Archive Record
Images
Metadata
Title |
Oral History of Steve McNamara |
Collection |
Oral History |
Scope & Content |
In this oral history, writer and publisher Steve McNamara recounts his life in the newspaper business. Born in Chicago in 1934, Steve grew up in Urbana, Illinois. After graduating from high school, he attended Princeton University, following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather. Steve recalls that he initially planned to pursue a career in the Foreign Service, but then decided to go into the newspaper business. He got his start as a reporter working for the Twin-City Sentinel in North Carolina in 1955. He moved out to California in 1960 and got a job at the San Francisco Examiner, where he eventually became the Sunday editor. Three years later he moved to Mill Valley and in 1966 purchased the Pacific Sun, which for several decades lived at 21 Corte Madera Avenue, across the street from City Hall. Steve describes the pleasures and challenges of running this iconic Marin newspaper, which he and his wife Kay sold in 2004. He also discusses his involvement since 2008 in the revival of the inmate-produced San Quentin News and the non-profit Prison Media Project, which he founded. Throughout this oral history Steve balances his account of the various phases of his professional life with an account of his ancestors and his extended family of children and grandchildren. |
Audio and Transcript |
Click here to hear recording. Click here to read the transcript. |
Dates of Creation |
2014-01-25 |
Interviewee |
McNamara, Steve |
Interviewer |
Petersen, Michelle |
Extent and Medium |
Transcript: 31pp Recording: 00:44:15 |
Search Terms |
Ayers, Bob Boxer, Barbara Car and Driver Magazine Comiskey, Mary Ann Deuel, Duncan MacArthur Deuel, Sadie Rankin Deuel, Wally Duffy, Clinton Foreign service Grohman, Merril Howland, Annesley Lowry, Elsa Lowry, Mac Maupin, Armistead McDonald, David McFadden, Cyra McNamara, Chris McNamara, Kay McNamara, Kevin McNamara, Morgan Mogensen, Hanne MV history - Music and counterculture (1960s and 1970s) Newspaper editors Newspaper industry Newspaper reporters Newspapers Oral history - Local business Pacific Sun Princeton University Prison education Publishers Rodriguez, Marisa San Francisco Chronicle San Francisco Examiner San Quentin San Quentin News Serial Shattuck, Charles Shattuck, Judy Theatrical productions Time Magazine Wicker, Tom Writers Writing |
Object ID |
2016.068.001 |
Object Name |
Recording |
Copyrights |
Transcript and recording copyright Mill Valley Public Library, 2014. Materials are made available for research purposes only; all rights are reserved to the Mill Valley Public Library. Requests for permission to quote for publication or for any other usage must be obtained from the Library. |