Series I. Publisher William Geer Files, 1929-1949, inclusive
Extent
Scope and Contents
The Publisher William Geer files were created or collected by Geer during his time working for Fortune from 1942 to 1949 and contain materials from 1929 to 1949. Materials that date prior to 1942 are items that Geer used for reference. Additionally, Geer's files include materials from Richardson Wood, a member of Fortune's board of editors beginning in 1940. While Time Inc. in general kept a strict separation between the editorial and publishing sides of their enterprises, materials within this series indicate that Wood and Geer sent materials between each other and may have collaborated on some projects together.
Materials in the series include lists of Fortune advertisers, lists of ad agencies, advertising order policy, drafts of ads and page layouts, answers to common questions about the ad department, chart of circulation expenses, clippings, plans for senior Fortune writers, department of labor reports, financial statements, outlines of department objectives, reports on circulation fulfillment, reports on circulation demographic problems, reports on the future of Time Inc., edit formula/plans, reports on operations, reports on comments concerning Fortune, and correspondence. The topics discussed in the correspondence include Fortune circulation, public perception of Fortune, new ad accounts, number of ads, estimated ad revenue, magazine ideas, meetings, complaints about Fortune ads, expenses, budgets, salaries, Newspaper Guild negotiations and election surveys.
Arrangement
Organized alphabetically.
Biographical Note
William Geer began working for Time Inc. as writer in 1929 after graduating from Yale. During his time as a writer, Geer assisted with the March of Time radio shows. In 1939, Geer was promoted to promotion manager for Time Inc. but changed positions the following year and became the assistant to the president. Geer remained in this position for two years before beginning to work for Fortune. It is unclear what Geer's first position with Fortune was. Some materials indicate that he worked as a general manager from 1942 to 1943 while others have him listed as a publisher for all seven years that he worked for Fortune. In 1949, Geer left Fortune and became associate publisher of Life. During his time as associate publisher, Geer also acted as a producer of the television series Crusade in Europe, which ran from 1950-1951 and was an attempted relaunched of the March of Time film series. In 1954, Geer retired from Time Inc.
Citations:
"William Geer Sr. of Time Inc. Dead." New York Times. August 23, 1976. Accessed January 3, 2019. https://www.nytimes.com/1976/08/23/archives/william-geer-sr-of-time-inc-dead-fortune-and-life-official-70-with.html
Personnel and Organization: Department Head Lists. Time Inc. Reference Files (MS 3009-RG 3), The New-York Historical Society.