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Frank Daniels joined the News and Observer of Raleigh, North Carolina, as an office boy when he was fourteen, joined the full-time staff after serving in World War I, and became publisher in 1971, helming the paper until 1996. The paper was a family business—Daniels's grandfather bought it in 1894—but Daniels does not describe much of the internal workings of the newsroom because the focus of this interview is on two Raleigh-area hospitals, Wake Medical Center and Rex Hospital. Daniels himself, though he became chairman of the board at Rex Hospital, seems more concerned with openness, and the natural conflict between organizations that value privacy and the press that demands openness. In addition to commenting on these issues, Daniels shares his thoughts on racial integration at Wake and Rex and his interactions with some hospital administrators, including Bill Andrews and Ray Champ. This interview will be most useful for researchers interested in Wake Medical Center and Rex Hospital, who may find some insights into hospital administration and leadership here.

First Amendment lawsuits filed by the News and Observer

Public bodies' instinct to conceal vs. the press's instinct to uncover

Distaste for company board's effort to escape scrutiny

Some thoughts on the leadership at Rex Hospital and Wake Medical Center

Racial discrimination at Raleigh area hospitals

Finding aid to the Southern Oral History Program Collection

Database of all Southern Oral History Program Collection interviews