{"conversationCode":"045-161","tapeNumber":45,"conversationNumber":161,"identifier":"37-wht-conversation-045-161","startDateTime":"1973-05-09T00:01:00.000Z","endDateTime":"1973-05-09T00:19:00.000Z","startDate":"8-May-1973","startTime":"8:01 PM","endDate":"8-May-1973","endTime":"8:19 PM","dateCertainty":"certain","timeCertainty":"estimated","participants":"Nixon, Richard M. (President); White House operator;","description":"On May 8, 1973, President Richard M. Nixon and White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 8:01 pm and 8:19 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 045-161 of the White House Tapes.","locationCode":"WHT","recordingDevice":"White House Telephone","latitudeEstimated":38.89767,"longitudeEstimated":-77.03655,"chronCode":"5.5","chronRelease":"Fifth Chronological Release: Part V","chronReleaseDate":"21-Aug-2013","aogpRelease":null,"aogpSegment":null,"lastModified":"2015-07-27T17:04:10.235Z","findingAid":"Conversation No. 45-161\n\nDate: May 8, 1973\nTime: Unknown between 8:01 pm and 8:19 pm\nLocation: White House Telephone\n\nThe President talked with the White House operator.\n\n     Telephone call to Ronald L. Ziegler\n          -Connie Gerard","filename":["045-161.mp3"],"tapeStart":"","tapeEnd":"","participantsList":["Nixon, Richard M. (President)","White House operator"],"prevCode":"045-160","nextCode":"045-162","transcript":[{"start":0.5,"end":4.71,"text":"Yes, please."},{"start":4.77,"end":6.72,"text":"Mr. Ziegler, unless he's in a meeting, please."},{"start":7.12,"end":13.79,"text":"Mr. President, I left word with Connie Gerard, you know, to call it his convenience, and I haven't heard from her."},{"start":13.81,"end":14.31,"text":"All right, fine."},{"start":14.34,"end":15.12,"text":"Just check with her again."},{"start":15.14,"end":16.9,"text":"Be sure that she knows he can reach me here now."},{"start":16.92,"end":18.12,"text":"All right, sir."}],"aiSummary":{"text":"President Nixon consulted with the White House operator to facilitate an urgent call with Press Secretary Ronald L. Ziegler. The President directed the operator to follow up with Ziegler's assistant, Connie Gerard, to ensure Ziegler understood he was available to receive the call immediately. This exchange underscores the President's administrative efforts to maintain direct communication with his key staff during a period of ongoing crisis.","topics":["Ronald L. Ziegler","White House operations","Presidential communication","Administration management"],"generatedAt":"2026-04-06T07:15:05.456Z"},"topicSlugs":["ronald-l-ziegler","white-house-operations","presidential-communication","administration-management"],"audioDurationSec":24,"audioFiles":[{"file":"045-161.mp3","bytes":763904,"durationSec":23.79,"bitrate":256918,"missing":false}],"audioIsShared":false,"audioProbedAt":"2026-09-18T02:20:02.713Z","audio":["https://nixon.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/audio/045-161.mp3"],"url":"https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/045-161","nixonLibraryUrl":"https://www.nixonlibrary.gov/white-house-tapes/45/conversation-045-161","license":"Public domain (U.S. Government work). AI-generated fields (transcript, aiSummary) are provided as-is without warranty."}