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Cole (Rob) Papers
Coll2009-019
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Table of contents
Language of Material:
English
Contributing Institution:
ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives, USC Libraries, University of Southern California
Title: Rob Cole papers
creator:
Cole, Rob (Frederick Robinson)
Identifier/Call Number: Coll2009-019
Physical Description:
13.5 Linear Feet
Date (inclusive): 1950-2006 (bulk 1970-1985)
Date (bulk): bulk
Abstract: The collection consists of materials relating to the life of Rob Cole, in particular his career as editor of the
Advocate (1970-1974), as unnamed contributor to the
Forum of Southern California (1974), and as founder and first editor of
NewsWest (1975). The documents, including correspondence, draft articles, administrative, legal, and financial records, shed light
on Cole's role as the first professional newspaperman to run a gay newspaper in Los Angeles. The collection also contains
the newsroom copy of the
Advocate for 1967-1968, the two issues of the
Forum of Southern California (1974), an incomplete run of
NewsWest (1975-1977), and the single issue of Out! which succeeded
NewsWest in 1977. The print material is supplemented by a significant number of photographs published by or submitted to the
Advocate,
Forum, and
NewsWest. The collection also contains materials documenting Cole's association with the Christopher Street West Association, of which
he was a founder. The records include board minutes, souvenir programs, newsletter and public relations campaign materials,
photographs, videotapes, buttons, and t-shirts.
Physical Description: 1 records storage box + 8 cartons + 2 half-cartons + 7 oversize boxes + 3 shoeboxes.
The collection is open to researchers. There are no access restrictions.
Researchers wishing to publish materials must obtain permission in writing from ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives as the
physical owner. Researchers must also obtain clearance from the holder(s) of any copyrights in the materials. Note that ONE
National Gay and Lesbian Archives can grant copyright clearance only for those materials for which we hold the copyright.
It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain copyright clearance for all other materials directly from the copyright
holder(s).
Box #, folder/item #, Rob Cole papers, Coll2009-019, ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives, Los Angeles, California.
Gift of Robert W. McCoard, December 16, 2007, and August 17, 2008.
Cole's writings (box 3, folders 23-27, and box 4, folders 1-16), and certain materials relating to
NewsWest (box 1, folders 16-19 and 22-23, and box 5, folder 6) found in ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives, box 104-160, and added
to collection during processing. Collection processed by Michael P. Palmer, December 31, 2009.
Frederick Robinson Cole was born in Dallas,Texas, on July 27, 1930. A self-described "loner", he suppressed his homosexuality
until the September 1969, when, while on vacation in Los Angeles, he was introduced to the newly formed Metropolitan Community
Church. The following year, after 15 years as an editor at the
Dallas Times-Herald, he moved to Los Angeles and joined the
Advocate as news editor, the first news professional to work at the paper. During his tenure, Cole transformed the paper from a local
Los Angeles bar rag to a respectable newspaper with national news coverage. Cole not only assigned and edited stories, but
often wrote them, covering serious issues such as conditions for gays in jails, psychiatric abuse, and gays in religion.
Cole served on the
Advocate until mid-1971, when homesickness and conflicts with the owners convinced him to resign and return to his former job in Dallas.
He returned to the
Advocate in September 1971, but again resigned at the end of December 1973, after renewed conflicts with the owners. After working
on the short-lived GLBT newspaper
Forum of Southern California, he returned to the
Advocate for the third and final time, as managing editor, in September 1974. The
Advocate was purchased by David Goodstein late that same year. Although rumor suggested that Goodstein intended to retain him as editor,
Cole was fired in late December 1974, being replaced by John Preston. Early the next year, Goodstein moved the offices of
the
Advocate to the San Francisco Bay area and refocused the paper on national affairs, arts and entertainment, virtually eliminating
local Los Angeles coverage. To fill in the void left by the departure of the
Advocate, Cole founded the bi-weekly
NewsWest, the first issue of which appeared in May 1975.
NewsWest continued the tradition of the old
Advocate, including many of the same columnists, writers, and stringers, and with the addition of Pat Rocco as primary photographer.
However, Cole's relationship with fellow members of the board of the paper's parent company, Green Carnation Newspapers, soon
became strained, and in October 1975 he was removed from the board; although he was retained as editor, his relationship with
the board continued to deteriorate, and he left
NewsWest shortly afterwards. (He continued to contribute occasional columns to the newspaper until it ceased publication in 1977.)
In the following years Cole worked for other newspapers in Southern California before leaving journalism to work as a real
estate appraiser. He remained active in the gay community, serving on the board of the Christopher Street West Association,
of which he was a co-founder in 1970, for most of the last 37 years of his life.
He died at his home in North Hills, California, on June 30, 2007, after a long struggle with Parkinson's disease, complicated
by pneumonia and a chronic back ailment.
Source: Obituary, in
Los Angeles Times, July 13, 2007.
Scope and Content of Collection
The collection consists of materials relating to the life of Rob Cole, primarily his career as a newspaperman, and his association
with the Christopher Street West Association.
Cole worked with three Los Angles-area GLBT newspapers, as News and Managing Editor of the
Advocate (1970-1974), as unnamed contributor to the
Forum of Southern California (1974), and as founder and editor of
NewsWest (1975). The materials include correspondence, draft articles, subject files, and other documents that shed light on Cole's
role as the first professional newspaperman to run a gay newspaper in Los Angeles, and the often contentious world of the
Los Angeles gay press in the 1970s. The collection also contains issues of several newspapers, including, from Cole's days
as a newspaper editor in Dallas, issues of the
Dallas Times Herald and
Dallas Morning News chronicling several significant events between 1962 and 1969, as well as the newsroom copy of the
Advocate for 1967-1968, the two issues of the
Forum of Southern California (1974), an incomplete run of
NewsWest (1975-1977), and the single issue of
Out! which succeeded
NewsWest in 1977. The print material is supplemented by a significant number of photographs published by or submitted to the
Advocate,
Forum, and
NewsWest. The photographs published in and submitted to the
Advocate derive from what is now the Advocate Records collection held by ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives, and how they came into
Cole's private possession is not known. The collection also contains Cole's typed notes and audiotapes of interviews for stories,
most relating to the Metropolitan Community Church.
Cole's association with the Christopher Street West Association, of which he was a co-founder, is less fully documented. The
records include a handbill announcing the first Christopher Street West parade in June 1970; minutes of the board of directors
for 1975-1976 (including Cole's account of police harassment of spectators at the 1976 march); souvenir programs for 1974,
1976, and 1985; materials relating to the 1984 and 1985 public relations campaigns; documents from 1995 and 1996, when Cole
was editor of the association's newsletter; videotapes, primarily from the 1980s; photographs, primarily from 2002-2004; and
memorabilia, chiefly buttons and t-shirts.
The collection also contains a small amount of a material of a personal nature, including Cole's unpublished short stories
from the 1950, as well as a series of subject files, audio recordings, and memorabilia.
The collection is arranged in nine series: (1) Newspapers, (2) Christopher Street West, (3) Subject Files, (4) Personal, (5)
Printed Matter, (6) Photographs, (7) Graphics, (8) Audiovisual, and (9) Memorabilia.
More extensive papers and photographs relating to the
Advocate, which Cole edited, can be found in the Advocate Records, ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives, Los Angeles.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Gays' writings, American
Gay pride parades -- California -- Los Angeles
Photojournalism
Photographs
Newspapers
Cole, Rob (Frederick Robinson)
Christopher Street West Association