Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 581 › Conversation 581-008

Nixon & Bull on Newspaper carriers and Press relations

Thursday, September 30, 1971 · 12:51 PM ET · Oval Office · 36 sec

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Bull, Stephen B.Conversation581-008 on Tape 581 (tape position 02:36:48–02:37:30)StartThursday, September 30, 1971 at 12:51 PMEndThursday, September 30, 1971 at 12:51 PMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 581-008 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon met with Stephen B. Bull to review his upcoming schedule, specifically focusing on an engagement with newspaper carriers. The discussion clarified a potential misunderstanding regarding a scheduled national newspaper boycott. Following the brief exchange, Nixon directed Bull to finalize the arrangements for the event.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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Now, what is this newspaper thing?
Yes, sir.
It's designated on Saturday, October 16th.
It's a national newspaper boycott.
What happened to this one?
It was released.
What?
It was released.
It was a newspaper boycott.
Yeah, it was.
Yeah, yeah.
Yes.
What is going on here?
Now, this is a newspaper boycott.
It's a boycott.
Oh.
Oh, wow.
Yes, sir.
I just got to get it done.
All right, sir.
It's a press 101.
Yes, sir.
I suggest you sit your own head, and then we'll get to the next one.
Yes, sir.

NARA Description

On September 30, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at 12:51 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 581-008 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 581-8

Date: September 30, 1971
Time: 12:51 pm
Location: Oval Office

The President met with Stephen B. Bull.

     The President's schedule
          -Meeting with newspaper carriers

Bull left at 12:51 pm.

Also recorded on September 30, 1971

  • 581-005 12:18 PM · 41 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:18 pm and 12:20 pm.
  • 581-006 12:20 PM · 25 min — President Richard M. Nixon, William P. Rogers, and Henry A. Kissinger met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:20 pm to 12:45 pm.
  • 581-007 12:45 PM · 5 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Virginia H. Knauer, Richard H. Grant, and Marion F. Gregory met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:45 pm to 12:51 pm.
  • 581-009 12:51 PM · 6 min — President Richard M. Nixon, L. Scott Olson, Curtis Sliwa, Jimmy French, Kevin Markwell, Christopher Messina, Bruce Hynes, David Byers, David Bell, Jr., Glenn Norris, Millard Hall, John Neeld, John Neurschwander, Gretchn McHale, Charles W. Colson, Neal Ball, and DeVan L. Shumway met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:51 pm to 12:58 pm.
  • 581-010 12:58 PM · 19 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at 12:58 pm.
  • 581-011 12:58 PM · 1 hr 5 min — President Richard M. Nixon, George P. Shultz, Herbert Stein, unknown person(s), Henry A. Kissinger, and Manolo Sanchez met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:58 pm to 2:11 pm.
  • 010-036 12:59 PM · 6 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 12:59 pm.
  • 010-037 1:04 PM · 11 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 1:04 pm.

All 28 conversations from September 30, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 581-008, September 30, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/581-008 (accessed September 28, 2026).