{"conversationCode":"834-004","tapeNumber":834,"conversationNumber":4,"identifier":"37-wht-conversation-834-004","startDateTime":"1973-01-05T18:57:00.000Z","endDateTime":"1973-01-05T19:03:00.000Z","startDate":"5-Jan-1973","startTime":"1:57 PM","endDate":"5-Jan-1973","endTime":"2:03 PM","dateCertainty":"certain","timeCertainty":"estimated","participants":"Nixon, Richard M. (President); Bull, Stephen B.;","description":"On January 5, 1973, President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 1:57 pm and 2:03 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 834-004 of the White House Tapes.","locationCode":"OVAL","recordingDevice":"Oval Office","latitudeEstimated":38.8974,"longitudeEstimated":-77.0374,"chronCode":"5.3","chronRelease":"Fifth Chronological Release: Part III","chronReleaseDate":"23-Jun-2009","aogpRelease":null,"aogpSegment":null,"lastModified":"2015-07-27T17:04:10.235Z","findingAid":"Conversation No. 834-4\n\nDate: January 5, 1973\nTime: Unknown between 1:57 pm and 2:03 pm\nLocation: Oval Office\n\nStephen B. Bull met with the President.\n\n       Ceremonies\n\n       Length of courtesy calls of visiting foreign officials\n\n       Press coverage\n\n       Press photos\n             -Ronald L. Ziegler's announcement\n                  -Time constraints\n                  -John D. Ehrlichman\n\n       Meetings\n\nBull left at an unknown time before 2:03 pm.","filename":["834-004.mp3"],"tapeStart":"","tapeEnd":"","participantsList":["Nixon, Richard M. (President)","Bull, Stephen B."],"prevCode":"834-003","nextCode":"834-005","transcript":[{"start":0.59,"end":2.19,"text":"Mr. President, whenever you're ready to get started."},{"start":2.91,"end":5.46,"text":"I'm going to call the president."},{"start":5.5,"end":6.12,"text":"They're all over 15 minutes."},{"start":6.16,"end":7.06,"text":"This is a 15-minute courtesy call."},{"start":7.08,"end":8.64,"text":"We need to get the area out in front of us."},{"start":8.66,"end":9.34,"text":"I'm going to call the president."},{"start":9.42,"end":10.74,"text":"They need to get out fast."},{"start":10.76,"end":11.76,"text":"I'm going to call the president."},{"start":11.8,"end":19.59,"text":"They're not going to be in front of us."},{"start":20.85,"end":26.61,"text":"They're going to be in front of us."},{"start":41.38,"end":45.02,"text":"Well, I figured I'd announce the press close as he said."},{"start":45.06,"end":46.62,"text":"Goddamn, I told you not to press close."},{"start":46.64,"end":48.23,"text":"See what you haven't got the time for."},{"start":49.24,"end":51.15,"text":"He's announced there'd be press close."},{"start":51.21,"end":51.71,"text":"But I'm unsealed."},{"start":51.73,"end":52.59,"text":"I'm unsealed."},{"start":52.67,"end":62.61,"text":"Why did they overrule you then?"},{"start":62.79,"end":65.09,"text":"Remember I said no press close."},{"start":65.11,"end":67.72,"text":"Why are they doing this?"},{"start":67.78,"end":69.54,"text":"I'm not certain why that came about."},{"start":72.81,"end":73.45,"text":"Yes, sir."},{"start":73.71,"end":75.81,"text":"Yes, sir."},{"start":76.5,"end":77.19,"text":"Yes, sir."},{"start":78.19,"end":78.8,"text":"Yes, sir."},{"start":104.31,"end":105.79,"text":"All right."},{"start":107.01,"end":112.21,"text":"All right."}],"aiSummary":{"text":"President Nixon met with his aide, Stephen B. Bull, to discuss the logistical management of courtesy calls with foreign officials, specifically focusing on time constraints and press access. Nixon expressed frustration regarding unauthorized public announcements by press secretary Ronald Ziegler promising press presence at these meetings, which conflicted with the President’s desire for tighter scheduling and privacy. The discussion centered on curbing unnecessary press exposure and enforcing strict fifteen-minute limits for these diplomatic encounters.","topics":["White House protocol","Press relations","Courtesy calls","Scheduling","Diplomatic protocol"],"generatedAt":"2026-04-08T00:50:38.523Z"},"topicSlugs":["white-house-protocol","press-relations","courtesy-calls","scheduling","diplomatic-protocol"],"audioDurationSec":135,"audioFiles":[{"file":"834-004.mp3","bytes":3247786,"durationSec":135.19,"bitrate":192195,"missing":false}],"audioIsShared":false,"audioProbedAt":"2026-09-18T02:19:59.849Z","audio":["https://nixon.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/audio/834-004.mp3"],"url":"https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/834-004","nixonLibraryUrl":"https://www.nixonlibrary.gov/white-house-tapes/834/conversation-834-004","license":"Public domain (U.S. Government work). AI-generated fields (transcript, aiSummary) are provided as-is without warranty."}