David C. Stewart Papers
Abstract
In 1952, David Stewart, with grants from the Ford Foundation, worked in Washington to help start new educational television stations by reserving channels. Stewart then became executive director of the Joint Committee of Educational Broadcasting. In 1966, he became Director of Programs in Education and Public Media for the National Council on the Arts (National Endowment for the Arts). There he was responsible for all projects in radio, television and motion pictures and sound recording. Three years later, he started work at the Corporation for Public Broadcasting as the Director of Special Projects. In 1972, he evaluated program proposals as director of national program projects. From 1980 to 1996, he directed the Office of International Activities department of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, focusing on creating long-term program alliances between the United States public broadcasters and their counterparts in other countries. Other positions Stewart has held include Director of Dartmouth/American Council on Education film study, Consultant on the Arts, American Council on Education, Director of the Washington Office, National Educational Television, Director, Joint Council on Broadcasting, and finally, programming and production consultant for the Joint Committee on Educational Television. The collection documents Stewart's career as Director of the Office of International Activities, Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
Important Information for Users of the Collection
This collection is open for research use.
David C. Stewart Papers, Special Collections, University of Maryland Libraries.
Photocopies of original materials may be provided for a fee and at the discretion of the curator. Please see our Duplication of Materials page for more information. Queries regarding publicatioght status of materials within this collection should be directed to the appropriate curator.
This collection is PROCESSED.
Historical Note
David C. Stewart was associated with the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) from 1968 until his retirement in March 1996. While at CPB, Mr. Stewart served as Director for Special Projects, Director of National Program Projects for Television and as the Director of International Activities.
Prior to his work with CPB, Mr. Stewart taught in the drama departments of Case Western Reserve University, Vassar College and Robert College (in Istanbul, Turkey). He produced television programs in association with the Greater Washington Educational Television Association (GWETA), for the National Gallery of Art, the Smithsonian Institution, the Library of Congress, the Folger Library, the D.C. Public Schools system and four local universities. In 1952, Stewart, with grants from the Ford Foundation, worked in Washington to help start new educational television stations by reserving channels. Mr. Stewart later joined the Joint Council on Educational Television in 1955 as a production consultant, becoming its director in 1960. For several years, he directed the Washington office of National Educational Television (NET) before becoming director of Public Media at the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) in 1966. During his three years with NEA, he supervised the creation of the American Film Institute. He conducted special film projects for the American Council on Education, Dartmouth College, and the U.S. Office of Education. During the last forty years, he advised numerous private foundations, government agencies and national public television organizations. Mr. Stewart has written about television and film for the Saturday Review, Harpers Magazine, and many trade journals.
During his tenure with CPB, Mr. Stewart created and supervised numerous television and radio services. He encouraged international public broadcasting in a number of ways: by helping to create co-production initiatives in Europe, Asia, Africa and South America; by bringing greater visibility to American public broadcasting abroad and facilitating the international distribution of American public television and radio productions; and by leading trade delegations to countries in Asia, Europe and Latin America. While Director of International Activities at CPB (1980-1996), Mr. Stewart contributed regular articles to Current, the national public broadcasting journal, regarding the development of international public broadcasting.
Scope and Contents of the Collection
The David C. Stewart Papers covers the years 1967 to 1996, with the bulk of the collection ranging from 1988 to 1995 and containing some undated material. This collection contains memos, press releases and reports relating to various projects and initiatives of the CPB Office of International Activities (OIA). A large collection of copies of Mr. Stewart's articles (largely those published in Current) recount Mr. Stewart's efforts to bring American public broadcasting to a global market and make American public broadcasters aware of international developments in television and radio broadcasting. The collection also contains memos and reports regarding organizational restructuring at CPB and other issues affecting CPB unrelated to the OIA.
Custodial History and Acquisition Information
The David C. Stewart Papers was donated to the National Public Broadcasting Archives, University of Maryland Libraries by David C. Stewart in several installments between May 1991 and March 1996.
Processing Information
Processed by John Wood, June 1996
EAD markup created using EAD database in Microsoft Access. Markup completed by Karen E. King, September 2006.
Arrangement of Collection
The collection consists of one series.
Detailed Description of the Collection
Series 1: Corporation for Public Broadcasting, 1967-1996, undated (0.50 linear foot)
This series contains information pertaining to both specific programs and initiatives of the OIA and some material regarding general matters affecting the CPB. The series is in chronological order.
The OIA material includes memos, press releases, reports and summaries of OIA activities between 1991 and 1995 such as the formation of a U.S. public radio European service and the development of Public Radio International; the creation and operation of the U.S. Public Television International Consortium; and international co-production initiatives launched by the OIA (especially those with Asian public broadcasters). The series also contains photocopies of a large number of articles written by Mr. Stewart published in Current (1986-1994), written as part of his work with the OIA, regarding international public broadcasting and a much smaller number of relevant articles by other authors.
Material relating more generally to the CPB includes personnel documents regarding Mr. Stewart's career (1967-1974, undated); CPB memos, press releases and reports regarding restructuring of the CPB (1995-1996); staff meeting memos; and some newspaper clippings and a press release relating to a sexual harassment controversy at CPB in 1995.
| Description | Series | Box / Reel | Folder / Frame | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States-Japan Television Producers' Seminar, July 15-19, 1991 | series 1 | box 1 | folder 1 | |
| Memorandum: "Executive Summary--International Public Television in the 1990s and a U.S. Strategy for the Future", November 7, 1991 | series 1 | box 1 | folder 2 | |
| Office of International Activities [Memos, Correspondence, etc.], 1993-1994 | series 1 | box 1 | folder 3 | |
| DACS: Change of APR name to PRI, December 10, 1993 | series 1 | box 1 | folder 4 | |
| U.S. Public Television International Consortium, undated | series 1 | box 1 | folder 5 | |
| Office of International Activities [Packet -- Correspondence, Activities Report], 1994 | series 1 | box 1 | folder 6 | |
| U.S. Public Radio Channel--European Service. Proposal to CPB submitted by NPR & APR, February 24, 1994 | series 1 | box 1 | folder 7 | |
| Office of International Activities -- International Public Television Report, March 1994 | series 1 | box 1 | folder 8 | |
| Office of International Activities -- International Public Broadcasting Report, May 1994 | series 1 | box 1 | folder 9 | |
| Highlights of CPB's Office of International Activities, 1980-1995 | series 1 | box 1 | folder 10 | |
| A guide to U.S.-Japan Documentary Co-Production, May 1995 | series 1 | box 1 | folder 11 | |
| "Going Global", September 1995 | series 1 | box 1 | folder 12 | |
| Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union Conference Memo, November 10, 1995 | series 1 | box 1 | folder 13 | |
| Articles for Current, 1986-1988 | series 1 | box 1 | folder 14 | |
| Articles for Current, 1988-1994 | series 1 | box 1 | folder 15 | |
| Articles About International Broadcasting (Not by David C. Stewart), undated | series 1 | box 1 | folder 16 | |
| Personnel, 1967-1974, undated | series 1 | box 2 | folder 1 | |
| Employee Length of Service Awards Ceremony, April 8, 1994 | series 1 | box 2 | folder 2 | |
| "Gene Katt: All These Years", undated | series 1 | box 2 | folder 3 | |
| News Release: "Corporation for Public Broadcasting Restructures for Future", October 6, 1995 | series 1 | box 2 | folder 4 | |
| Reorganization Memo, October 6, 1995 | series 1 | box 2 | folder 5 | |
| Staff Meeting Highlights Memo, October 10, 1995 | series 1 | box 2 | folder 6 | |
| Sexual Harassment Investigation, 1995 | series 1 | box 2 | folder 7 | |
| Concurrence Memo, December 7, 1995 | series 1 | box 2 | folder 8 | |
| Restructuring Report, January 1996 | series 1 | box 2 | folder 9 | |
| Memo: "Thoughts on Reorganization and Other Things", February 13, 1996 | series 1 | box 2 | folder 10 | |
| News Release "Entrepreneurial Activities Get 'Cautious OK' Study Shows", February 13, 1996 | series 1 | box 2 | folder 11 | |
Related Material
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Selected Search Terms
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Subjects
- Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Office of International Activities -- History -- Sources.
- International broadcasting.
- Public television -- United States -- History -- Sources.
- Stewart, David C. -- Archives.