes have been added to the folder list to aid research. Please note that broad topics from the 1980s and 1990s, such as AIDS and gay rights, appear in files throughout the series. A small amount of miscellaneous newspaper clippings from the original collection have been rearranged alphabetically by region for better access. These files are located at the end of the News Resources series and date from 1982 to 1995 (B15/f.18-29). Please see Appendix A for titles/issues of many periodicals and newsletters from this series that were transferred to the Missouri Historical Society Library. The Jim Thomas series is arranged alphabetically by topic and dates from 1971 to 1998. The series includes correspondence, meeting minutes, newspaper clippings, brochures, and newsletters. Items in this series relate to Thomas’ interests and activities either before he founded the News-Telegraph, or to his political and professional activities that do not relate directly to the content and management of the newspaper. Thomas worked with several local, state, and national organizations which included: the ACLU of Eastern Missouri (board member), Gay and Lesbian Community Group (St. Louis), Gay Academic Union (St. Louis Chapter), ACTION (The Lesbian and Gay Human Rights Caucus, St. Louis), Gay and Lesbian Press Association, the Missouri Task Force for Lesbian and Gay Concerns (MOTF, co-founder), and the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. In 1992, Thomas was a member of the board of directors of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force (NGLTF). The files date from 1992 and relate to a board meeting held in St. Louis and to a visit by NGLTF executive director, Urvashi Vaid. Thomas served on the board of the ACLU of Eastern Missouri from approximately 1992 to 1995. The few items from the ACLU relate to the board’s legislative committee and include a December 1994 reply from Mark Sableman concerning Thomas’ resignation from the board. Files relating to Thomas’ membership in the Gay and Lesbian Press Association (GLPA) comprise a large part of the series. He served as the Midwest region’s representative on the GLPA board of directors in 1984/1985 and as president in 1985/1986. The GLPA correspondence files relate to board activities and to membership, dating from Thomas’s terms on the board and as president. Membership files include applications, lists, and notes on strategies to gain more association and/or associate members. There are examples of newsletters and publications from associate GLPA members or from those groups targeted for recruitment. Other files include copies of the 1981 bylaws and articles of incorporation for the organization, board meeting minutes from May 1984 to March 1987, minutes of the July 1986 general meeting over which Thomas presided, and planning materials and a summary for the Midwest regional meeting held in St. Louis in January 1983. While a student at Oberlin College, Thomas was active with the Gay Academic Union (GAU). He continued this affiliation through the GAU St. Louis Chapter after he graduated. There are copies of the chapter’s bylaws and the constitution along with brochures and meeting information relating to the hotline started by the group. Two St. Louis community political organizations with which Thomas was involved included ACTION, active in 1991 and 1992 which worked with city wards, and the Gay and Lesbian Community Group, active briefly from late 1991 to 1992. This was a small group that worked to ensure gay and lesbian participation in St. Louis city government. In April 1991, Thomas wrote to Jon Barnett, Tom Chorlton, John Hawkins, and Pat O’Leary about meeting to brainstorm plans for a statewide organization for Missouri’s gay and lesbian community (B17/f.11). The results were two meetings, Focus I and Focus II, held in July and October, 1991, respectively. In January 1992, the first meeting of the Missouri Task Force for Lesbian and Gay Concerns (MOTF) was held. Thomas agreed to raise funds for a permanent lobbyist, Tom Chorlton, in Jefferson City, who could work toward MOTF’s goals. There are memos and correspondence which relate to the organization’s early days and some internal strife. Several other files which relate to Thomas’ interest in politics and to current affairs include his testimony in 1991 before the St. Louis County Council regarding a proposed hate crimes law (B17/f.25). The CBS documentary Gay Power, Gay Politics aired in 1980 and stirred controversy with its content. Thomas wrote letters of complaint to CBS, to KMOX (the local CBS affiliate), to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, and to the National Gay Task Force, which condemned the program (B16/f.4). There are also files relating to politicians, John Anderson and Edward Kennedy. The correspondence file includes a few letters and greeting cards along with some letters and enclosures which refer to current events. In a 1998 letter, the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) awarded Thomas their Leadership Award. He received a certificate of appreciation for presenting at the 1993 Edison Electric Institute’s Diversity / Affirmative Action Conference in September (B16/f.6). In 1995, Thomas was one of four recipients of the Stonewall Award which included a cash prize. The Anderson Prize Foundation established the award in 1990 to “acknowledge and reward individuals who have contributed to the gay and lesbian community” (1995 Fact Sheet, B17/f.23). The file includes a press kit, correspondence, and news clippings. There is also a newspaper article which celebrates Thomas and the News-Telegraph’s 10th anniversary in 1991 (B17/f.8). The Administration series relates to staff and business activities necessary to run the newspaper from its St. Louis office. Files are arranged alphabetically by topic and date from 1981 to 1999. The series includes correspondence, advertising client files, general business records such as marketing and finance materials, files on staff and contributors, article research files, and staff memos. The Advertising client files mostly date from 1988 to 1990 and contain correspondence, notes, some contracts, and additional examples of display advertising and outreach tools from the clients such as brochures and press releases. Additional advertising files related to display advertisement sizes and rates, marketing items used to generate ad sales, and sales graphs. Samples of advertising account invoices and accounts sent to collection round out the advertising files. The articles/research files are topical files which contain primarily notes accompanied by press releases, news clippings, meeting and organizational information, and possibly drafts of articles. It is difficult to discern to which staff member/s the various notes and files belonged. It is also unclear if any of the articles in these files were published. Due to the additional content of typed and handwritten notes and some interview transcripts resulting in an illustration of work methods, these files remain separate from the topical files in the News Resources series. A small number of the articles/research do not contain notes or article drafts. They do include a variety of sources about a narrow topic, such as controversy about city prosecutor George Peach. The files on police-community relations (B20/f.2-3) are another example. In 1992, following the beating of Rodney King by Los Angeles police officers, the Board of Governors for Law Enforcement Officials of St. Louis asked Piasa Publishing staff to participate in an ad hoc committee on community relations. The community relations committee created three task forces and asked organizations to send a representative to each one. These files include correspondence, meeting agenda and agenda items, and reports, but no article notes or drafts. The correspondence files in the Administration series are mostly letters received at the News-Telegraph office and are divided into three primary sections: general, letters to the editor, and letters addressed to Jim Thomas. There are also letters addressed as “open letter” or “letter to the community” (B22/f.2) and blank form letters for mass mailing sent by the News-Telegraph, (B20/f.17). The general correspondence is either addressed to staff members other than Thomas, or to the News-Telegraph generally, not to one specific individual. Letters to the editor are addressed as “Dear Editor.” While some of these letters were sent for publication, others simply commented upon recent issues of the paper, included content proposals or unsolicited articles, or pertained to operation matters and business solicitations. Letters addressed to Jim Thomas often overlap with the content found in letters to the editor but also address a wide range of topics. Specific items that demonstrate this difference include a 30 August 1988 letter which guarantees the salary of a staff member (B22/f.7) and a 22 July 1990 letter which reveals more of the News-Telegraph’s early financial situation by requesting repayment of an interest-free loan made approximately eight years earlier (B22/f.9). Finally, a 30 January 1999 letter enclosed photographs of demonstrations during the Pope’s visit to St. Louis (B22/f.11). Staff memos cover a large range of topics, including but not limited to, a mouse in the office, ads sales, story topics, distribution issues, staff changes, and the financial health of the paper. The bulk of the staff memos date from 1994 to 1998, which was a time of growth for the News-Telegraph. Staff changes occurred and memos reflect how those changes were dealt with in St. Louis and sometimes in the Kansas City office. A memo dated 16 July 1993 informed staff of the decision to move from a monthly to a semi-monthly publication schedule beginning in October. In 1994, the paper participated in strategic planning activities due in part to monthly budget deficits which sometimes led Jim Thomas to alert staff to the paper’s cash flow issues (1/12/95 memo). The staff and contributor files contain mostly articles submitted to the paper along with some correspondence and notes. The contributors were often free-lance writers who regularly submitted articles to the News-Telegraph. It is difficult to discern if any of these articles were published. There are several files from Lisa Neff, who was also an associate editor for a time, which include articles as well as correspondence and research. Finally, several files in the Administration series concern the general business of the paper such as distribution and relocation of its St. Louis office. In late 1991, Thomas reported phone threats received from the Ku Klux Klan at the St. Louis office to the police (B23/f.5). The News-Telegraph published announcements and classified ads from the public in several sections. There are samples for submissions to the Calendar, Directory, Regular Stuff, and Personal sections. In 1992, the personal ads also included a voice mail service called Personal Connection. The Production series includes copy files, final and raw, and a small number of topical files relating to the layout and production of the newspaper. Topical files appear alphabetically after the copy files, which are arranged chronologically and comprise the largest portion of the series. The series dates from December 1981 to January 2000. However, there are gaps in the copy files consisting of scattered single issues and larger gaps which include: October-November 1981, August-September 1982, April-May 1984, May-August 1989, and all of 1996 except the second December issue. The News Telegraph moved to a semi-monthly publishing schedule in October 1993. The semi-monthly copy files are coded with the two-digit year designation followed by the month number and “A” or “B,” e.g. 9310-A and 9310-B. The copy files are comprised of final copy and raw copy. Generally, in publishing final copy includes edits while raw copy does not include final edits. The copy files do not contain everything published in each issue. Therefore, it is recommended to use these files in conjunction with published issues of the News-Telegraph, which are located in the Missouri Historical Society Library. Some of the copy files include transcripts of interviews, which are not available in other series in the collection. For example, there is a partial transcript for an interview which appeared in the January 1988 HUZZA Magazine, Section B of this issue (B30/f.9). Both types of copy files sporadically contain classified ads, calendar and directory listings, and a very small number of photographs. The contents of the copy files were kept by the editor and the files’ contents are dependent upon what items each editor decided to retain in these working files. After the News-Telegraph began publishing semi-monthly in October 1993, Jim Thomas became managing editor and the associate editors oversaw content. Items within all the copy files are in no particular order with the exception of story lists which, if present, appear at the front of the file. The story lists are often listed in sections (St. Louis, Kansas City, regional, national, and features) and include the story’s electronic file name and possibly the author’s last name. The final copy files include primarily the edited versions of articles, press releases, letters to the editor (which might indicate that the letters to the editor in the Administration series were not published), and other items published from 1981 to May 1992. The earliest final copy files occasionally contain internal production and layout worksheets. The 1990 to 1992 final copy files often include newsletters, which seem to have been used for the paper’s calendar section. The raw copy files contain the unedited versions of the items mentioned above and run from June 1992 to January 2000. Story lists generally appear less often in the raw copy files. Beginning in 1991, the calendar and events sections copy included press releases, newsletters, and even a few scattered organization meeting minutes. From 1997 through the last issue, the raw copy files contain primarily press releases and newsletters with some letters to the editor. There are fewer articles, presumably due to the use of electronic files and email. The topical files located at the end of the collection include miscellaneous undated articles that appear to have been separated from their copy files. There are also layout and placement worksheets from 1989 along with layout sheets for the 1989 Show Me Guide.