This study included both an analysis of justices over time as well as an examination of recent press coverage. This project employed a two-method approach to the study of the relationships between justices and reporters. These methods were historical inquiry and content analysis of news stories about the Court.

HISTORICAL INQUIRY

Because this project examined possible change over time in the relationships between justices and reporters, secondary and primary sources related to the extrajudicial behavior of the justices throughout the history of the Court were employed. There are relatively few books and articles directly addressing the topic of justices and the press. In addition to biographies of the justices, articles, and monographs, I relied on the public papers of the coverage of the justices for insights into the attitudes of justices towards the press, as well as their public activities. These included speeches, writings, background interviews, rare on-the-record interviews, correspondence with the press, correspondence with colleagues, and letters to friends and acquaintances, among other sources. The Library of Congress Manuscript Division holds most of the extant papers of past U.S. Supreme Court justices, and I was able to examine most of the papers of the justices located there. Other justices' papers are available elsewhere. I also used the resources at the Special Collections Division, Harvard Law Library; Chicago Historical Society; the Tarleton Law Library, University of Texas; and the Yale University Sterling Memorial Library.