Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 315 › Conversation 315-006

Nixon & Colson on Media strategy and Public relations

Monday, January 17, 1972 · 2:47 PM–3:10 PM ET · Old Executive Office Building

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Colson, Charles W.Conversation315-006 on Tape 315 (tape position 00:08:57–00:21:14)StartMonday, January 17, 1972 at 2:47 PMEndMonday, January 17, 1972 at 3:10 PMRecording deviceOld Executive Office BuildingSourceNixon Library record for 315-006 ↗

President Nixon and Charles Colson discuss media strategy and the public perception of various political commentators and personalities. The two analyze the performance and communication styles of specific individuals, debating how to effectively leverage these figures for the administration's messaging efforts. The conversation concludes with a focus on managing the longevity and impact of these media surrogates to ensure they remain effective political assets.

Download MP3 (part 1) · 115.3 MB ·Download MP3 (part 2) · 58.4 MB

This conversation has not yet been cut into its own clip, so the player above contains the full tape segment shared with neighbouring conversations. It begins about 00:08:57 into the tape and ends around 00:21:14.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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· Timestamps are positions within the full tape recording.
8:42Call them, please.
10:03You don't think it was the exact same thing?
10:19I think I...
11:16Person B, subject to subjectivity and position.
11:20That's Bill Rock's point.
11:27Person A tells us what to do next time.
11:28One thing about writers is that they never can find a leader in the film unless they hear a word from us.
11:33Do you think that should come up in the future?
11:41No.
11:46Of course, I've let me in for as long as you have this time.
11:50You just have to sit there and take it, that's all.
11:51Never kill me or leave me.
13:04I guess we, uh...
13:09I guess we, uh...
13:13I guess we, uh...
13:17I guess we, uh...
13:18I guess we, uh...
13:20I guess we, uh...
13:20I guess we, uh...
14:09I wish they had Agnes next week.
14:12Agnes was damn good on this program.
14:14Is that right?
14:18Yeah.
14:20You got Mike to sit here, too?
14:29He could get off soon.
14:30I think it's imperative.
14:35I'm just saying, he's so good.
14:37He'll knock that...
14:46He's going to do that, and he must not hide that while you're pushing him.
14:51He's going to do that, and of course, comics occur, but you can't lose him.
14:58I've never seen him do that.
15:01I've never watched him.
15:02I've seen bad reactions to what he's done.
15:06He's been damned.
15:07He's crisp.
15:08He's very intelligent.
15:10He's smooth.
15:12He's got class.
15:13A lot more muscle.
15:17It's too smooth.
15:22Yeah.
15:22Yeah.
15:22If the people are soothing, they'll just say that after a month or so, it's going to go on.
15:28Don't put it on me.
15:29Just sort of say that a lot of people in your shop, they're so well, so it matters.
15:40It will.
15:41It will end.
15:41It will end.
21:18Vroom!

On January 17, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and Charles W. Colson met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 2:47 pm to 3:10 pm. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 315-006 of the White House Tapes.

Conversation No. 315-6

Date: January 17, 1972
Time: 2:47 pm - 3:10 pm
Location: Executive Office Building

The President talked with Charles W. Colson.

[See Conversation No. 18-91; four items have been withdrawn from the conversation]
  • 315-017 2:34 PM · 25 min — President Richard M. Nixon met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 2:34 pm and 3:43 pm.
  • 315-018 2:34 PM · 35 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 2:34 pm and 3:43 pm.
  • 315-019 2:34 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Roger Staubach met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 2:34 pm and 3:43 pm.
  • 018-089 2:39 PM · 7 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Raymond K. Price, Jr. talked on the telephone from 2:39 pm to 2:43 pm.
  • 315-004 2:39 PM · 4 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Raymond K. Price, Jr. met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 2:39 pm to 2:43 pm.
  • 018-090 2:43 PM · 6 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 2:43 pm and 2:47 pm.
  • 315-005 2:43 PM · 17 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 2:43 pm and 2:47 pm.
  • 018-091 2:47 PM · 22 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Charles W. Colson talked on the telephone from 2:47 pm to 3:10 pm.

Conversation 315-006, January 17, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/315-006 (accessed September 29, 2026).