The North Carolina Press Association (NCPA) was founded on 15 May 1873. Member newspapers created the organization The NCPA holds annual conventions to discuss important issues facing the press. During the 1960s and 1970s, the NCPA retained lawyer William Lassiter to monitor legislation that threatened to limit freedom of the press and to report on other legal issues with which the NCPA was concerned, including privacy and access to governmental meetings. The NCPA is also interested in photojournalism; its annual photo contest honors the year's best in North Carolina photojournalism in a variety of categories. for mutual benefit and protection. North Carolina Press Association Records, 1886-1993, including meeting materials; correspondence; videos; photographs; and financial, legal, and other files. The bulk of the materials are meeting-related, primarily minutes and other items from the NCPA's annual conventions. Correspondence is chiefly of NCPA presidents, much of it with long-time secretary-treasurer, Margaret Taylor Harper. Photographs are of NCPA members at conventions, award ceremonies, etc.; there are also photographs from the NCPA's annual photo contests.Legal files are chiefly those of William Lassiter, who acted as the NCPA's lawyer for many years. These files include information on the issue of open public meetings, privacy, freedom of the press, and other topics with which the NCPA was concerned. There are also materials relating to the Associated Dailies of the North Carolina Press Association and the National Editorial Association (later the National Newspaper Association), to which the NCPA was related.These records include meeting minutes of both organizations and financial records of the Associated Dailies. There are also files relating to the difficulties of running newspapers during World War II; publication files; and files relating to NCPA awards, scholarships, and other activities.
