Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 340 › Conversation 340-005
Nixon & Ziegler on Public Relations and Press Coverage
Tuesday, May 16, 1972 · 1:20 PM–1:22 PM ET · Old Executive Office Building · 4 min
AI Summary
President Nixon and Press Secretary Ronald Ziegler discuss the positive public reception following a recent, undisclosed event involving children. Nixon expresses satisfaction with the optics of the situation, particularly noting the encouraging atmosphere and public engagement. The brief exchange confirms that the administration’s strategy successfully garnered favorable coverage.
Audio
This clip was extracted from the full tape recording by Easy Nixon.
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Position in tape: 00:05:34 – 00:09:37
part A, 5:35
NARA Description
On May 16, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and Ronald L. Ziegler met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 1:20 pm to 1:22 pm. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 340-005 of the White House Tapes.
Nixon Library Finding Aid
Conversation No. 340-5 Date: May 16, 1972 Time: 1:20 pm - 1:22 pm Location: Executive Office Building The President talked with Ronald L. Ziegler; the discontinuities in this conversation appear in the original recording. [See also Conversation No. 24-168]
Transcript (AI-generated)
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— 2 min 59 s with no transcribed speech —
Also recorded on May 16, 1972
- 340-001 1:12 PM · 24 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 1:12 pm to 1:13 pm.
- 340-002 1:13 PM · 4 min — President Richard M. Nixon, unknown person(s), and Zosimo T. Monzon met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 1:13 pm and 1:19 pm.
- 340-003 1:19 PM · 48 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 1:19 pm to 1:20 pm.
- 024-151 1:20 PM · 8 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 1:20 pm.
- 024-168 1:20 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Ronald L. Ziegler talked on the telephone from 1:20 pm to 1:22 pm.
- 340-004 1:20 PM · 16 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at 1:20 pm.
- 024-152 1:22 PM · 10 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 1:22 pm and 3:50 pm.
- 340-006 1:22 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 1:22 pm and 3:03 pm.
Related conversations
- Nixon alone in his EOB office on First Lady and Media relations June 14, 1971 · 3 min
- Nixon phone call with Warren on Press relations and Vietnam War December 30, 1972 · 2 min
- Nixon phone call with Ziegler on SALT and Press coverage May 20, 1971 · 2 min
- Nixon phone call with Colson on John D. Ehrlichman and Media strategy August 13, 1971 · 4 min
- Nixon & Haldeman on Public Relations and Press Coverage March 2, 1971 · 5 min
- Nixon, Price & Gergen on Speechwriting and Media strategy February 2, 1973 · 16 min
Cite this conversation
Conversation 340-005, May 16, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/340-005 (accessed October 29, 2026).