Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 36 › Conversation 036-044

Nixon phone call with Ziegler on Time magazine and White House press policy

Monday, January 22, 1973 · 4:13 PM–4:14 PM ET · White House Telephone · 43 sec

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Ziegler, Ronald L.Conversation036-044 on Tape 36StartMonday, January 22, 1973 at 4:13 PMEndMonday, January 22, 1973 at 4:14 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 036-044 ↗ · National Archives Catalog, NAID 417194533 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon instructed Press Secretary Ronald L. Ziegler to implement an immediate ban on all communication between White House staff and Time magazine. This directive was prompted by a negative story regarding Charles W. Colson and John N. Mitchell. Nixon ordered that any staff member, including National Security Council personnel, found violating this policy—specifically mentioning Jerold L. Schecter—must have their resignation submitted within one minute.

Audio

Download MP3 · 1.0 MB

NARA Description

On January 22, 1973, President Richard M. Nixon and Ronald L. Ziegler talked on the telephone from 4:13 pm to 4:14 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 036-044 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 36-44

Date: January 22, 1973
Time: 4:13 pm - 4:14 pm
Location: White House Telephone
                                               -32-

                   NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

                                                            Conversation No. 36-44 (cont’d)

The President talked with Ronald L. Ziegler.

[See also Conversation No. 400-11C]

       Time story
            -White House staff
                  -Charles W. Colson and John N. Mitchell
                  -The President’s instructions
                  -Jerold L. Schecter
                  -National Security Council [NSC] staff
                  -No calls to and from Time

Transcript (AI-generated)

This transcript was generated automatically by AI (WhisperX) and has not been reviewed for accuracy. Names and numbers are often wrong; speakers are not identified. Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

Download transcript (.txt) · JSON data

Click a timestamp to play from that point; the page address then links to that moment (e.g. #t=125).

Hello.
Yes, sir.
I'm sure you need to, but in view of times using that story on Mitchell and Coulson, anybody in the White House talks to anybody from time.
His resignation must be on my desk within one minute.
Is that clear?
Yes, sir.
You get that order around the statute.
All right.
And you are to enforce it.
And that means Schecter
everybody else, you tell the NSC crowd, no calls at all are to be taken or returned from Time magazine unless I approve them in the future.
Is that clear?
Yes, sir.

Also recorded on January 22, 1973

  • 036-041 3:39 PM · 14 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 3:39 pm.
  • 400-008 3:39 PM · 12 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at 3:39 pm.
  • 400-009 3:39 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 3:39 pm and 4:05 pm.
  • 400-011 3:40 PM · 55 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Charles W. Colson, Raymond K. Price, Jr., White House operator, and Ronald L. Ziegler met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 3:40 pm and 4:05 pm.
  • 036-042 4:05 PM · 29 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Raymond K. Price, Jr. talked on the telephone from 4:05 pm to 4:06 pm.
  • 036-043 4:06 PM · 9 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 4:06 pm and 4:13 pm.
  • 036-045 4:14 PM · 9 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 4:14 pm.
  • 036-046 4:15 PM · 51 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Ronald L. Ziegler talked on the telephone from 4:15 pm to 4:16 pm.

All 64 conversations from January 22, 1973 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 036-044, January 22, 1973. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives (NAID 417194533). Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/036-044 (accessed November 3, 2026).