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Gerald R. Ford Library1000 Beal Avenue,
www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov |
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Gerald R. Ford Library1000 Beal Avenue,
www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov |
JOHN W.
"BILL" ROBERTS
Deputy Press Secretary to the Vice President;
Assistant Press Secretary to the President:
Papers, 1973-77
SUMMARY DESCRIPTION
Materials
relating to the operation of Mr. Ford's vice presidential and White House press
offices, liaison with the media for coverage of his trips and public
activities, and the President's daily schedules with accompanying
documentation. Also Roberts's
tape-recorded personal observations of the Nixon-Ford transition.
QUANTITY
14
linear feet (ca. 28,000 pp.)
DONOR
John W. Roberts
(accession number 91-40)
ACCESS
Open. Some items are temporarily restricted under terms
of Donor's deed of gift, a copy of which is available on request.
COPYRIGHT
Works prepared
by U.S. Government employees as part of their official duties are in the public
domain. In addition,
Mr. Roberts has donated to the
Prepared by: Helmi
J. Raaska, April 1992
[s:\bin\findaid\roberts,
bill - papers.doc]
BIOGRAPHICAL
INFORMATION
John W.
"Bill" Roberts
1941 B.A.,
1942-46
1946-48 Radio
news reporter, WOC,
1948-58 Radio
news reporter and television anchorman, WMT
Stations,
1958-72 Washington
Bureau Chief, Time, Inc.
1972-73
1973-74 Deputy
Press Secretary to the Vice President
1974-77 Assistant
Press Secretary to the President
INTRODUCTION
John W. "Bill" Roberts's
background was in radio and television news reporting. He was a newscaster for radio and television
stations in
In the Ford White House, Roberts's
main responsibilities were in areas involving the radio and television media
and still photographers. He worked with
the networks on live coverage setups in the Oval Office, East Room, and in
During the final six months of the
administration Roberts's duties were expanded to include supervising
preparation of responses to press inquiries, press releases, and texts of
presidential actions, policies, and statements.
He was responsible for all press coverage arrangements for more than 30
state dinners and formal arrival ceremonies for foreign dignitaries visiting
the President, and was the designated press officer for foreign journalists
covering the White House.
Scope and
Content of the Roberts Papers
One value of the Roberts Papers is
that they span the entire Ford vice presidency and presidency. They provide an overall view of the Ford vice
presidency through travel schedules, drafts and texts of speeches, transcripts
of interviews, and clippings. The papers
relate more to Ford's speeches, travel, and public image than they do to
issues. An exception is the Domestic
Council Committee on the Right of Privacy, for which there are fact sheets,
working drafts of a decision paper on proposed privacy initiatives, a text of
congressional testimony by Philip Buchen, and an
agenda and background notes for a meeting on
The collection includes Roberts's
personal observations and recollections, which he tape-recorded every few days
during July, August, and September 1974.
These recollections, on four audio cassettes, provide insight into the
last days of the Ford vice presidency, the transition to the presidency, and
the persons and personalities involved in the events. Roberts also tape-recorded reporters singing
to Vice President Ford aboard Air Force Two and a press party held at Ron Nessen's home on
A segment of the presidential
subject file consists of materials relating to the President's foreign trips,
including schedules and briefing papers prepared for the press, press releases,
and pool reports.
The 1976 presidential campaign is a
recurring theme, and materials relating to this topic include Roberts's memos
about the campaign and Ford's image in the "Memos" folder, and his
handwritten notes from senior staff meetings and events at the Republican
National Convention. Discussion reports
and memoranda are available for a staff meeting held at
The bulk of the papers from the
presidential years are the President's daily schedules. In addition to schedules, these files contain
briefing papers prepared for the President, press releases, pool reports, press
schedules, notes on press briefings, and interview transcripts. The value of the materials lies in their
chronological arrangement and in the breadth of subjects covered, not in the
depth of information on any given topic.
Because of the arrangement, researchers can focus on presidential
activity for a given day or period of time.
Related
Materials (As of April 1992)
Related materials may be found in
the Ford Vice Presidential Papers, Files of Press
Secretary Paul A. Miltich; staff files of colleagues
in the White House Press Secretary's Office, particularly a Roberts
Chronological File in the Ron Nessen Files; and the
Ron Nessen Papers.
Series
Descriptions
1-3 Vice Presidential Subject File, 1973-74. (1
linear foot)
Correspondence,
memoranda, speeches, statements, messages, schedules, press releases, interview
transcripts, news summaries, and clippings. Materials relate to preparation of the Vice
President's speeches, messages, and travel schedules; operation of the press
office; and the Domestic Council Committee on the Right of Privacy.
Arranged
alphabetically by subject.
3-7 Presidential Subject File,
1974-77. (1.8 linear feet)
Roberts's
recollections, memoranda, correspondence, press releases, pool reports,
schedules, interview transcripts, and clippings. Materials relate to press arrangements and
briefing materials for the President's foreign trips, operation of the press
office, and the 1976 presidential campaign.
Arranged
alphabetically by subject.
8-35 President's Daily Schedules,
1974-77. (11.2 linear feet)
Schedules,
briefing papers prepared for the President, press releases, pool reports,
interview transcripts, and notes on press briefings. Schedules for August and September 1974 are
not included, but from October 1974 to March 1975 there is one folder of
schedules per month. Beginning
Arranged
chronologically.
Container List
Clippings and
Cartoons (1)‑(2)
Correspondence
(1)‑(5)
Domestic Council
Committee on the Right of Privacy
Interviews and
News Conferences (1)‑(4)
Memos Received
Memos to the
Vice President
Messages
News Summaries
(1)‑(2)
Polls
Roberts ‑ Personal
Roberts ‑
Personal Correspondence
Roberts ‑
Speech ‑ Radio and Television News Directors Association
Schedules (1)‑(7)
Speech Material
Speeches and
Statements
Speeches and
Statements ‑ Drafts
Staff
Travel (1)‑(3)
White House ‑
General Information for Staff
White House
Press Releases
Presidential
Subject File
Budget and State
of the Union Briefings and Fact Sheets
Correspondence
(1)‑(3)
Correspondence
(4)‑(7)
Ford, Betty ‑
Cancer Surgery
Ford Presidency:
A Portrait of the First Two Years
Memos
Nessen Briefings ‑
Possible Questions
President ‑
Bicentennial Speeches
President ‑
Foreign Trips
‑ November
1974 ‑
‑ May‑June
1975 ‑
‑ July‑August
1975 ‑
‑ November
1975 ‑
‑ November
1975 ‑
‑ November
1975 ‑
‑ November‑December
1975 ‑
President ‑
Foreign Trips
‑ November‑December
1975 ‑
‑ November‑December
1975 ‑
‑ November‑December
1975 ‑
President ‑
Interviews
President ‑
Schedules, August 1974
President ‑
Testimony to Hungate Committee
President ‑
Travel ‑ Air Force One
Press Office ‑
Background Information (1)‑(4)
Press Office ‑
Republican
National Convention
Roberts ‑
Personal ‑ General (1)‑(2)
Roberts ‑
Personal ‑ Personnel Forms
Roberts ‑
Personal ‑ Recollections
Roberts ‑
Personal ‑
Senior Staff
Meeting Notes (1)‑(2)
Sequoia
White House
Office Handbook (1)‑(2)
White House
Staff
White House ‑
West Wing
October 1974 ‑
May 6‑24,
1975
September 9‑30,
1975
October 1‑31,
1975
November 1‑29,
1975
February 7‑24,
1976
March 11‑26,
1976
April 9‑27,
1976
June 5‑26,
1976
September 8‑24,
1976
October 11‑22,
1976
