Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 554 › Conversation 554-005

Nixon, Ziegler & Butterfield on Press relations and Oval Office

Wednesday, August 4, 1971 · 1:43 PM–1:55 PM ET · Oval Office · 12 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Ziegler, Ronald L.; Butterfield, Alexander P.Conversation554-005 on Tape 554 (tape position 02:00:44–02:12:36)StartWednesday, August 4, 1971 at 1:43 PMEndWednesday, August 4, 1971 at 1:55 PMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 554-005 ↗ · National Archives Catalog, NAID 417178737 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and Press Secretary Ronald L. Ziegler met to evaluate the effectiveness and strategic utility of holding informal press conferences in the Oval Office. They discussed the benefits of the setting, noting that it allows the President to maintain tighter control over questioning and avoid the public scrutiny of follow-up inquiries compared to televised events. Ultimately, Nixon decided to increase the frequency of these sessions to better manage public perception and communicate key administration messages on specific topics like economic policy.

Audio

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NARA Description

On August 4, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon, Ronald L. Ziegler, and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House from 1:43 pm to 1:55 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 554-005 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 554-5

Date: August 4, 1971
Time: 1:43 pm - 1:55 pm
Location: Oval Office

The President met with Ronald L. Ziegler.

     Forthcoming press conference
          -Economy
               -Legislation
                    -Clark MacGregor, William E. Timmons, John D. Ehrlichman
                    -George H. Mahon
                          -Congressional recess
                    -Teenage employment
                    -Timing of comments

     Office press conference
          -News reports
                -Wage and price board
                -Associated Press [AP]
                -Arthur F. Burns
          -Press reaction
                -Herbert E. Kaplow
          -Frequency
          -Preparation
                -Compared to televised press conferences
                      -Control of questions
                            -Helen Thomas
          -Frequency
          -Length
          -Press reaction
                -Clifford Evans
                      -Appreciation for press conference
                -Charles W. Bailey, II
                      -Africa trip
                -Jude Walinsky [sp?]
          -Use of television
                -Oval Office setting
                -Public speaking
                      -Iowa
          -Timing
          -Frequency
                -Press expectations
                      -People’s Republic of China [PRC] announcement
Show the rest of the log (30 more lines)
Alexander P. Butterfield entered at an unknown time after 1:43 pm.

     Meeting with John B. Connally

Butterfield left at an unknown time before 1:55 pm.

     Press conference
           -Timing

Butterfield entered at 1:50 pm.

     Meeting with Charles W. Colson

Butterfield left at 1:52 pm.

     Press conference
           -Subjects
           -Timing
           -Subjects
                -Specificity or generality
           -Speeches
                -California
                -Timing
                -Location

     President’s schedule
          -Colson

Ziegler left at 1:55 pm.

Transcript (AI-generated)

This transcript is incomplete. The transcription skipped stretches of speech — roughly 4 minutes of this recording (about 35% 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.

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My understanding is that it's very important that they get through.
It's very important.
Congress may have a Congress-led election.
It's very responsible for getting actions announced.
It's also sent to the United States.
Do not resist.
We'll be live on the ballgame.
A high number in and out of the labor market.
This is a very dramatic impact, right at this time, and very necessary.
Right.
Could we do this in the morning?
Get more play in the morning.
See, because today, we'll talk all of this, and this will be just run on, I plan a question in the morning.
Yeah.
And then that'll be another way to plan it.
I'll just say it, because it's... All right.
Take it out of the cabinet.
Press conference.
President Nixon said today he did not favor a wage price board approach to the inflationary economy.
He said he would bring the power of his office there in an effort to see that industry and labor negotiation settlements are responsible.
That's the domestic lead on AP.
Oh, they don't point out.
Be happy to consider if they come up with a better idea in the hearings and so forth.
Yes, they point that out.
That's the lead.
resting, put the rest of the reports that he is at odds with Arthur Burns and so forth.
I've been covered.
Oh, well.
The general effect of this office is very good with the press.
They like it.
Oh, sure they do.
We've talked about that before.
I think we've talked about that too.
I think you've been talking about that too.
They, of course, love it because it just puts them in closer to the president.
They have a chance to follow up.
They were talking about how it was a good exchange, follow up, very, you know, for example, your little discussion with Herb Capow there, which was just, you know, kind of like not a Q&A so much.
It was just you were explaining to them what you thought.
And, uh...
So they are always very favorable about it.
Write extensive copy on them, of course.
My theory is that they might do this kind a little more often.
Having in mind the fact that they do not require, they don't require the harvest on preparation.
In fact, the answer has to be hauled down to them.
Well, the other thing, too, is that without the cameras, you can just cut these guys.
If they begin to move into an area you don't want to cover, you can just cut them off.
If you cut Helen Thomas off, there's not another guy, you know, in a stern way.
See, look, I'm not going to get into that.
There's, you know,
there's not a guy in the room that will follow that question up.
It's highly unlikely that he will, because, and then it won't be, you can cut it off easier than you can on TV, but then they'll just say the president would not comment on other things.
It's like there wasn't one follow-up question to Helen Thompson.
Right.
Which, of course...
Right, no, I didn't mean to use a specific question.
Bob talked about control.
You can control these things very easily.
Yes, it works pretty well.
Nothing very good means that we're going to find time to respond subjectively.
Well, I think if we do increase the frequency, well, then that would allow one subject.
Or two subjects.
That's right.
Maybe you'd call them in 10 minutes and say, look, I wanted to cover this with you.
Or I'll say, the president wanted to come in and cover this subject with you this morning.
You have total control of it.
Elevates the response, of course, of the mistake.
This time is quite favorable.
Always is.
Sure, and they like to have the opportunity to, for example, Cliff Evans here coming up at the end, you know, he said, could I thank the president?
It gives them a little bit of contact.
and they like the field, and they go out and talk about them.
And Chuck Bailey here, for example, Tony and others, his trip to Africa.
The fellow Walensky, Jude Walensky.
Well, that was a big thing, obviously, because he had not met you, and he's governor of the White House and so on.
So it makes you feel that they have some contact with me.
And also, as far as the press is concerned, the extent of what might be on places
My play is an enormous play.
Oh, sure.
It's a very big play.
It gets very extensive play on television, too, except it's not you saying it, but it's a guy that I'll go on extensive to him tonight.
What's your opinion about doing it out there sometime in the newsroom so that they do get it for television?
I think that might be a good idea to do film occasionally, but I like the, actually, I like the office center quite a bit.
I don't think we should, I don't know what you'd consider putting a camera in here.
No, no, I don't think so.
I think we'll just use the office, and that also gives them the opportunity, like the old-time reporter, to go.
And let's face it, it still means that the news reporters on TV are going to do it.
That's the advantage of being on their own face time.
Well, particularly when, for example,
when you've been out on speaking.
For example, in Iowa, they used a good chunk of that.
So the president out and the president on TV speaking to matters and so forth.
I don't think the president always has to be the one on camera in order to convey the points that he wants to.
But I think it has to be assessed according to your schedule.
It would not be good to go for two months.
I've been thinking that we might...
We had it recently, of course, we skipped one last month.
Obviously, they all know it.
If anybody has, well, they had it because I'd say the last month we couldn't, for obvious reasons, we had things of high sensitivity that we didn't want to discuss.
We didn't want to regret a chance to do it.
They'd asked me about the once-a-month thing, and I said, well, the point is it's going to average out to that.
The president said it would have on an average of once a month.
It averages out to that because they were talking about it.
See, they didn't start that because they thought you were about ready to drop another big bomb on them here when you returned from California.
They didn't know.
They had no idea.
Yes, but, you know, the China thing had just passed, and
But it was in the last two days they began that, say, it's been two months.
And then he said, well, the president indicated we'd average out to... Sir, should the Secretary of County read 2.15?
He's down at 2.15.
Delay him just a few minutes.
Yeah, well, it is a problem.
You know, if you don't...
In average, it's more than once in one prayer.
I've taken, for example, I might decide to find one subject
We just set up the instrument beam.
Mark not one subject in general area.
That's right.
If not one subject to general heredity, I think that's what you mean.
Like foreign policy or American policy.
I don't know what I have in mind.
I don't know what I have in mind.
Because you'll be, your speech will be on TV there.
It's certainly doing in the office here.
Come on.
You'll see.
See how much force is in your hands.
Wow.
Look at this.
It's almost...

Also recorded on August 4, 1971

  • 554-002 12:27 PM · 6 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Alexander P. Butterfield, and Ronald L. Ziegler met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:27 pm and 1:43 pm.
  • 554-003 12:27 PM · 60 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, Henry A. Kissinger, unknown person(s), and John B. Connally met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:27 pm and 1:43 pm.
  • 554-004 12:27 PM · 11 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:27 pm and 1:43 pm.
  • 554-006 1:55 PM · 23 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Charles W. Colson, White House operator, John C. Stennis, and Manolo Sanchez met in the Oval Office of the White House from 1:55 pm to 2:18 pm.
  • 007-062 1:56 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and John C. Stennis talked on the telephone from 1:56 pm to 1:59 pm.
  • 007-063 1:59 PM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 1:59 pm and 3:50 pm.
  • 554-007 2:19 PM · 1 hr 20 min — President Richard M. Nixon, John B. Connally, Stephen B. Bull, George P. Shultz, and Manolo Sanchez met in the Oval Office of the White House from 2:19 pm to 2:55 pm.
  • 554-008 2:56 PM · 11 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Henry J. Tasca, and Alexander M. Haig, Jr. met in the Oval Office of the White House from 2:56 pm to 3:49 pm.

All 21 conversations from August 4, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 554-005, August 4, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives (NAID 417178737). Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/554-005 (accessed November 1, 2026).