Oxnard Press-Courier records
Scope and Contents
This collection consists of the Oxnard Press-Courier's morgue and negatives. A newspaper morgue is a reference collection that includes clippings, old files, notes, and photographs kept by reporters. Prior to the widespread use of online and computerized databases, a newspaper morgue served as a quick reference collection. A morgue may also include post-production content.
The paper's morgue consists of clippings on both persons and subjects, mugs, photographs, and subject files. Mugs here refers to photos of people and not necessarily to a criminal mug shot. The negatives were images taken by photographers for the newspaper. Some negatives may not be found in this collection as freelance photographers retained ownership of their work and may be in possession of some negatives.
Dates
- circa 1890s-1990
- Majority of material found within circa 1970-1990
Creator
- Oxnard Press-Courier (circa 1940-1994) (Organization)
Conditions Governing Access
COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE: Open for research. All requests to access materials must be made in advance by contacting the Research Library staff via email: library@venturamuseum.org.
Conditions Governing Reproduction and Use
Property rights to the physical object belong to the Museum of Ventura County. Literary rights, including copyright, are retained by the creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright and pursue the copyright owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where the museum does not hold the copyright.
Biographical / Historical
The Oxnard Press-Courier was a newspaper located in Oxnard, California. It ceased publication in the summer of 1994, ending a 95-year run. The paper first started publication as a weekly titled the Oxnard Courier in 1899. The paper adopted the title Oxnard Press-Courier in 1940, following the consolidation of the Oxnard Evening Press, Oxnard Daily Courier, and Oxnard News.
The paper was purchased in 1945 by George and Eva Grimes, and David Calvert and his wife. Then in 1963, the Brush-Moore Newspapers group bought the paper. In 1967 Toronto-based Thomson Newspapers purchased the paper. Thomson owned the paper until it ceased publication in June 1994. The paper largely closed due to pressures to secure advertising funding and competition from larger regional papers. The Los Angeles Times began publishing a daily Ventura County edition in 1990, which competed with the paper for readership. In 1994 the Press-Courier was the third Ventura County paper that ceased publication due to competition with the Los Angeles Times during that time. In fact, the Los Angeles paper reported on June 14, 1994 that "in addition to the Press-Courier, the Camarillo Daily News and the Santa Paula Chronicle have ceased publishing recently, the result of what Editor and Publisher magazine calls one of the hottest newspaper wars in the nation."
Extent
114.57 Cubic Feet : (128 boxes)
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
The Oxnard Press-Courier was a newspaper located in Oxnard, California from roughly 1899-1994. The paper ceased publication in June 1994 due to stiff competition from the Los Angeles Times. This collection consists of the paper's morgue and negatives. A newspaper morgue is a reference collection that includes clippings, old files, notes, and photographs kept by reporters for quick reference. Materials include clippings, photographs, subject files, and negatives.
Organization and Arrangement
Physical Location
Stored off-site and advance notice required for timely retrieval. Please contact the Research Library reference desk prior to your visit.
Other Finding Aids
A listing of envelope labels is available for the Clippings and portions of the ViewPoint, Harbor Views, and Plain Views mugs in the Clippings Label and Mugs Label document.
Provenance/Source of Acquisition
Kirk A. Davis (publisher); gift; 1994.
Processing Information
Processed by Krystell Jimenez, 2022.
Our collections are processed using MPLP methods so that we can prioritize access for users and identify potential priorities for more detailed processing. If while using our collections you think there is something that should be added or amended in the finding aid, we welcome your input. You can notify staff in the reading room or send us an email at library@venturamuseum.org Be sure to include the collection number and name and the box number you were working with in your email.
- Clippings (Books, newspapers, etc.)
- Maps
- Morgues (Newspaper libraries)
- Newspaper archives
- Newspapers -- California -- Oxnard
- Newspapers -- California -- Ventura County
- Oxnard (Calif.)
- Oxnard Press-Courier (circa 1940-1994) -- Records and correspondence
- Photographs
- Photography -- Negative
- Ventura County (Calif.)
Creator
- Oxnard Press-Courier (circa 1940-1994) (Organization)
- Title
- Finding aid for Oxnard Press Courier records, circa 1890-1990
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Finding aid prepared by Krystell Jimenez, 2022.
- Date
- July 2022
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Sponsor
- This finding aid was made possible in part through funding from the County of Ventura and the Heritage Fund at the Ventura County Community Foundation.
Repository Details
Part of the Museum of Ventura County Repository