Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 648 › Conversation 648-001
Nixon & Drury on Press relations and Washington Star
Monday, January 17, 1972 · 8:58 AM–9:48 AM ET · Oval Office · 2 min
AI Summary
President Nixon met with author Allen S. Drury to express his strong appreciation for a letter Drury wrote regarding the Washington press corps. Nixon praised the document as a truthful critique that would likely alienate Drury from mainstream journalists while earning respect from honest observers. The conversation served primarily as a private gesture of validation for Drury’s confrontational stance toward the media.
- Allen S. Drury
- Press relations
- Washington Star
- Media criticism
- Journalistic integrity
Audio
NARA Description
On January 17, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and Allen S. Drury met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 8:58 am and 9:48 am. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 648-001 of the White House Tapes.
Nixon Library Finding Aid
Conversation No. 648-1
Date: January 17, 1972
Time: Unknown between 8:58 am and 9:48 am
Location: Oval Office
The President dictated a letter to Allen S. Drury.
Drury's letter regarding press in Washington Star
-The President's appreciation
-Timing
-Possible effect
-Drury's relations with press corpsTranscript (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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.
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Also recorded on January 17, 1972
- 648-002 8:58 AM · 4 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Don Shula met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 8:58 am and 9:48 am.
- 648-003 8:58 AM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 8:58 am and 9:48 am.
- 648-004 9:48 AM · 3 hr 28 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, Ronald L. Ziegler, unknown person(s), White House operator, John B. Connally, Henry A. Kissinger, H. G. Wells, Robert S. Ingersoll, and George P. Shultz met in the Oval Office of the White House from 9:48 am to 1:23 pm.
- 018-087 11:24 AM · 2 min — H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, White House operator, President Richard M. Nixon, and John B. Connally talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 11:24 am and 11:30 am.
- 648-005 1:23 PM · 19 sec — United States Secret Service agents and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 1:23 pm and 3:45 pm.
- 018-088 1:25 PM · 8 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 1:25 pm and 2:39 pm.
- 315-001 1:25 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 1:25 pm and 2:39 pm.
- 315-002 1:25 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 1:25 pm and 2:39 pm.
Related conversations
- Nixon & Ziegler on 1972 Presidential Campaign and Press relations October 17, 1972 · 14 min
- Nixon phone call with Irwin on State Department and Press relations March 8, 1972 · 1 min
- Nixon alone in his EOB office on Presidential speech and Memorandum May 2, 1972 · 2 min
- Nixon, Ziegler & Woods on White House Press Relations and Press Secretary January 9, 1973 · 40 min
- Nixon & Ziegler on Economic policy and Unemployment statistics March 24, 1972 · 3 min
- Nixon & Buchanan on 1972 election and Media bias June 10, 1972 · 10 min
Cite this conversation
Conversation 648-001, January 17, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives (NAID 417180409). Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/648-001 (accessed November 14, 2026).