Roone Arledge Papers, 1953-2002.

Series I: General, 1953-2002

This small series contains records with regard to Roone Arledge's career in the television industry as a whole. Within this series are articles about Roone Arledge, ABC NEWS, and ABC Sports, various awards Arledge received for his contributions to the field of broadcasting, personal records, such as his diploma from Columbia College and his military records, and speeches that he gave. There are also records pertaining to other news organizations in the United States, Europe, England, and Japan. Arledge was a board member of ESPN and A & E Television Networks and documents concerning his work for them may be found here as well.

Series II: Correspondence, 1954-2002

Series II is the largest of the collection. The letters held here date from Roone Arledge's time at ABC as head of both the sports and news division. In general, the correspondence, while large in bulk, is limited in content. The letters consist primarily of the type of letters an executive would be professionally obligated to send, such as congratulatory notes to colleagues within and outside of the company, thank you letters for corporate gifts, letters of inquiry from individuals wanting to work at ABC, and complaints from all manners of citizens. This series is divided into two subseries: Topical and Chronological. Please note that individuals listed in Subseries II.1 may be found in Subseries II.2.

Subseries II.1: Alphabetical, 1982-2001

Subseries II.1 is arranged alphabetical by an individual's last name or by topic. Letters listed by a name may be correspondence exchanged to and from that person or about that person. These individuals are mainly other ABC senior executives and administrative staff as well as numerous anchors. Notable individuals include Peter Jennings, Barbara Walter, Diane Sawyer, Ted Koppel, and Robert Iger.

Subseries II.2: Chronological, 1954-2002

The correspondence contained in this subseries is primarily external. The majority of the letters are requests for Arledge to research certain topics for potential inclusion in one of ABC's news shows, attend fundraising functions, accept ideas for new shows, or participate in a conference or lecture series. There are also complaints from viewers and, to a lesser extent, complimentary letters. The interoffice correspondence consists of lengthy memos, many of which have multiple notes written on them from different senior executives.

Series III: ABC News, 1977-2002

Series III is comprised of topical files documenting Roone Arledge's time as President of ABC News. Included are financial records, such as operating budgets and long range plans, program development for potential news shows, legal documents from several lawsuits, concerning predominantly the Food Lion and Philip Morris cases, and documents in regards to various trips Arledge conducted. Of note are Arledge's appointment books that were maintained by his personal assistant. These books contain Arledge's numerous appointments, meetings, trips and other activities related to his work at ABC. Often, names of individuals who participated in these activities are listed as well. The notebooks provide insight into how Arledge organized his time as well as show the amount of coordination involved in being President of ABC News.

Series IV: ABC Sports, 1961-2001

This small series holds topical files in regards to ABC Sports. General administrative records, records pertaining to the NFL, Monday Night Football, Wide World of Sports, and the network coverage of the Goodwill Games, championship boxing, and Major League Baseball are found in this series. There is also documentation of the many Olympic Games that were covered including Calgary, Seoul, Los Angeles, and Sarajevo. The Olympic records illustrate the amount of synchronization and planning that Roone Arledge and his team were required to do in order to cover the multiple competitions occurring at the event. Additionally, there are transcripts of testimonies by Howard Cosell and Roone Arledge, correspondence, and accompanying documents concerning the Subcommittee on Communications' review of the Communications Act of 1934, particularly with regard to in particular how television networks (and, in this case, sports divisions) obtained programming

Series V: Photographs, 1984-1994

There are a small number of photographs within this collection. Most were taken while Arledge was receiving some type of recognition, such as his honorary degree from Boston University. There are also photographs from his visit to the White House and the meeting with executives from the Japan-based television network, Nippon Hoso Kyokai.

Series VI: Realia, undated, 1989-1992

This series is composed of several objects such as commemorative stamps and an award given by the Wrestling Hall of Fame. Of particular interest are several sets of Russian nesting dolls acquired in one of Roone Arledge's many trips to Moscow. These matreshka " depict political leaders who have had an impact on Russia's cultural and political history. Examples include Mikhail Gorbachev and his cabinet members, Stalin, chief prosecutors (with the names of those that were killed during their time), and the successive heads of numerous secret police organizations leading up to the KGB.

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