Harris County Archives ,

Finding Aid

HOUSTON POST POLICE BEAT RECORDS 1976 - 1979

Manuscript Collection: MC033

Size: 11 items Accession Number: 2010.008 Restrictions on Access: None Processed by: Sarah Canby Jackson, Restrictions on Use: None 2010 Acquisition: Alfred T. King III, 2010

Citation: [Identification of Item], Houston Post Police Beat Records, MC033, Harris County Archives, Houston, Texas.

Creator Sketch: Reporters from the Houston Post, , KRTH, KPRC radio, Houston News Service, and KILT worked fulltime out of the press room on the third floor at 61 Riesner, the headquarters of the Houston Police Department. The press room was approximately 10 – 12 feet wide by 24 – 30 feet long and had loudspeakers for each of the most used City of Houston fire and police radio channels; the noise was exhausting. The elevators and some of the traffic into the major chief’s offices were visible from the press room.

Reporters from KPRC-TV, KHOU, and KTRK came by daily to check on current events. They covered crime, wrecks, fires, suicides, plane crashes, and the policies and internal politics of the related city and county departments both within and outside of Harris County. Shifts usually ran from 9:00 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. until 1:00 a.m. on weekdays. On Saturdays the shift could start at 8:00 a.m. in order to meet deadlines for the Sunday paper.

Working the police beat for the Houston Post for the period covered by these records were Mike Avalos, Jane Ely, Sam Fletcher, Marc Henderson, Phil Hevener, Ann James, Fred King, Rob Meckel, Mark Sauer, Larry Troutt, and Burke Watson.

Scope and Contents Note: Two log books (1976 – 1979) and 9 spiral notebooks of clippings (1976 – 1979) document the process and work of reporters from the Houston Post assigned to the police

Page 1 of 3 HOUSTON POST POLICE BEAT RECORDS – MC033 1976 - 1979 beat during the years 1976 – 1979. The log books record daily events by shift. Entries include notes about which officers were working a case, decisions made by editors, and story assignments. Filled with clippings from the Houston Post, the notebooks provided reference materials for the police reporters and included the articles written by them.

Page 2 of 3 HOUSTON POST POLICE BEAT RECORDS – MC033 1976 - 1979 Inventory

Title / Description Date Location Police Beat Log 1976, 07/06 – 1977, 07/21 0033-K-76 Police Beat Log 1978, 06/21 – 1979, 08/08 0033-K-78 Police Beat Clippings 1976, 12/13 – 1977, 03/02 0918-X-01 Police Beat Clippings 1977, 03/03 – 1977, 05/01 0918-X-02 Police Beat Clippings 1977, 06/22 – 1977, 12/02 0918-X-03 Police Beat Clippings 1977, 07/16 – 1977, 07/17 0918-X-04 Police Beat Clippings 1977, 12/04 – 1978, 02/26 0918-X-05 Police Beat Clippings 1978, 09/09 – 1978, 11/28 0918-X-06 Police Beat Clippings 1978, 11/29 – 1979, 02/20 0918-X-07 Police Beat Clippings 1979, 02/21 – 1979, 05/14 0918-X-08 Police Beat Clippings 1979, 05/15 – 1979, 08/05 0918-X-09 Police Beat Clippings 1979, 08/06 – 1979, 10/27 0918-X-10

Page 3 of 3 HOUSTON POST POLICE BEAT RECORDS – MC033 1976 - 1979