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Time Inc. Corporate Editorial Records

Call Number

MS 3009-RG 6

Dates

1944-2003, inclusive
; 1959-1994, bulk

Creator

Time, inc.

Extent

200.75 Linear feet in 201 record cartons

Language of Materials

The documents in the collection are in English.

Abstract

The Corporate Editorial Records contain records from editorial staff working at the corporate level overseeing all publications at Time Inc. This includes the editor-in-chief, editorial director, corporate editor, assistant corporate editor, development editor, and special assistant.

Historical Note

The office of Editor-in-Chief did not exist at the formation of Time Inc. since the company initially had only Time as its major publication. Cofounders Henry R. Luce and Briton Hadden were both listed on the Time masthead as editors from 1923 through Hadden's death in 1929. Though both were listed, their agreement in practice was to swap positions as the heads of editorial and business.

After Hadden's death, John S. Martin became the managing editor of Time with Luce listed above him as editor. According to Robert T. Elson, writer of the authorized history of Time Inc., Luce was using the title of editor-in-chief in 1938 when he resigned as Time Inc.'s president and chief operating officer, but retained his roles as board chairman and editor-in-chief.

According to Time Inc.'s history on the company intranet, Luce restructured the management of the magazines in 1937, giving each a publisher, a managing editor, and an advertising director. This restructuring established the separation of the business side from the editorial side, respectively referred to as church and state by staff. Luce formalized these roles and the importance of separating them in a 1938 memo entitled "The Principles, Policies, Attitudes Etc. Which Govern and Motivate Time Inc." It is possible this restructuring is when Luce took on the title Editor-in-Chief although he isn't listed as such on magazine mastheads or in the annual reports until the 1940s. According to the intranet, Luce wrote a note to Hedley Donovan, his pick for next editor-in-chief, in 1962 reiterating the necessity of the independence of the office.

Editor-in-Chief was the top editorial position at Time Inc., overseeing editorial policies and standards for all titles and divisions including magazines, books and newspapers. The entire editorial side reported up to this position, and the editor-in-chief reported directly to the board. The publishing/business side reported up to top business executive which became the chief executive officer around 1960. In 1978, shortly before his retirement, Donovan presented a statement to the board to precisely define the role of editor-in-chief so that the office would be preserved for future holders. This statement was formally adopted as company policy in December 1978. In April 1986, succeeding Editor-in-Chief Henry Grunwald further updated the definition of the title in a statement to the board, a copy of which is in Ray Cave's files.

After the merger of Time Inc. and Warner Communications in 1990 when the magazine and books divisions became subsidiaries, the editor-in-chief began reporting to the head of Time Warner blurring the editorial and publishing/business separation. In 2014 when Time Inc. disaffiliated from Time Warner, the editor-in-chief was replaced by the chief content officer reporting to the chief executive officer which removed the separation altogether.

Citations:

Bill Hooper, email to Holly Deakyne, 10 June 2016.

Bill Hooper, email to Holly Deakyne, 8 May 2017.

Prendergast, Curtis, and Geoffrey Colvin. 1986. The World of Time Inc.: The Intimate History of a Changing Enterprise, 1960-1980. New York: Atheneum.

Arrangement

Organized into five series based on hierarchy of job titles and then chronologically by office holder with general office files at the end of the job title:

Series I. Editor-in-Chief Files

Series II. Editorial Director Files

Series III. Corporate Editor Files

Series IV. Assistant Corporate Editor Files

Series V. Development Editor Files

Series VI. Special Assistant to the Editor-in-Chief Files

Scope and Contents Note

The Corporate Editorial Records contain records from editorial staff working at the corporate level. This includes the editor-in-chief, editorial director, corporate editor, assistant corporate editor, development editor, and special assistant. These positions oversaw editorial work on all publications at Time Inc. Executive offices, including the top editorial staff, were located on the 34th floor in the Time & Life Building, and many folder titles and records reference the "34th floor" as shorthand for the corporate offices.

Records for some staff includes material from prior positions, mainly in the editorial offices of Time magazine.

Access Restrictions

Open to qualified researchers with the exception of restricted materials. Restricted materials may include privileged attorney correspondence; student records; medical records; personnel performance evaluations; contracts and agreements; records with personally identifiable information; and sealed court records. Restricted materials are located in boxes R9, R10, R12-R14, R17-R19, and R23. Materials created within the past 35 years also may be subject to restriction on a case-by-case basis.

Unreformatted audiovisual and digital material in the collection is not accessible.

Materials are stored offsite and advance notice is required for use.

Use Restrictions

Taking images of documents from the library collections for reference purposes by using hand-held cameras and in accordance with the library's photography guidelines is encouraged. As an alternative, patrons may request up to 20 images per day from staff.

Application to use images from this collection for publication should be made in writing to: Department of Rights and Reproductions, The New-York Historical Society, 170 Central Park West, New York, NY 10024-5194, rightsandrepro@nyhistory.org. Phone: (212) 873-3400 ext. 282.

Copyrights and other proprietary rights may subsist in individuals and entities other than the New-York Historical Society, in which case the patron is responsible for securing permission from those parties. For fuller information about rights and reproductions from N-YHS visit: https://www.nyhistory.org/about/rights-reproductions.

Preferred Citation Note

This record group should be cited as Time Inc. Corporate Editorial Records, MS 3009-RG 6, New-York Historical Society.

Location of Materials

Materials in this collection are stored offsite. For more information on making arrangements to consult them, please visit www.nyhistory.org/library/visit.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Gift of Time Inc. in 2015.

Related Archival Materials Note

This finding aid relates to just one record group of the Time Inc. Records. For information about the other record groups and for overall information about the archives, please see the Guide to the Time Inc. Records (MS 3009). The Henry Luce Papers (MS 3014) were acquired with the Time Inc. Records. The collection of books acquired with the records are cataloged as the Time Inc. Reference Library.

Related records outside of the New-York Historical Society include:

Hedley Donovan papers, University Archives, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities.

Henry A. Grunwald papers, Library of Congress Manuscript Division Washington, D.C., https://lccn.loc.gov/mm2005085225.

Collection processed by

Holly Deakyne

About this Guide

This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2023-08-21 15:49:12 -0400.
Using Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language: Description is in English

Processing Information Note

The Editor-in-Chief Hedley Donovan Files were processed by Holly Deakyne in 2017. The Personal subseries was processed in 2018. When present, the original folders were retained although some documents were transferred to archival containers in instances of overcrowding. Deakyne, Samantha Brown, and Melanie Rinehart created the inventory, and Deakyne created the descriptive notes for this series.

The Editor-in-Chief Henry Anatole Grunwald Files were processed by Deakyne in 2017. When present, the original folders were retained although some documents were transferred to archival containers in instances of overcrowding or when rehousing A-Z accordion files or binders. Binder covers were separated from the binder contents for housing purposes. Archival transfer forms were removed from the front of the transferred records and grouped together in a series. Deakyne created the inventory and other descriptive notes for this series. Deakyne processed additions to the General Correspondence in 2021 adding files from 1961-1962 and 1980.

The Editor-in-Chief Jason McManus Files were processed by Deakyne in 2017. When present, the original folders were retained although some documents were transferred to archival containers in instances of overcrowding. Archival transfer forms were removed from the front of the transferred records and grouped in a folder at the end of Subseries I.C.3. Order was imposed upon Subseries I.C.3. Deakyne created the inventory and other descriptive notes for this series.

The Editorial Director Ralph Graves Files: Office Files were processed by Deakyne in 2017. Books and Binders were processed in 2019 by Deakyne. The original folders were retained although some documents were transferred to archival containers in instances of overcrowding. Arrangement was imposed as there was no discernable original order. Deakyne created the inventory and other descriptive notes for this series. Boxes 2096-2098 of the Office Files were discovered and processed in 2018 by Deakyne.

The Editorial Director Gerald Korn Files were processed by Deakyne in 2018. The original folders were retained. Arrangement was determined by the original organizational scheme and refined. Deakyne created the inventory and descriptive notes for this series.

The Editorial Director Robert Lubar Files were processed by Deakyne in 2018. The original folders were retained. Arrangement was determined by the original organizational scheme and refined. Deakyne created the inventory and descriptive notes for this series.

The Editorial Director Ray Cave Files were initially processed by Rinehart in 2017. Brown made additions in 2017. The original folders were retained although some documents were transferred to archival containers in instances of overcrowding. Deakyne made revisions in 2017. The records were organized into subseries based on the original groupings of folders. Arrangement was determined by the original organizational schemes and refined. Rinehart, Brown, and Deakyne created the inventory, and Deakyne created the descriptive notes for this series. Boxes 2098-2099, 2593-2594, and 2679-2680 were discovered and processed in 2018 by Deakyne.

The Editorial Director Richard B. Stolley Files were initially processed by Brown in 2017. The original folders were retained although some documents were transferred to archival containers in instances of overcrowding or when removed from hanging folders. Deakyne made revisions in 2017. Arrangement was imposed upon Subseries II.E.1. and Subseries II.E.2. Brown and Deakyne created the inventory, and Deakyne created the descriptive notes for this series.

The Editorial Director General Files were initially processed by Brown in 2017. Brown created the inventory, and Deakyne created other descriptive notes for this series.

The Corporate Editor Jason McManus Files were processed by Deakyne in 2017. When present, the original folders were retained although some documents were transferred to archival containers in instances of overcrowding. Deakyne created the inventory and other descriptive notes for this series.

The Corporate Editor Gilbert Rogin Files were processed by Deakyne in 2017. When present, the original folders were retained although some documents were transferred to archival containers in instances of overcrowding. Deakyne created the inventory and other descriptive notes for this series.

The Corporate Editor James R. Gaines Files were processed by Brown in 2017. The records were rehoused from hanging folders, and the original titles recorded. Deakyne created the inventory and other descriptive notes for this series.

The Assistant Corporate Editor David Maness Files were processed by Brown in 2017. When present, the original folders were retained although some documents were transferred to archival containers in instances of overcrowding or when removed from hanging folders. The records were originally in two separate semi-alphabetical groups with similar topics and dates that were combined into one group. Brown created the inventory and other descriptive notes for this series.

The Special Assistant to the Editor-in-Chief Gilbert Rogin Files were processed by Deakyne in 2017. When present, the original folders were retained although some documents were transferred to archival containers in instances of overcrowding. Deakyne created the inventory and other descriptive notes for this series.

The Special Assistant to the Editor-in-Chief Marshall Loeb Files were processed by Brown in 2017 and further by Deakyne in 2019. When present and in good condition, the original folders were retained although some documents were transferred to new archival containers. Deakyne created the inventory and other descriptive notes for this series.

The Development Editor Isolde Motley Dead Magazine Proposal Files were processed by Deakyne in 2020. When present and in good condition, the original folders were retained although some documents were transferred to new archival containers. Deakyne created the inventory and other descriptive notes for this series.

Repository

New-York Historical Society
New-York Historical Society
170 Central Park West
New York, NY 10024