Dean B. Ellis Library Receives Historical Gift from John Robert Starr Family
The Dean B. Ellis Library on the Arkansas State University campus
at Jonesboro has received a major historical gift to its Department of
Archives and Special Collections, said Dr. Brady Banta, ASU archivist.
The family of renowned Arkansas journalist John Robert Starr has
donated its entire collection of his career and literary papers to
Arkansas State University.
A former Associated Press Bureau Chief in Little Rock, John
Robert Starr became managing editor of the Arkansas Democrat in 1978. He
joined a dynamic team that presided over one of the great newspaper wars
as the Democrat challenged the editorial, circulation and advertising
revenue dominance of the Arkansas Gazette, the oldest newspaper west of
the Mississippi. Ultimately, the Democrat won the war in 1991, and its
owner, Walter E. Hussman, bought the Gazette's assets to form one
statewide newspaper, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
Additionally, Starr, a Pine Bluff native who died in 2000, was
known to have a contentious relationship with former Arkansas Governor
and U.S. President Bill Clinton that was often highlighted in Starr's
seven-day-a-week column. Banta noted that Starr's frequent criticism of
and communications with Clinton add to the collection's historical
significance.
Banta said Dr. Joel Gambill, chair of the ASU Department of
Journalism, was pivotal in ASU's securing of the John Robert Starr
Collection.
"Dr. Gambill established contact with the Starr family about the
collected works-some 35 boxes of material," Banta noted.
"Because of
his efforts, ASU will now have another in-house collection that will
provide a fascinating look at the late-20th century political and
journalistic landscape of Arkansas."
Banta said it will take months to catalog the materials, and then
Gambill will have sole access to the collection for a period of up to
five years, in accordance with the family's wishes.
"My mom, my brother Johnny, my sister Linda and I are pleased
that my dad's papers are finding a permanent home at Arkansas State
under the direction of Dr. Joel Gambill," said Rusty Starr, publisher of
the Palatka (Fla.) Daily News and a 1976 journalism graduate of ASU.
"We believe the Little Rock newspaper war will be studied for
years to come, and we are very proud of my dad's role as editor of the
Arkansas Democrat. We also believe the papers include insights into my
dad's various writings, including his seven-day-a-week column that held
Arkansas politicians accountable for their actions.
These papers truly
belong to the people of Arkansas who my father endeavored to serve."
Banta said the collection-at the least-includes correspondence,
column clippings, information about the newspaper war from the
perspectives of both newspapers, and information on Gov. Clinton.
"Arkansas State University is honored and grateful that Norma
Starr and her family have entrusted Mr. Starr's papers to the
university's care," said ASU Interim System President Robert Potts, who
met with Rusty Starr earlier this year when he was on campus as featured
guest in the Journalism Alumni Speaker Series.
John Robert Starr was clearly one of the most prominent figures
in Arkansas journalism during an era of major changes in the newspaper
industry," said Dr. Dan Howard, Interim Chancellor for ASU-Jonesboro.
"The university community and countless others will benefit from the
Starr family's generosity."
The Arkansas State University Department of Archives and Special
Collections also houses collections from ASU's beginnings, with the V.C.
Kays and H.M. Cooley collections; regional interest collections,
including the Judd Hill and Mabel H. Gieseck collections; and political
papers of former Gov. Francis Cherry and former U.S. First District
Representative E.C. "Took" Gathings. Additionally, the department is
home to the Mid-South Center for Oral History.
Photo Caption: Dr. Joel Gambill, chair of the Department of Journalism,
(left) and Malissa Davis, Archives Assistant of the Dean B. Ellis
Library, look over items in the John Robert Star Collection.