Dayton Daily News Archive (MS-458)
Scope and Content
The collection documents the local and regional history of Dayton and the Miami Valley in Ohio through materials generated by the Dayton Journal Herald and the Dayton Daily News, with the bulk of materials dating from 1930-1980.
The Dayton Daily News retains its digital photographs from the 1990s to present. The majority of the collection is black and white photographs. However, the collection also includes some color photographs, color slides, negatives of various sizes, documents, oversize photographs, administrative materials, and a few bound volumes of newspapers. General topics include: personalities (people), places, events, sports, schools and universities, churches, local governments, businesses, restaurants, hotels, etc. Particularly notable people and topics have their own "VIP" Files, which bring together items from various subseries (such as Black and White Photos and Color Photos) into a single location.
The collection is arranged into six series, each of which have their own Scope and Content Notes providing more detailed description at the series and subseries level.
Dates
- Creation: 1890 - 2004
- Creation: Majority of material found within 1930 - 1980
Creator
- Dayton daily news (Organization)
Restrictions on Access
The Dayton Daily News Archive is stored off-site. Please contact the Archives staff at 937-775-2092 or library-archives@wright.edu with your research topic at least three business days in advance of visiting to allow time to retrieve files.
Restrictions on Use
Copyright restrictions apply. Permission to publish, quote or reproduce must be secured from the repository and the copyright holder.
Per the deed of gift (2008): Dayton Newspapers, Inc. (DNI) retains copyright ownership in all donated materials and may continue to use all such materials for any purpose (print, internet, or any other medium). Wright State University (WSU) will make donated materials available to the public under terms consistent with its general archive policies. WSU will manage DNI copyright ownership through established image access policies and procedures, including image use agreements, standard use fees, and use of the credit line, "Courtesy of Wright State University, Dayton Daily News Archive." Requests for use of images in non-profit projects will be approved by WSU based on DNI guidelines. Requests for use of images in commercial or for-profit projects will be reviewed and approved by DNI prior to sale.
History of Dayton Daily News
James Middleton Cox founded the Dayton Daily News in 1898 when he purchased the Dayton Evening News and renamed it the following year. Cox was a prominent name in the newspaper business, but he was also notably the Democratic Party's candidate for U.S. President in the election of 1920. Cox's running mate for vice president was Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who was elected president in 1932. Cox was governor of Ohio from 1913-1915 and 1917-1921. The Dayton Daily News expanded with a Sunday edition debuting on November 2, 1913. In 1948, James Cox purchased The Journal and The Herald, from the Herrick-Kumler Company and in 1949 merged them as The Journal Herald, which continued as a morning paper and was considered more conservative than the Dayton Daily News. The Dayton Daily News circulated as an evening paper. Cox ran both the Dayton Daily News and The Journal Herald out of the same building in downtown Dayton. It wasn’t until September 15, 1986, that The Journal Herald and the Dayton Daily News were merged together to form the Dayton Daily News and Journal-Herald, a morning paper. However, the merged title only lasted through the end of 1987, when the Journal-Herald portion of the name was dropped. Award winning reporters for the Dayton Daily News include Russell Carollo and Jeff Nesmith, who won the Pulitzer Prize in 1998 for their reporting on mismanagement in the military health care system. Mike Peter, a cartoonist known for his strip Mother Goose and Grimm, also won a Pulitzer Prize in 1981 for editorial cartooning. Tom Archdeacon, Si Burick, Ritter Collett, Clem Hamilton, Dale Huffman, Hal McCoy, John Scalzi, Myron Scott, Dennis Shere, D.L. Stewart, Charley Stough III, and Dann Stupp are among many notable writers who worked at the paper.
- 1898
- James M. Cox purchased the "Dayton Evening News"
- 1899
- "Dayton Evening News" was renamed "Dayton Daily News"
- November 2, 1913
- The "Dayton Daily News" expanded with a Sunday edition
- 1948
- Cox purchased "The Journal" and "The Herald" from the Herrick-Kumler Company
- 1949
- "The Journal" and "The Herald" were merged as "The Journal Herald", which was a morning paper
- September 15, 1986
- "Journal Herald" and "Dayton Daily News" merged to form "Dayton Daily News and Journal-Herald"
- 1988
- "Journal-Herald" was dropped from the name and it became "Dayton Daily News"
Extent
913 linear feet
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
This collection consists of photographs, negatives, and documents generated by the Dayton Daily News and the former Journal Herald in the twentieth century. The newspaper was founded by James M. Cox, a three-term Ohio governor and presidential candidate. The archive documents the local and regional history of Dayton and the Miami Valley in Ohio and its role on a national scale, particularly during the period 1930 to 1980. This history serves as a rich example of American ingenuity and perseverance in the twentieth century. Dayton, considered the cradle of invention in the early 1900s, generated more patents than any other city in America. Creativity in technology, local government, literature, music, and dance are documented in the photographs. Dayton was the site of the invention of the airplane, the creation and implementation of the city manager form of government, and the first cash register. Its past includes a strong history of the women's club movement, innovative industrial development, dynamic political figures, ground-breaking aviation technology, a vital military establishment, strong progressivism, and diplomatic milestones, such as the Dayton Peace Accords. It was the first city to establish a conservancy district to protect the city from devastating flood waters. The spirit and history of Dayton's innovators and the everyday lives of its citizens are told in the photographs and stories recorded in the newspaper.
Statement of Arrangement
The collection is arranged into 6 series and several sub-series:
- Series I: Personality Files
- Series II: Subject Photographs
- Series III: Dayton Daily News Corporate Files
- Series IV: Negatives, Aperture Cards, and Slides
- Series V: Electronic Records and Digital Photos
- Series VI: Library
Technical Requirements
A light box and/or the microfilm reader/scanner in the reading room may be used to view negatives, aperture cards, and slides in the collection.
Acquisition Information
The Dayton Daily News transferred legal ownership of the collection to Wright State University on October 8, 2009.
Appraisal
Starting in Spring 2022, following discussion and agreement with Cox Media, a long-term reappraisal project for copyrighted photographs throughout the collection. These photos are being weeded and no longer retained: photos from non-local news sources (e.g., Associated Press, Acme, United Press International, World Wide Photos, etc.), as well as publicity photos for non-local celebrities, public figures, actors/actresses, musicians and musical groups, and television and film productions. This process is ongoing.
In Summer 20024, following reappraisal and discussion with Cox Media, all newspaper clippings were discarded.
Existence and Location of Copies
Selected materials from this vast collection have been digitized and are available online in CORE Scholar at https://corescholar.libraries.wright.edu/special_ms458/.
Separated Material
Fifty-two books on aviation and local topics of high interest were separated from the library series (series VI), cataloged, and are available in the reading room. These items have a note in the catalog record indicating their provenance with the Dayton Daily News Archive.
A binder of original planning documents and photographs from the Miami Valley Atomic Energy Show was discovered in the library series, separated, and processed as its own collection, MS-484.
Processing Information
The majority of the collection is arranged to folder level but only described to the box level. That is, there is no typed folder listing for the majority of the collection.
However, file level listings are available for all of the files in Series IV: Negatives, Aperture Cards, and Slides series, as well as Series VI: Library.
Subject
- Cox, James M. (James Middleton), 1870-1957 (Person)
- Dayton journal herald (Organization)
- Dayton daily news (Organization)
Genre / Form
- Aperture cards
- Brochures
- Negatives (photographs)
- Newspapers
- Pamphlets
- Photographs
- Publications (documents)
- Reports
- Slides (photographs)
Geographic
- Dayton (Ohio) -- Race relations
- Dayton (Ohio) -- History
- Dayton (Ohio) -- Newspapers
- Dayton (Ohio) -- Pictorial works
- Miami River Valley (Ohio) -- 20th century -- History
- Miami River Valley (Ohio) -- 20th century -- Pictorial works
- Montgomery County (Ohio) -- History -- 20th century
- Ohio -- Politics and government -- 20th century -- Pictorial works
- Ohio -- Social Life and Customs -- 20th century -- Pictorial works
- Wright-Patterson Air Force Base (Ohio)
Topical
- Aeronautics -- Ohio -- History
- American newspapers -- Ohio -- Dayton
- Arts, American -- Ohio
- Business -- Ohio
- Crime -- Ohio
- Education -- Ohio
- Holidays -- Ohio
- Inventors
- Journalism -- Ohio -- Dayton
- Law enforcement -- Ohio
- Newspaper publishing -- Ohio -- Dayton -- History
- Obituaries -- Ohio -- Dayton
Uniform Title
- Due to the limited research use and preservation issues, all newspaper clippings were discarded in Summer 2024, after discussion with and agreement by (including deed addendum) effect with Cox Media. This also included the majority of the Pamphlet Files, as well as microfiche copies of the clippings.
- Title
- Guide to the Dayton Daily News Archive (MS-458)
- Status
- In Progress
- Author
- Lisa Rickey
- Date
- 2024 October
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- Finding aid written in English.
- Sponsor
- Basic processing of the Dayton Daily News Archive was made possible through a generous two year grant from The National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) awarded in 2010.
Revision Statements
- 2014: Library series processed and finding aid revised by Toni Vanden Bos.
- 2024: Finding aid updated by Lisa Rickey to reflect significant weeding that has taken place over the previous few years.
Repository Details
Part of the Special Collections Repository
Wright State University Libraries
Special Collections and Archives
3640 Colonel Glenn Hwy
Dayton OH 45435-0001 USA
937-775-2092
library-archives@wright.edu
