Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 451 › Conversation 451-018

Nixon & Goode on Media relations and 60 Minutes

Thursday, February 18, 1971 · 3:52 PM–3:55 PM ET · Oval Office · 5 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Goode, Mark I.Conversation451-018 on Tape 451 (tape position 03:24:17–03:30:05)StartThursday, February 18, 1971 at 3:52 PMEndThursday, February 18, 1971 at 3:55 PMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 451-018 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon met with Mark I. Goode to discuss the technical and production aspects of filming White House events, specifically focusing on camera angles and proximity during press segments. They reviewed a recent "60 Minutes" interview with Morley Safer and addressed concerns regarding intrusive filming practices during a forthcoming dinner. The President instructed Goode to manage the production to ensure high-quality coverage while minimizing disruption to guests and maintaining professional standards.

Audio

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NARA Description

On February 18, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and Mark I. Goode met in the Oval Office of the White House from 3:52 pm to 3:55 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 451-018 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 451-18

Date: February 18, 1971
Time: 3:52 pm - 3:55 pm
Location: Oval Office

The President met with Mark I. Goode

     Filming of the President
          -Camera shots
                -Goode’s view
                -Angles
                -Ronald H. Walker
          -”60 Minutes” film segment taping
                -Morley Safer
                      -Introduction
                -Goode’s view
                      -Questions
                -Camera angles

     Forthcoming dinner coverage
          -Filming
          -Problems
          -Chef interview
               -Content
          -Lucy A. Winchester
          -Filming
               -Various events during the evening
               -Goode’s role

Goode left at 3:55 pm

Transcript (AI-generated)

This transcript is incomplete. The transcription skipped stretches of speech — roughly 1 minute of this recording (about 22% of it) is represented by only a few words. Listen to the audio rather than relying on the text below; a corrected transcript is queued.

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

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You can, uh...
I don't know if you can tell, except for that note, which describes it more than you, because we had talked about it, and we talked about it, and we talked about it, and we talked about it,
I didn't see what they used the next time they made a newscast.
The thing that bothered me there is that it's an area that we have to get into, and I discussed it with Ron Walker to see how much of a firm stand we can take.
I was very unhappy with the cameras being as far away as they were.
Um, and the whole team claimed that if they went in closer, they had sold these tables at $50,000.
I would apologize if you want to draw that out of the main machine.
Uh, with all the cars, we're not going to drop by to do it.
But do as many as you can.
But, uh, I'm not going to drop by.
I don't want to forget to do it.
You're going to make a big difference.
Because sometimes I stay a little more like that than I normally would.
And other times I stay a little less.
Chris, at the time, they just set up, we don't know that, and something may come up that you may want to discuss.
So I think we can do it.
Wherever we can, of course, work to get to a good position.
Naturally, when it's a major address, we'll be able to call anyone that may regard you always as a fine person.
Without, of course, saying, I'm not kidding.
And plus, we're so much serious, and some of you don't even know how to help them, and you can't smile, but you're a great help for a bunch of people, too, anyway.
But I think that the day up there was the...
I thought it went very well.
I was under the impression that you were just going to deliver some remarks, and they jumped in and asked about it as a question, which I had no knowledge.
I don't care.
I'm not too concerned about that.
I won't let anybody
he started asking questions that he was trying to jump in with, one, as he kept on going.
Yeah, I'm sorry.
They got a little, they got a tear to our ass.
It's probably more effective that way.
I think it's much more effective.
Of course, I did look at the camera.
That's the harder part.
Well, the camera was featuring and moving through the whole thing and
Pretty much in his bag.
They held it to each other because they were trying to hold a background word.
Maybe I would have typed it in on you as you were answering once he had asked the questions because your answers were longer than his questions.
But that's a matter of taking something I can't force on him.
I told Matt that I wouldn't have done it.
I think the producer agreed that he wouldn't have done it, but Chris directly said that he was defending his position.
However, that's on my point.
I hope that tonight goes well.
There will be a lot of lights around there, and I just hope that there isn't any unnecessary disruption of the flow or intrusion of guests.
I think it should go well.
I think it's going to be a good piece, an interesting piece.
Yes, we've just done an interview with Jeff.
You know, right before he came up, he did a looting from there to the floor and up.
And then, he's going to get a piece of Bruce Wayne casted brief in the 80s, and then sent one in the dining room with the last minute preparations in the dining room, and then into the evening's activities.
Something that really hasn't gone to this degree before.
See, of course, we can't go in and edit it for you, but I think you'll have some interesting material to work with.
All right.
Yes.
And uh, and the walk.
Sir, thank you, sir.
No problem.

Also recorded on February 18, 1971

  • 451-013 2:32 PM · 23 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 2:32 pm and 3:32 pm.
  • 451-014 3:32 PM · 9 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the Oval Office of the White House at 3:32 pm.
  • 451-015 3:32 PM · 6 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Mark I. Goode, and George P. Shultz met in the Oval Office of the White House from 3:32 pm to 3:40 pm.
  • 451-016 3:40 PM · 23 sec — United States Secret Service agents met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 3:40 pm and 3:52 pm.
  • 451-017 3:40 PM · 40 sec — unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 3:40 pm and 3:52 pm.
  • 451-019 3:55 PM · 1 hr 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon, John D. Ehrlichman, George P. Shultz, and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the Oval Office of the White House from 3:55 pm to 4:52 pm.
  • 451-020 5:10 PM · 34 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House from 5:10 pm to 5:14 pm.
  • 451-021 5:14 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 5:14 pm and 5:25 pm.

All 24 conversations from February 18, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 451-018, February 18, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/451-018 (accessed November 2, 2026).