James R. Polk Papers, 1970s-2000s

Summary

Creator:
Polk, James Ray
Date:
1970s-2000s
Extent:
73 Linear Feet, 4 item(s) 4 framed items, 266 moving_image(s) 125 VHS cassettes, 49 MII cassettes, 25 Betacam cassettes, 7 BetacamSP cassettes, 22 U-matic cassettes, 2 digital Betacam cassettes, 1 bluRay disc, 42 DVDs, and 5 sound_recording(s) 5 audio cassettes
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

James R. Polk Papers. Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies, University of Georgia Libraries, Athens, Georgia, 30602-1641.

Background

Scope and content:

This collection contains files detailing stories in which Polk was involved. Polk's coverage of Watergate was published in the Washington Star, while later stories were featured on NBC and CNN. The collection also includes recordings of many of the stories Polk researched.

Biographical / historical:

James R. Polk was a journalist known for investigative reporting and coverage of American political corruption and fraud. Over the course of his career, he covered the Ray Donovan investigations, the Bert Lance controversy, the Abscam scandal, and the financial dealings of John Zaccaro, husband of 1984 Democratic vice presidential nominee Geraldine Ferraro. In 1974, Polk won the Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting for his coverage of the Watergate scandal for the Washington Star. He later became an investigative journalist for CNN.

Arrangement:

This collection retains the creator's original filing system. Files are mostly alphabetical within and between boxes. Post-Watergate files are color coded, with series and story titles written in blue and subject headings written in red.

Detailed inventories are available for boxes 1-54. Boxes 55-72 are labeled with the name of the first and last folder in the box, which may not fit alphabetically with the previous boxes. A typical box may contain multiple files from 3-5 different investigative pieces.

Access and use restrictions

Restrictions:

Some files in this collection may contain identifiable information about private persons. If found, the user is responsible for bringing their existence to the attention of the reading room proctor.

This collection contains audiovisual materials. A list of recordings can be accessed at: https://bmac.libs.uga.edu/Detail/collections/3778. Reference copies of the audiovisual recordings are available upon request. Research requests will be filled as soon as possible and will be dependent upon the condition of the recordings.

Preferred citation:

James R. Polk Papers. Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies, University of Georgia Libraries, Athens, Georgia, 30602-1641.