By Abigail Wheetley
Title: Don Michel "Insight" Radio Program collection, 1960-1978
ID: 1/6/MSS 290
Primary Creator: Michel, Don (1931-)
Extent: 15.0 Boxes. More info below.
Arrangement: The programs are preserved on audio tape reels in boxes numbered to facilitate their retrieval by referring to the computerized listing which is sortable by name of persons interviewed, by subjects and by date of the broadcasts.
Date Acquired: 08/28/2009
Subjects: Anna (Ill.) - History, Kennedy, John F. (John Fitzgerald), 1917-1963 - Assassination, Michel, Don, 1931-, Oswald, Lee Harvey., Radio broadcasters, Radio broadcasters - Illinois - History, Radio stations, Southern Illinois University at Carbondale
Forms of Material: Agnew, Spiro T., 1918-1996 - Interviews, Cronkite, Walter. - Interviews, Fuller, R. Buckminster (Richard Buckminster), 1895-1983 - Interviews, Godfrey, Arthur, 1903-1983 - Interviews, Hope, Bob, 1903-2003 - Interviews, Jennings, Peter, 1938-2005. - Interviews, Landers, Ann. - Interviews, Morris, Delyte W., 1906-1982 - Interviews, Nader, Ralph. - Interviews, Radio interviews, Reagan, Nancy, 1923- - Interviews, Reasoner, Harry, 1923-1991. - Interviews, Sanders, Harland, 1890-1980 - Interviews, Simon, John Y. - Interviews, Simon, Paul, 1928-2003. - Interviews, Sound recordings, Thomas, Danny - Interviews, Vietnam War, 1961-1975 - Veterans - Interviews
Languages: English
"Insight," a public affairs program, was broadcast on radio station WRAJ in Anna (Union County), Illinois, between 1965 and 1977. Don Michel, owner and operator of WRAJ, hosted "Insight" and interviewed interesting people both in WRAJ's studios and at various locations around the nation.
The collection of 453 interviews includes such national celebrities as Walter Cronkite, Bob Hope, Arthur Godfrey, Colonel Sanders, Spiro Agnew, Ann Landers, Peter Jennings, Danny Thomas, Nancy Reagan, and Ralph Nader. Michel also interviewed many local people, from Anna church elders to the chief of police to the winner of a youth competition at the Anna fair. Southern Illinois University figures on record include Delyte Morris, John Y. Simon, and Buckminster Fuller. Michel also interviewed returning Vietnam veterans and former prisoners of war. Together, this collection of interviews brings to life the social, cultural, and political currents of the 1960s and 1970s in southern Illinois and beyond.
Alerted by tickertape, Don Michel covered the 1963 assassination of John F. Kennedy from Anna, contacting the Dallas police by phone and talking to an officer who arrested Lee Harvey Oswald. Michel's continuing interest in the assassination led to interviews in New Orleans with Oswald's landlord, a co-worker, and others, as well as coverage of the Warren Commission findings and the investigations of New Orleans prosecutor Jim Garrison.
The series was sponsored on WRAJ by the First National Bank of Cobden.
Anna (Ill.) - History
Kennedy, John F. (John Fitzgerald), 1917-1963 - Assassination
Michel, Don, 1931-
Oswald, Lee Harvey.
Radio broadcasters
Radio broadcasters - Illinois - History
Radio stations
Southern Illinois University at Carbondale
Repository: Southern Illinois University Special Collections Research Center
Alternate Extent Statement: 514 reel-to-reel tapes
Access Restrictions: Reel-to-reel tapes have been digitized. Researchers should contact repository for access to the digitized recording.
Use Restrictions: To quote in print, or otherwise reproduce in whole or in part in any publication, including on the World Wide Web, any material from this collection, the researcher must obtain permission from (1) the owner of the physical property and (2) the holder of the copyright. Persons wishing to quote from this collection should consult Special Collections Research Center to determine copyright holders for information in this collection. Reproduction of any item must contain the complete citation to the original.
Technical Access Note: Digital surrogates will only be provided for research use.
Acquisition Source: Don Michel
Acquisition Method: Donated by Don Michel.
Separated Materials: Don Michel Papers/Southern Illinois Citizens for Perot, SCRC, Morris Library, SIUC
Related Materials: Don Michel 'Insight' Radio Interviews (Southern Illinois University Carbondale) For more information please see http://collections.carli.illinois.edu/cdm/landingpage/collection/sic_insight.
Preferred Citation: [Item], Don Michel "Insight" radio programs collection, Special Collections Research Center, Southern Illinois University Carbondale.
Other Note: Wollensack recorder returned to donor, 2016.