Walter G. Harrington Papers, 1967-2016 | University of Illinois Archives

Series 1: Articles and Books, 1967-2015

This series consists of Professor Harrington's CV, his early articles published mostly in local newspapers and magazines from 1967 to 1980, and books published between 1985 and 2015. The early writing spans work from his time as the editor of his high school newspaper in Crete, Illinois, work at the Columbia Missourian, his tenure as managing editor of The Illinois Observer in Springfield, Illinois, and his writing in The Morning Call in Allentown, Pennsylvania. His books include e.g. Crossings: A White Man's Journey into Black America (1992), The Everlasting Stream: A True Story of Rabbits, Guns, Friendship, and Family (2002), and a DVD of a PBS documentary of The Everlasting Stream (2006). This series is arranged chronologically.

Series 2: Interview Files- George H.W. and George W. Bush, 1972-2011

This series contains notes, tape recordings, and transcripts of interviews conducted with Presidents George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush, and of interviews with their family, friends, and associates. These interviews formed the basis of articles in The Washington Post Magazine and The American Scholar. This series also contains photocopied correspondence between Harrington and Presidents George H.W. and George W. Bush as well as original correspondence by Jeb Bush, Jonathan Bush, and Dorothy Bush. Also of interest are interview records of Roger Ailes and David Keene. This series is arranged alphabetically.

Series 3: Interview Files- Jerry Falwell and Jesse Jackson, 1986-1988

This series contains notes, recordings, and transcripts of interviews conducted with Jerry Falwell and Jesse Jackson, and of interviews with their family, friends, and associates. These interviews formed the basis of articles in The Washington Post Magazine and of chapters in Harrington's book American Profiles. This series also contains original and photocopied correspondence between Harrington and Jesse Jackson. This series is arranged alphabetically by interview subject.

Series 4: Magazine Interview Files, 1984-1995

This series consists of notes, recordings, and transcripts of interviews with Jack Anderson, Rita Dove, Joe Kennedy, Spike Lee, and Rosa Parks, and of interviews with these figures' family, friends, and associates. Of special note are photocopied drafts of Rita Dove's poems. This series is arranged alphabetically by interview subject.

Series 5: Interview Files- Crossings: A White Man's Journey into Black America, 1989-1998

This series contains notes of interviews conducted with a variety of black Americans across the United States, as well as photos of many of those interviewed. Those interviewed include famous figures such as Ice-T and Spike Lee, as well as 'ordinary' people including musicians in Detroit, artists in California, and fishermen in the state of Georgia. The series also contains, letters from readers, fact check material, and reviews of Crossings. This series is organized alphabetically.

Series 6: Interview Files- The Everlasting Stream: A True Story of Rabbits, Guns, Friendship, and Family, 1999

This series consists of transcripts of interviews with friends and relatives of Harrington for the book, The Everlasting Stream, as well as photos of these people. It also contains transcripts of a recorded field hunt and a pig party. This series is organized alphabetically.

Walter G. Harrington (1950-) is Emeritus Professor of Journalism in the College of Media at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. Prior to joining the UIUC faculty, Professor Harrington was a nationally recognized journalist at the Washington Post Magazine where he specialized in long-form, literary journalism - a field of journalism he helped develop through his writing and pedagogy. His articles include profiles of figures such as Spike Lee, Jerry Falwell, Joe Kennedy, and Rosa Parks, among others. He is also known for his articles of Presidents George H.W. and George W. Bush. Professor Harrington has received numerous academic and professional awards including an honorary doctorate from Blackburn College (2007), a regional Emmy award for the PBS documentary film The Everlasting Stream, and the Gustavus Myers Award for the Study of Human Rights in the U.S. for his book Crossings. In addition to his professional and academic work, Professor Harrington also served in the administrative roles of Associate Chancellor (2005-2007), Interim Dean of the College of Media (2009-2010), and as Head of the Department of Journalism (2004-2009). He is the author or editor of nine books.

Walt Harrington was born in rural Illinois in 1950. After graduating from Crete-Monee High School in 1968, Harrington attended Blackburn College where he received his B.A. in Sociology and History in 1972. He then earned Masters degrees in Sociology and Journalism from the University of Missouri-Columbia in 1974 and 1975, respectively. From 1975 to 1980, he worked as an investigative journalist or editor at a variety of regional newspapers, including The Illinois Observer (Springfield, IL.), The Guide (Harrisburg, PA), and The Morning Call (Allentown, PA). In 1981, Harrington moved to The Washington Post as an assistant editor. In 1983, he joined The Washington Post Magazine as an assistant editor and staff writer.

In 1996, Harrington joined the faculty of the College of Media as full Professor of Journalism where he has taught and published on investigative, literary, and personal journalism. He retired from UIUC in 2017.