John Sutton Papers

This collection documents the activities of John Sutton, who worked as a reporter for the Austin American-Statesman between 1973-1980, before becoming Director of General Services for Travis County. Materials in this collection include documentation connected to Sutton’s work as a staff writer and his coverage of legal, political, and other community matters within Travis County between 1973 and 1980. It also includes a series of files that Sutton inherited from his predecessors at the paper, which predominantly covers the period 1971-1973. Sutton’s work has historical significance as much for its characterization of a cultural moment as for its direct documentation of noteworthy events. His efforts as a beat reporter in the county courts and his coverage of local politics are noteworthy, especially given the time period during which he was active in this role. The late 1970’s saw changes in county government that included the expansion of the office of County Commissioner, something that is well-documented in Sutton’s work.

Significant topics covered by the materials in this collection include local crimes, court cases, and law enforcement information; county campaigns, elections, and official meetings; as well as county policies, programs, and veterans-related materials. It also includes correspondence between Sutton and other newspaper staff and various public bodies. Information related to the 45th Governor of Texas, Ann Richards, as well as Travis County Commissioners Bob Honts and Richard Moya are also included.

Materials are primarily newspaper articles and other published materials; personal notes, drafts, and manuscripts; press releases; correspondence; and ephemera. The collection comprises physical formats including typed notes and copies, newspaper clippings, spiral reporter’s notebooks, legal pads, photographic negatives and prints, letters, and business cards.

The Subject Files include subject files each pertaining to journalistic topics or stories covered by John Sutton during his time at the Austin American-Statesman. The subject files provide the best indication of how Sutton worked. They also contain relevant information for those researching Travis County and its government during the period. His files on subjects such as court cases and elections often contain official materials and press releases issued directly from government bodies. His coverage otherwise documents details of actual and proposed policies, and campaigns of important historical figures on their way to prominence including Ann Richards, and County Commissioners Richard Moya, Bob Honts, and David Samuelson.

The Predecessor Files series include Austin American-Statesman newspaper articles written by Sutton’s predecessors on the courthouse beat. The period covered in this series correlates to the years preceding Sutton’s employment at the Statesman, from 1971-1973. The articles contained therein were not written by Sutton but were given to him by his colleagues as reference materials. “Dog Bite Cases,” “Indecent Exposure & Other Show-offs,” “Swinging Swindler,” and “Teacher vs. Taxicabs” are among those oft-playfully-named subject files.

The Newspaper Clippings are a series of articles pertaining to the period 1974-1976. The series includes a selection of the “At the Courthouse” columns written by Sutton in 1975, as well as several other subject files pertaining to Travis County.

The Reporter’s Notebooks series contains those notebooks of Sutton’s whose use was not dedicated to a specific news story. The “Missing Mormon Missionaries” file in the Subject Files series also contains reporter’s notebooks, specific to that particular court case.

The Negatives series contains the developed contents of three short rolls of film, each from a particular event. Sutton himself is captured in “Jalapeño Eating,” the second of these three files.