Articles

How Archives Make News

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Abstract

The author analyzed the "image" of archives and archivists in 300 news clippings dated from 1981 to 1984. Three types of stories were found: (1) those in which archives and archivists played a secondary role, (2) those in which they appeared in an arranged "pseudo-event," and (3) those in which they were portrayed substantively. In the last group, few stories discussed serious issues; instead, they employed metaphors of accumulation and rot. Such treatment may reflect the political weakness of archivists. The article concludes that archivists should try to provide full, honest information to journalists, tocreate pseudo-events of legitimate interest, and to encourage stories on archival policies and social roles.

How to Cite:

Boylan, J., (1985) “How Archives Make News”, Archival Issues 10(2), 99–105. doi: https://doi.org//archivalissues.10453