Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 438 › Conversation 438-004

Nixon & Ziegler on Howard Smith and Public relations

Thursday, May 17, 1973 · 1:32 PM–1:33 PM ET · Old Executive Office Building · 1 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Ziegler, Ronald L.Conversation438-004 on Tape 438StartThursday, May 17, 1973 at 1:32 PMEndThursday, May 17, 1973 at 1:33 PMRecording deviceOld Executive Office BuildingSourceNixon Library record for 438-004 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and Press Secretary Ronald Ziegler discuss the necessity of contacting Howard Smith to convey the President's personal gratitude. The brief exchange focuses on coordinating this outreach, with Nixon emphasizing his appreciation for Smith's past actions. Ziegler is tasked with facilitating this communication to ensure the sentiment is properly relayed.

Audio

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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Yeah.
Were you able ever to get to Howard Smith by any chance?
Fine.
Yeah.
Fine.
You might talk to him.
And when you do, you could just say that the President is deeply grateful that he stayed long enough to call once he sees him.
And I'm glad to talk to him about it.
If I didn't see that, what'd he do?
What'd he say?
All right.
All right.
That's right, that's right.
Don't worry about it now.

NARA Description

On May 17, 1973, President Richard M. Nixon and Ronald L. Ziegler met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 1:32 pm to 1:33 pm. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 438-004 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 438-4

Date: May 17, 1973
Time: 1:32 pm - 1:33 pm
Location: Old Executive Office Building

The President talked with Ronald L. Ziegler.

[See Conversation No. 46-92]

Also recorded on May 17, 1973

  • 921-022 1:25 PM · 21 sec — unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 1:25 pm and 11:59 pm.
  • 046-091 1:27 PM · 10 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 1:27 pm and 1:32 pm.
  • 438-001 1:27 PM · 20 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 1:27 pm and 1:32 pm.
  • 438-002 1:27 PM · 46 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Marjorie P. Acker met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 1:27 pm and 1:32 pm.
  • 438-003 1:27 PM · 9 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and White House operator met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 1:27 pm and 1:32 pm.
  • 046-092 1:32 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Ronald L. Ziegler talked on the telephone from 1:32 pm to 1:33 pm.
  • 046-093 1:33 PM · 10 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 1:33 pm and 1:46 pm.
  • 438-005 1:33 PM · 10 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and White House operator met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 1:33 pm and 1:46 pm.

All 70 conversations from May 17, 1973 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 438-004, May 17, 1973. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/438-004 (accessed October 12, 2026).