Collection inventory

Special Collections home page

Charles Russo Papers

A description of the collection at Syracuse University


UNPROCESSED - NOT OPEN FOR RESEARCH

Finding aid created by: Dane Flansburgh
Date: 25 Nov 2025

Biographical History

Charles Russo is an American journalist whose work has addressed issues of labor, poverty, and civil rights.

A native of Canastota, New York, Russo graduated from Canastota High School and attended Syracuse University. He began his journalism career in high school as a sports reporter for the Canastota Bee-Journal and later as a stringer for the Oneida Daily Dispatch. While attending Syracuse University, he reported for The Post-Standard, earning honorable mention in the national William Randolph Hearst Foundation Awards Program for his journalistic coverage of the Blizzard of 1966. After graduating, he served as bureau chief for The Post-Standard's Watertown, New York office and later reported for the Syracuse Herald-Journal, focusing on civil rights and poverty.

Russo left Syracuse Herald-Journal in the early 1970s after what he perceived to be their biased coverage of anti-war and civil rights issues. He subsequently co-founded and edited Salt, a Syracuse-based news magazine that provided in-depth reporting on labor, poverty, and civil rights. He later worked as editor of The Scotchman News in North Syracuse, NY, where he wrote a weekly column titled "The Last to Know."

Over the years, Russo contributed to in-depth news features including a three-part series on Onondaga Nation dissident Ronald Jones and the criminal justice system. In 2024, 50 years after the original publication of Salt he issued a special edition addressing the experiences of public housing residents facing eviction due to the planned removal of the I-81 viaduct.

In addition to his journalism career, Russo worked several years as a plumbing, heating, and roofing contractor. He also worked for the Syracuse University Libraries for 26 years before retiring as manager of the Libraries' offsite storage facility.

Scope and Contents of the Collection

The Charles Russo Papers contains research files, subject files, and writings. Research files are for the special edition of Salt that Russo published in 2024. Subject files relate to the murder of Ronald Jones, Sr. of the Onondaga Nation. Finally, writings are Russo's articles on issues relating to civil rights and poverty.

Arrangement of the Collection

The collection is unprocessed and remains in original order.

Restrictions

Access Restrictions:

The collection is currently unprocessed and not available for research. Please contact SCRC for more information.

Use Restrictions:

Written permission must be obtained from SCRC and all relevant rights holders before publishing quotations, excerpts or images from any materials in this collection.

Subject Headings

Persons

Russo, Charles.

Corporate Bodies

Onondaga Nation.

Subjects

Activism.
Civil rights.
Journalism.
Poverty.
Syracuse (N.Y.) -- History.

Genres and Forms

Clippings (information artifacts)
Correspondence.
Research files.

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Preferred citation for this material is as follows:

Charles Russo Papers,
Special Collections Research Center,
Syracuse University Libraries

Acquisition Information

Gift of Charles Russo, 2025.

Table of Contents

Inventory

An inventory has not yet been created for this collection. Please contact the Repository listed above for more information.