Finding aid of the Leroy Aarons papers, 1890-2003, bulk 1999-2003
Coll2011.014
Finding aid prepared by Marc LaRocque
ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives
909 West Adams Boulevard
Los Angeles, California, 90007
(213) 741-0094
askone@ONEarchives.org
(c)2011
Title: Leroy Aarons Papers
Identifier/Call Number: Coll2011.014
Contributing Institution: ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives
Language of Material: English
Physical Description: 2.6 linear feet.2 archive boxes, 1 archive carton
Date (bulk): Bulk, 1999-2001
Date (inclusive): 1890-2003
Abstract: Grant documents, financial records, correspondence and e-mail, notes, published reports, organizational membership lists,
publicity documents, newspaper and magazine articles, lecture drafts, course syllabi, journalism resources, subject files,
floppy disks, images from newspapers and magazines, flyers, survey and content audit forms, and other material,1890 to 2003,
documenting journalist Leroy Aarons' tenure as director of the USC Annenberg School of Journalism's Project for the Study
of Sexual Orientation in the News (SOIN) from 1999 to 2003. The collection documents Aarons' central role in developing and
implementing the USC/Annenberg School's SOIN project and its three constituent parts: a model journalism course intended to
help students "to understand the complex issues around gay men and lesbians as represented in today's media"; a survey of
the perceptions of gay and lesbian journalists regarding their news organization's coverage of sexual orientation issues;
and a content audit of coverage of gay and lesbian issues in a sample of national newpapers.
Separated Materials
USC/Annenberg materials of a general nature, without relevance to SOIN, have been deaccessioned from the Leroy Aarons papers.
Items 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8, periodicals with no clear relevance to SOIN or gay and lesbian issues, have also been deaccessioned.
Items 2 and 9 may be found in the ONE Archive's periodicals collection.
1. Pamphlet reprint of
Los Angeles Times magazine profile of USC president Semple, (9/17/00)
2.
Lambda Report, vol. II/3, 7/1994
3.
The American Lawyer, July, 2001
4. Media Education Foundation, fall 2003 catalog
5.
Westways magazine, August 1999
6.
Teen People magazine, October 1999
7.
Columbia Journalism Review, December 2001
8.
Time/Princeton Review - College Guide 2000,Nov. 1999
9.
The Advocate - October 23, 2001
Restricted student work has been pulled from the collection and filed with the collection's accession records.
Biographical note
Leroy Aarons was born in a working class neighborhood of New York, New York in 1933. He graduated from Brown University, then
later earned a graduate degree in journalism from Columbia University. Aarons spent 14 years as an editor and journalist with
the
Washington Post before leaving in 1976 to work with friend and colleague Robert C. Maynard at the Summer Institute for Minority Journalists
in Berkeley, California. In 1983 Maynard purchased the
Oakland Tribune and invited Aarons to join the staff. The
Tribune won a Pulitzer Prize and was recognized as a model of diversity in journalism during Aaron's tenure as executive editor and
vice president for news.
In 1989 the American Society of Newspaper Editors (ASNE) asked Aarons, known for his commitment to diversity in journalism,
to coordinate a confidential survey of gay journalists. The survey was intended to document respondents' perceptions of coverage
of gay and lesbian issues in their newspapers, as well as working conditions in their newsrooms. When Aarons reported the
survey findings to an audience of peers at the ASNE convention in 1990, he also revealed that he was gay, making him the "first
openly gay top-level editor at any mainstream daily newpaper in the country" (obituary of Aarons by Jon Thurber;
Los Angeles Times, Nov. 30, 2004). Later in the same year Aarons and several colleagues founded the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association
(NLGJA).
After leaving the
Tribune in 1990, Aarons undertook a number of writing projects, including researching and writing his acclaimed book
Prayers for Bobby. He also co-authored a docu-drama about the release of the Pentagon Papers (1991) with prominent journalist and academic
Geoffrey Cowan, later dean of the University of Southern California's Annenberg School of Journalism. In 1998, Aarons collaborated
with Cowan on a grant from philanthropist Michael Huffington that resulted in the creation of the Program for the Study of
Sexual Orientation in the News (SOIN) at the USC Annenberg School. Appointed director in 1999, Aarons facilitated a grant
proposal to the Ford Foundation that secured funding for three projects: the development of an undergraduate journalism class
intended to "prepare future professionals to bring context and balance to coverage of gay and lesbian issues"; a reprise of
the earlier ASNE survey of gay and lesbian journalists, this time under the auspices of the Annenberg School and the NLGJA;
and a content audit of coverage of lesbian and gay issues in six nationally or regionally significant newspapers.
Leroy Aarons remained a part of the SOIN program until his death in 2004.
Sources:
Leroy Aarons Papers, Coll2011-014, ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives, Los Angeles, California. (Box 1, folder 8)
Scope and content
The Leroy Aarons papers comprise grant documents, financial records, correspondence and e-mail, notes, published reports,
organizational membership lists, publicity documents, survey and content audit forms, clipped and copied articles, lecture
drafts, course syllabi, journalism teaching resources, subject files, 3.5 inch floppy disks, and other material, 1890 to 2003,
documenting journalist Leroy Aarons' tenure as director of the University of Southern California Annenberg Journalism School's
Project for the Study of Sexual Orientation in the News (SOIN), from 1999-2003. Aarons played a central role in developing
and implementing the USC/Annenberg School SOIN project and its three constituent parts: an undergraduate course, Journalism
499, intended to help students "to understand the complex issues around gay men and lesbians as represented in today's media";
the "New Millenium Survey" of the perceptions of gay and lesbian journalists regarding their news organization's coverage
of sexual orientation issues; and a newspaper content audit of coverage of gay and lesbian issues appearing in a sample of
national newpapers.
The collection is divided into four series:
(1) The SOIN Project and Administration series comprises documents pertaining to funding, financial accounting, publicity,
and project agendas for SOIN.
(2) The Journalism 499 series documents Leroy Aarons' development of an undergraduate journalism course intended to develop
an historically informed, analytical approach to the news media's treatment of gay and lesbian issues.
(3) The New Millenium Survey series documents the context and implementation of a survey exploring the attitudes and experience
of gays and lesbians employed in the journalism profession, a follow-up to two earlier studies.
(4) The Newspaper content audit series comprises documents connected to a quantitative and qualitative audit of coverage of
gay and lesbian issues appearing in six urban newpapers during the month of October 1999.
Access
The collection is open to researchers. There are no access restrictions.
Publication Rights
Researchers wishing to publish material must obtain permission in writing from ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives as the
physical owner of the material. Note that permission to publish does not constitute copyright clearance. ONE National Gay
& Lesbian Archives can grant copyright clearance only for those materials for which we hold copyright. It is the responsibility
of the researcher to obtain copyright clearance for all other materials from the copyright holder(s).
Processing Information
Processing this collection has been funded by a generous grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Processed by
Marc LaRocque, July 2011.
Preferred Citation
Box #, folder #, Leroy Aarons papers, Coll2011.014, ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives, Los Angeles, California
Acquisition Information
Donated on June 8, 2010 by USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Aarons, Leroy
Gay activists--United States--California
Gay journalists
Gays in higher education
Journalism
Mass media and gays--United States
SOIN Project and Administration Series 1.
Bulk, 1999-2002
1993-2003
Physical Description: 0.15 linear foot
Scope and Contents note
This series consists of grant proposals, grant related documents, financial accounting records, project publicity, biographical
material, notes, correspondence, timelines, and assorted USC/Annenberg School items that document the funding and development
of the USC/Annenberg School of Journalism "Project for the Study of Sexual Orientation in the News" (SOIN). The bulk of the
series documents aspects of the conceptualization and early development of SOIN's three constituent projects, first in a grant
proposal directed to the Ford Foundation, then in notes and correspondence subsequent to the grant award. Also notable is
biographical material on Leroy Aarons, as well as three columns Aarons wrote in the mid-1990s for
Alternatives, the newsletter of the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association.
Arrangement note
This series is arranged sequentially, proceeding from (1) solicitation of project funds, to (2) financial accounting of project
funds and expenses, to (3) publicity and general correspondence, and (4) project overviews, agendas, and timelines.
Box 1, Folder 1
Huffington grant; Ford Foundation research
Bulk, 1998-1999
1998-1999
Box 1, Folder 2
Ford Foundation grant proposal; award letter
1999-2000
Box 1, Folder 3
Ford Foundation grant modifications
2000
Box 1, Folder 4
Grant proposals and awards
2000-2003
Box 1, Folder 5-6
USC Financial accounting
1999-2000
Physical Description: [2 folders]
Box 1, Folder 7
USC Information services - statement of account
2000-2001
Box 1, Folder 8
SOIN/Leroy Aarons publicity
1999
Scope and Contents note
Includes biographical information on Leroy Aarons, as well as three photocopied articles Aarons wrote as president of the
National Gay and Lesbian Journalists Association for its newsletter,
Alternatives, during the mid-1990s. The three issues of
Alternativeshave been retained in ONE's periodical collection.
Box 1, Folder 9
General correspondence
1999-2003
Box 1, Folder 10
Notes: agenda and budget for SOIN project(s)
circa 1999
Box 1, Folder 11
Project timelines
1999-2000
Box 1, Folder 12
USC/Annenberg School - assorted items
1999-2003
Journalism 499 Series 2.
Bulk, 1999-2000
1890-2003
Physical Description: 0.85 linear foot
Scope and Contents note
This series comprises notes, academic papers, syllabi, lecture drafts, copied and clipped articles, copied graphic images,
timelines, e-mail, student work, teaching resource material, project/topic files, and other items documenting Leroy Aarons'
development of Journalism 499, a USC Annenberg School of Journalism undergraduate course. The class was intended to serve
as a model for preparing students to "understand the complex issues around gay men and lesbians as represented in today's
media." The bulk of the series comprises Aaron's course development notes and lecture drafts, as well as subject files. Also
documented are a later adaptation of the course by instructor Laura Castenada, and general Annenberg School resources for
teaching ethics and diversity.
Arrangement note
The Journalism 499 series is divided into two subseries: (2.1) Course design; and (2.2) Subject files.
Course design Subseries 2.1.
Bulk, 1999-2000
1890-2003
Scope and Contents note
The bulk of the subseries comprises notes, primary and secondary source material, lecture drafts, notes concerning guest lecturers,
and other items documenting Aaron's development of Journalism 499, "Sexual Orientation Issues in the News," in 1999. Several
folders document a second version of the course Aarons taught in the fall semester of 2000 with co-instructor Vicki Torres.
There is also a syllabus for a related graduate seminar, a syllabus for a later version of the course taught by associate
professor Laura Castenada, and three folders focusing primarily on teaching diversity and ethics.
Arrangement note
The files are arranged in chronological order, beginning with Aarons' notes on course conceptualization and design, and ending
with resources for teaching diversity and ethics assembled by the Annenberg School diversity committee.
Box 1, Folder 13
Journalism 499 - course development notebook
1999
Box 1, Folder 15
Two articles regarding media prejudice toward gays and lesbians
1998
Box 1, Folder 16
Source material - Max Lerner (
New York Post)
circa 1950
Box 1, Folder 17
Lecture source material
1950-1998
Box 1, Folder 18
"Books to get" - booklist
1999
Box 1, Folder 19
Related syllabi and bibliographic resources
1989, 1999
Box 1, Folder 20
Journalism resources - National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association Stylebook
1997
Box 1, Folder 21
Gay and lesbian chronologies and timelines
1999
Box 1, Folder 22
Notes for course development and description
1999
Box 1, Folder 23
Notes on lecture development and source material
1999
Box 1, Folder 24-26
Lecture development, weeks 1-5
1999
Physical Description: [3 folders]
Box 1, Folder 27
"September lectures"
1999
Box 1, Folder 29-32
Lecture and source material, weeks 1-4
1999
Physical Description: [4 folders]
Box 1, Folder 33
Images for overhead transparencies
1890-1945
Box 1, Folder 34
Article copies for course reader
1964-1999
Box 1, Folder 35
Course reader
1964-1999
General Physical Description note: [spiral bound reader]
Box 1, Folder 36
Gay and lesbian web resources
circa 1999
Box 1, Folder 38
Guest lecturers/panel discussion
1999
Box 1, Folder 39
NLGJA plenary panel, "Hollywood's Gay Explosion" - notes and program
1998
Box 1, Folder 40
Guest lecturer - Phil Wilson
1999
Box 1, Folder 41
Journalism 599 - graduate seminar syllabus
2000
Box 1, Folder 42
Journalism 499 - syllabus (with Vicki Torres)
2000
Box 1, Folder 43
Course remarks and administrative items (with Vicki Torres)
2000
Box 1, Folder 44
Journalism 499 - introductory remarks (Aarons and Torres)
2000
Box 1, Folder 45
'00 Press - analysis of gay coverage
2000
Box 1, Folder 46
Notes and material regarding AIDS, gay African-Americans
2000
Box 1, Folder 47
Journalism 468, syllabus and course evaluation; Journalism 499, flyer
2001, 2002
Box 1, Folder 48
USC/Annenberg diversity committee - teaching resources
2001-2002
Box 1, Folder 49
Journalism resources - ethics, employment
2002
Box 1, Folder 50
Latinos and news media
1998-2003
Subject files Subseries 2.2.
1992-2003
Scope and Contents note
This subseries comprises topical folders containing photocopies and clippings of articles, newsletters, pamphlets and other
items collected and organized by Aarons as reference material for teaching. Asterisked folders contain assorted material titled
by the archivist.
Arrangement note
The files in this subseries are arranged alphabetically by topic.
Box 1, Folder 52
AIDS - Kaiser Foundation/Wall Street Journal*
1997-1998
Box 1, Folder 54
Christian Right
1998-1999
Box 1, Folder 56
Gays/lesbians and corporate America*
1991-2000
Box 1, Folder 57
Daily Trojan (USC student newspaper) - Lesbian and gay themed articles*
1997-1999
Box 1, Folder 59
Gays/entertainment
1995-2003
Box 1, Folder 60
Politics, journalism, Hollywood*
1992-1999
Box 1, Folder 62
African American HIV Training Institute (USC)*
1999-2000
Box 1, Folder 64
'00 Lifestyle (football captain)
1999-2000
Box 1, Folder 66
'00 gays in military
2000
Box 1, Folder 67
NewsWatch (San Francisco State University) - articles regarding gays and lesbians/journalism*
1997, 1998
Box 1, Folder 70
Rolling Stone article and related material*
2003
Box 1, Folder 75
Assorted articles*
1996-2002
New Millenium Survey Series 3.
Bulk, 1999-2000
1990-2000
Physical Description: 0.15 linear foot
Scope and Contents note
This series comprises published reports, organizational membership and organization lists, correspondence, survey drafts,
a powerpoint presentation, and publicity for the "New Millenium Survey." The survey was intended to assess gay and lesbian
journalists' perceptions of coverage of sexual orientation issues by the news organizations they worked for. The series documents
the planning and implementation of the 2000 survey, which was intended to build on a survey of gay and lesbian print journalists
(also directed by Aarons) conducted in 1990 by the National Association of Newspaper Editors (ASNE). A report from the earlier
survey, as well as a report on a 1995 survey of gay and lesbian journalists working in electronic media, are included in the
series.
Arrangement note
Files in this series are arranged chronologically, beginning with the American Society of Newspaper Editors survey publication
of 1990, proceeding through development of the 2000 survey, and ending with the published survey report (2000).
Box 2, Folder 1
"Alternatives: Gays and lesbians in the newsroom" - ASNE report
1990
Box 2, Folder 2
"Another Perspective: A Report on Gay and Lesbian Issues in Electronic Journalism"
1995
Box 2, Folder 3
"Journalism and Mass Communication Accreditation, 1999-2000"
1999-2000
General note
Publication of the Accrediting Council on Educaton in Journalism and Mass Communication
Box 2, Folder 4
National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association - membership lists
1999
Box 2, Folder 5
Broadcast Media companies
1999
Box 2, Folder 6
Advisory committee correspondence regarding New Millenium Survey and newspaper content audit
1999
Box 2, Folder 7-8
New Millenium drafts, with commentary
1999
Box 2, Folder 9
New Millenium Survey: final draft and announcement
2000
Box 2, Folder 10
Millenium survey results; draft of survey release publicity
2000
Box 2, Folder 11
Outline of comments for PowerPoint - survey results presentation
2000
General Physical Description note: [text, transparencies, 3 floppy disks]
Box 2, Folder 12
"Lesbians and Gays in the Newsroom: 10 Years Later"
2000
Newspaper Content Audit Series 4.
Bulk, 1999-2000
1998-2000
Physical Description: 1.27 linear feet.
Scope and Contents note
The Newspaper Content Audit series comprises notes, correspondence, methodology models, photocopied articles, and article
and image coding sheets connected to an audit of coverage of gay and lesbian issues in six American newspapers during one
month, October 1999. In each of the newspapers, every article with a focus on same-sex sexual orientation issues was photocopied,
then paired with a 16 page article and image coding sheet. The coding sheet recorded the analysis of each article according
to a set of quantitative and qualitative criteria. An index for articles audited in each newspaper appears at the beginning
of each new section.
Arrangement note
The first three folders in this series are concerned with design and methodology of the newspaper content audit. The remaining
folders involve the audit of the six newpapers. The articles and attached code sheets for each newspaper are arranged in ascending
chronological order.
Box 2, Folder 16-23
San Antonio Express News
1999-2000
Physical Description: [8 folders]
Box 2, Folder 24-25
The Saint-Louis Post-Dispatch
1999-2000
Physical Description: [2 folders]
Box 3, Folder 1-4
The Saint-Louis Post-Dispatch
1999-2000
Physical Description: [4 folders]
Box 3, Folder 5-11
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
1999-2000
Physical Description: [7 folders]
Box 3, Folder 12-19
The Los Angeles Times
1999-2000
Physical Description: [8 folders]
Box 3, Folder 20-24
The News Journal (Wilmington, Delaware)
Physical Description: [5 folders]
Box 3, Folder 25-38
The New York Times
1999-2000
Physical Description: [14 folders]