Collection inventory

Special Collections home page

Ned Schnurman Video Collection

An inventory of his Collection at Syracuse University


Finding aid created by: MBD
Date: 17 Oct 2013

Biographical History

Ned Schnurman (1925-2004) was an American television producer. He was President and Senior Executive of The Press and the Public Project, Inc. and was producer for the Public Broadcasting Service television program, Inside Story.

Originally from Brooklyn, New York, Ned Schnurman attended New York University before embarking on a long and varied career in newspaper and television journalism. After breaking-in as a newspaper reporter and editor, Schnurman became News Director and Executive Producer for the public television station WNET, Channel 13, during the early 1960s (1962-1966), and then later produced special projects for National Educational Television (NET). Schnurman later worked as Assistant News Director and City Editor at WCBS-TV in New York during the early 1970s (1970-1973). In 1981, while serving as Senior Executive and President of The Press and the Public Project, Schnurman started a media criticism program for PBS, Inside Story, featuring Hodding Carter as anchor and comedians Bob Elliott and Ray Goulding ("Bob and Ray") as sometimes correspondents. The program ran for four years, and featured episodes analyzing journalistic ethics in coverage of the Atlanta child murders, events in El Salvador, U.S.-Soviet relations, the "Star Wars" missle defense initiative, health and medical reporting and other timely subjects. Perhaps the program is most noted in retrospect for the controversy surrounding the airing of the episode, "Vienam Op/Ed: An Inside Story Special" (1985), a Conservative "equal-time" rebuttal to the award winning WGBH produced documentary, Vietnam: A Television Hisotory (1983). Schnurman was awarded 6 Emmy's over the course of his career--two early in his career for producing the NET programs Your Dollar's Worth and The President's Farewell (on Lyndon B. Johnson)--and four for his work on Inside Story. Ned Schnurman died in 2004.

[sources consulted: Prial, Frank J. "Ned Schnurman, 78, Producer of Media Criticism Program" [obituary], 31 May 2004, The New York Times.

Scope and Contents of the Collection

The vast bulk of the Ned Schnurman Video Collection consists of video tapes in VHS and Umatic formats collected for use in the production of the PBS series, Inside Story. The material includes clip reels of network news stories, historical film footage, excerpts taken from broadcast programs, and dubs of complete television programs and film documentaries. The material originates from a range of sources, including the major broadcast TV and cable networks (ABC, CBS, NBC, HBO, CNN, TBS, PBS), professional and private film production entities, and various local TV stations. Materials were collected in relation to the topics for the various episodes of Inside Story, and include substantial material related to the Vietnam War, U.S.-Soviet Relations, World War II (including Movietone newsreel footage), Modern athletes and athletics, the 1960s radical movement, Presidential press conferences, local news media coverage of historical events, and other topics. The collection also includes a few dubs of Inside Story episodes and clip reels/highlight reels of features from that program.

Arrangement of the Collection

The collection remains in original order. For ease of reference, the inventory is presented in alphabetical order.

Restrictions

Access Restrictions:

The majority of our archival and manuscript collections are housed offsite and require advanced notice for retrieval. Researchers are encouraged to contact us in advance concerning the collection material they wish to access for their research.

Access to video recordings requires advance notice to produce a working copy.

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.

Related Material

Special Collections Research Center has made a concerted effort over the years to ensure that its manuscript and rare books holdings complement each other. As a result, many of our manuscript collections are supported by books, pamphlets, serials and other items which are cataloged in the Rare Books Collection. Please be sure to search Libraries Search for these related materials.

Subject Headings

Persons

Schnurman, Ned.

Corporate Bodies

Press and the Public Project.
Public Broadcasting Service (U.S.)

Associated Titles

Inside story (Television program)

Subjects

Documentary television programs.
History, Modern -- 20th century -- Pictorial works.
Television broadcasting of news -- United States.
Vietnam War, 1961-1975 -- Television and the war.
World War, 1939-1945 -- Motion pictures and the war.

Genres and Forms

Documentary film.
Television programs.
Videocassettes.

Occupations

Television journalists.
Television producers and directors.

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Preferred citation for this material is as follows:

Ned Schnurman Video Collection,
Special Collections Research Center,
Syracuse University Libraries

Acquisition Information

Gift of Ned Schnurman, 1999.

Table of Contents

Video

Inventory