Floyd J. McKay KGW-TV papers

Collection

Identifier: Coll 802

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The collection consists of papers relating to Floyd McKay's work as a news analyst for the Portland, Oregon television station KGW-TV in the 1970s and 1980s. The collection includes the scripts for McKay's commentaries; correspondence between McKay and viewers; and newspaper clippings relating to McKay's commentaries and documentaries that he produced. The correspondence, sent by viewers throughout Oregon, includes letters both praising and criticizing McKay's stances, and relates to a number of sociopolitical issues of the time. Some correspondence files also include phone logs with callers' feedback on McKay's commentaries. The collection also includes materials relating to KGW-TV and McKay's career there, such as newspaper clippings, internal correspondence, and award programs and certificates.

Dates

Creation: 1970-1986

Creator

McKay, Floyd J. (Person)

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

The Oregon Historical Society owns the materials in the Research Library and makes available reproductions for research, publication, and other uses. The Society does not necessarily hold copyright to all materials in the collections. In some cases, permission for use may require seeking additional authorization from copyright owners.

Biographical / Historical

Floyd J. McKay was born in 1935. His family moved to McMinnville, Oregon in 1947. After first getting a job with the Springfield News in 1958, McKay worked for the Salem newspaper Oregon Statesman in the 1960s, when the paper's editor was former Oregon governor Charles A. Sprague. In 1970, McKay was hired as a news analyst for KGW-TV in Portland, Oregon; he held the position until 1987, when he was appointed press secretary for Oregon Governor Neil Goldschmidt. In the 1990s and 2000s, he was professor and department chair of the School of Journalism at Western Washington University. McKay has authored several books, including "An Editor for Oregon: Charles A. Sprague and the Politics of Change"; and "Reporting the Oregon Story: How Activists and Visionaries Transformed a State."

Extent

5.6 Cubic Feet (15 letter document cases; 1 slim letter document case)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

Commentary scripts and correspondence relating to Floyd J. McKay's career as news analyst at KGW-TV from 1970 to 1986, Portland, Oregon, as well as related documents and clippings.

Arrangement

The collection is arranged in the following series: Series 1. Commentaries; Series 2. Viewer correspondence; Series 3. KGW records and ephemera.

Other Finding Aids

Introduction and index to commentaries by McKay is housed in Box 1, Folder 1.

Introduction to correspondence and annotated index of relevant names mentioned in correspondence, written by McKay, is housed in Box 11, Folder 6.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Gift of Floyd J. McKay, March 15, 2019 (Accession RL2019-037).

Related Materials

Additional papers of Floyd McKay are housed in the Floyd J. McKay research files for biography of Charles A. Sprague, Coll 449, Oregon Historical Society Research Library.

Selected videos of McKay's commentaries are housed in the moving image collections of the Oregon Historical Society Research Library.