Dallas Morning News, 1955 - 2007

Series III is subdivided into two main subseries. The first comprises documents of Compton’s early career prior to the creation of the Focus section of the Dallas Morning News. Of interest in this series are interview notes of Compton and gubernatorial candidate W. Lee O’Daniel; staff information regarding Jim Lehrer, a reporter for the Dallas Morning News from 1958-1960 and the inner-workings of the Dallas Morning News. In particular, this subseries contains information regarding the Civil Rights movements and the changes made in language with regard to African-Americans. It also illustrates how newspaper reporters made changes in how reporting was done when an African-American was the subject, especially regarding reporting of crimes. The second subseries within Series III, includes the years 1976 through 1998. During this time, Compton was editor of the Focus and Books sections of the Dallas Morning News. Of interest in this series are the inner-workings of the Dallas Morning News, including the shift in updated technology and use of the computer; staff information; Pulitzer Prize winners from the Dallas Morning News, author information, and press kits of notable authors, such as Tim O’Brien, Norman Mailer, Daniel Quinn, and Donley Watt. This subseries is also worthy of attention because of the information contained about the creation of the Focus section and the years dedicated getting it approved, staffed, and the new policies that were needed for the payment of book reviewers and the status of complimentary books. In addition, this series is comprised of information regarding publishing, including correspondences to and from Compton and publishers.