Series S00474 - Correspondence

• Textual record

1.8 m of textual records

Series consists of the professional correspondence created and received by Knowlton Nash during his career as a journalist, and his involvement with several educational and philanthropic organizations. Topics include: contractual arrangements for work as a freelance journalist; Nash's relationship with the Financial post from 1959 to 1968; story ideas on American affairs submitted to Maclean's; readers' reactions to his newspaper columns; Nash's contractual relationship with the CBC as its Washington correspondent; view reaction to his coverage of fighting in the Dominican Republic in 1965; requests from many organizations for Nash to assist in fundraising, usually by donating a tie that can be auctioned, or to attend charitable events; election coverage in Canada, particularly in response to accusation of partisanship on the part of Nash and the CBC; attitudes toward public and private broadcasters; reaction of viewers to a wide range of issues and news stories, such as nuclear disarmament, abortion, and the Meech Lake Accord; Nash's involvement with the University of Regina's School of Journalism and Communications, and the Canadian Organization for Development through Education (CODE); viewers' reactions to episodes of Witness hosted by Nash during the early 1990s, particularly Brain sex and Whale wars; honorary degrees from the University of Toronto and Brock University; public reaction to CBC news coverage in light of budget cuts in 1990; events in South Africa, 1990; editorial perspectives expressed by on-air journalists when covering international events, and the impact of interviewing styles; other CBC personalities, particularly Barbara Frum and Peter Mansbridge; viewers' ideas for game shows and news stories (often involving government conspiracies); Nash's work as a Director of the Gordon Sinclair Foundation; the Americanization of vocabulary and pronunciation; the challenge of reporting stories involving science and technology; requests for Nash's views and expertise on broadcasting issues, such televising appeals in the Supreme Court of Canada, 1997; and the publics reaction to Nash's books. Much of this correspondence pertains to the publics concern regarding editorial positions taken by the CBC in its coverage of national and international issues. Nash replied to many of these letters, and the copies of his outgoing correspondence usually indicates his discussion of these concerns with colleagues at the CBC, and includes an explanation of the broadcaster's approach.