By Heather Lowcock, Project Archivist, NHPRC Grant – News Tribune Collection
There were blackbirds surrounding me. Okay, well, not literally. I was in the basement of the Tacoma Public Library, sorting thousands of envelopes, digitizing photographs, and importing metadata, but they were there, circling my brain--blackbirds--more specifically, a poem about blackbirds.
It is, perhaps, unsurprising that a former high school English teacher turned archivist would have a poem stuck in her head. But why was I thinking about Wallace Stevens’ poem “Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird”?
To be brief, it is, in part, a poem about perception. Each of the thirteen short stanzas present shifting images of blackbirds. In some, they’re “whirling” or “whistling.” In others, they are shadows, a stillness, a symbol of unity or strife. The speaker of the poem perceives (or misperceives?) the blackbird in different ways, which shapes their understanding of it and the broader world.
I have spent 18 months looking through the camera lens of Tacoma’s News Tribune to process and digitize photographs from almost 100 years of the newspaper’s history. Like all of us, the photographers, editors, and publishers in that history had perceptions and “ways of looking” that shaped the photographs they took and the stories they reported. Over the course of this series, my intention is to share some of the photographs and history found in this collection alongside other materials available in the Northwest Room’s archive and special collections. In doing so, I hope to give you thirteen ways of looking at the Northwest and encourage you to consider (and share!) some of your own “ways of looking.”
First Way of Looking: Newspapers
There have been many names associated with The News Tribune over its history: Tacoma Ledger (1880), Tacoma Daily Ledger (1883), Tacoma News Tribune and Ledger (1918), Tacoma News Tribune and Sunday Ledger (1937), Tacoma News Tribune (1979), The Morning News Tribune (1987), and finally (so far), The News Tribune (1993).
Other names like Elbert Baker, Bill Honeysett, and John Komen filled roles as owner, publisher, and reporter. However, it’s the photographers I came to know best. In this collection, people like Bob Rudsit, Jerry Buck, Lui Kit Wong, Susie Post, and Therese Frare used their cameras to present a way of looking at the Northwest. The photographs span the newspaper’s history with the bulk of the images ranging from the 1940s to the early 2000s. The newspaper highlights national news as well as local stories of businesses, people, and events from across Pierce County and the South Sound region.
However, The News Tribune isn't the only news in town. The Northwest Room collections include newspapers and periodicals from across the region.
The Tacoma Indian News was published as a monthly newspaper from 1974-1982. Early editions were published independently by Andy de los Angeles with later editions by the Tacoma Indian Center; for a period, it was printed in a newsletter format. Centering on the urban indigenous community, the newspaper included information related to employment, housing, Title IV programs within Tacoma public schools, and tribal medical clinics. News articles and editorials highlighted fishing and land rights and celebrated sports, arts, and cultural events.
A Tacoma Indian News headline, April 26, 1977: “Leonard Peltier Found Guilty”
A News Tribune headline, April 26, 1977: “Bethel Boss Retreats to Teaching”
Tacoma True Citizen is a weekly newspaper founded in 1973. Focusing on the experiences of Tacoma’s Black community, the newspaper includes information on local events, interviews with regional leaders, and new articles and editorials related to education, politics, and health.
A Tacoma True Citizen headline, August 30, 1990: “Public Forum on Black Infant Deaths”
A News Tribune headline, August 30, 1990: “First Planeloads of Soldiers from Fort Lewis En Route to Gulf”
Real Change is a Seattle-based weekly newspaper founded in 1994 by the Real Change Homeless Empowerment Project, a nonprofit organization. The newspaper covers local and national politics, advocacy for low-income and unhoused communities as well as local arts and events. The Northwest Room has issues published from 2002-2013.
A Real Change headline, Sept. 12-18, 2012: “Why the end of Occupy is only the beginning”
A News Tribune headline, Sept. 12, 2012: “Center of Detention. Navigating the Immigration Maze”
Northwest Asian Weekly is a Seattle-based newspaper founded in 1992 by Assunta Ng. While ending its print edition in 2023, the newspaper continues to digitally publish information and articles relevant to Asian communities in the Northwest including local politics, economics, education, and events.
A Northwest Asian Weekly headline, May 14, 1994: “Filipino community reacts to shooting of teenager”
A News Tribune headline, May 14, 1994: “WPPSS decides to turn out lights at 2 idled N-plants”
All these newspapers, including The News Tribune, share news and present information that was informed by their editorial priorities and their intended readership. How they perceived the needs and interests of their communities shaped the news and how readers understood it.
Such diversity of thought and scope can assist researchers who visit the Northwest Room. To examine the Los Angeles Riots in 1992 and its impact on the Northwest, a researcher could look at the April 1992 News Tribune microfilm and a special issue of Happenings on Hilltop for news articles and editorials. Perspectives of Japanese internment during World War II could be discovered through the Seattle Times microfilm and a feature on the Minidoka concentration camp from Asian Family Affair 35 years later. Whether you’re interested in the society pages of The News Tribune for genealogical research or the feminist newspaper Pandora for a paper in your Gender Studies course, each newspaper’s “way of looking” can provide information, and together, present a broader context.
Researchers can find the Northwest Room’s collection of newspapers and periodicals in our ORCA database. Some newspapers have issues that have been digitized and can be viewed online. To view physical copies, contact the NWR to make an appointment. Our microfilm and topical newspaper clipping files are always available during Northwest Room public and appointment hours.
The digitization and processing of the News Tribune Photograph Collection was supported by a grant from the National Historic Publications and Records Commission at the National Archives.
