COLLECTION FINDING AID



ERIC ROSENBERGER and DOUGLASS BLASER FILES, 1974-77

Directors of Press Advance
Press Secretary's Office



CONTENTS

Summary Description | Biographical Information | Introduction | Series Descriptions | Container List

SUMMARY DESCRIPTION

The Press Advance Office handled logistical planning and support for media covering the President's foreign and domestic trips. A small subject file includes useful folders on the 1976 campaign and advance procedures. Case files for foreign trips are occasionally substantive. Domestic trip files are very routine with rare exceptions, e.g. New Hampshire, 1976.

QUANTITY
 20.0 linear feet (ca. 37,000 pages)

DONOR
 Gerald R. Ford (accession number 77-89)

ACCESS
 Open. Some items are temporarily restricted under terms of the donor's deed of gift, a copy of which is available on request, or under National Archives and Records Administration general restrictions (36 CFR 1256).

COPYRIGHT
 Gerald Ford donated to the United States of America his copyrights in all of his unpublished writings in National Archives collections. The copyrights to materials written by other individuals or organizations are presumed to remain with them. Works prepared by U.S. Government employees as part of their official duties are in the public domain.

Prepared by David Horrocks, July 1984
[s:\bin\findaid\rosenberger, eric and blaser, douglass - files.doc]

BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION


Eric Rosenberger


1944 - Born

1967 - B.A., Harvard College

1967-72 - Various private industry positions

1968 - Member, Massachusetts Nixon-Agnew Committee

Oct. 1972 - Became volunteer advanceman for the Committee for Re-election of the President

Dec. 1972 - Joined Nixon Inaugural Committee as a subcommittee assistant director

Feb. 1973 - Became consultant for Office of Economic Opportunity. Began volunteer advance work for First Family.

Nov. 1973 - Joined White House staff as advanceman for First Family

Dec. 1973 - Became advanceman for Vice President Ford, "on loan" from White House staff

March 1974 - Appointed director of White House press advance

June 1976 - Resigned, returned to Boston to work in family firm, Woodfield Farm

Douglass Blaser


1942 - Born in Logan, Utah

1965 - B.S., Utah State University

1965-68 - Allstate Insurance Co., Los Angeles

1968 - Became marketing manager, Mattell Inc.

1972 - Joined Vice President Agnew's staff as an advanceman

1973 - Became Executive Assistant to the Director, National Park Service

April 1976 - Joined White House press advance staff

June 1976 - Appointed director of press advance

Jan. 1977 - Resigned

INTRODUCTION

Eric Rosenberger and his successor, Douglass Blaser, directed White House press advance. Press advance was assistance to the White House press corps, the local press, and press office staff during all presidential trips outside the White House. Such assistance might include: visas, credentialling, air and ground transportation, lodging, camera lighting, press positions, equipment and space for filing stories, and organization of press pools.

Most of the Rosenberger-Blaser Files, especially domestic trip case files, abundantly reflect these routine logistical activities. Some case files, however, do contain materials of greater research value, e.g. State Department cables regarding foreign trips, occasional memoranda on local political conditions, and clippings of local press coverage. A general subject file includes useful information on the 1976 campaign, press relations problems and goals, office organization, and advance work "philosophy" among other matters.

The press advance staff was small and used field volunteers during domestic trips. It was part of the Press Secretary's Office, and its head reported to the Deputy Press Secretary. Predictably, it had coordination problems with the much more important but separate Office of Scheduling and Advance, which did the advance work for the presidential party.

Related Materials (July 1984)
At this writing, archivists have identified no other files narrowly focussed on press advance. However, the files and paper of colleagues in the Press Secretary's Office will contain related material in varying degrees, as will WHCF category PR-Public Relations. A few items on Rosenberger and Blaser may be found in WHCF Name File and WHCF subcategory FG 6-11-1/(name).

Material on the many facets of presidential trips, including advance work, may be found at WHCF category TR-Trips. The files of "Red" Cavaney, who directed advance work for the presidential party, extensively treat all aspects of advance work but they are currently unprocessed and unavailable.

SERIES DESCRIPTIONS

Subject File, 1974-77.  (Boxes 1-5, 2.5 linear feet)
Advance office manual, memoranda, newsletters to volunteers, schedules, checklists, forms, press releases, resumes, expense logs, and other material. Subjects include press advance procedures, expenses and personnel; 1976 campaign press relations, analysis of still photo coverage, and relations with the President Ford Committee and the Republican National Committee; diverse reference information such as a mileage tabulation of presidential trips.

Arranged alphabetically by subject.

View container list for this series

Foreign Trips, 1974-76.  (Boxes 6-16, 4.5 linear feet)
State Department cables, memoranda, airport diagrams, floor-plans, schedules, press kits of country fact sheets and biographical statements on foreign officials, tourist literature, and local press clippings (especially West Germany and Indonesia).

Arranged by trip and thereunder by itinerary.

View container list for this series

Domestic Trips, 1974-76.  (Boxes 17-44, 11.5 linear feet)
Memoranda, transportation schedules, checklists, floorplans, airport diagrams, local newspaper clippings, maps, tourist literature, press releases, and correspondence. Most of the material is highly routine, but there are exceptions, e.g. New Hampshire 1976.

Arranged by state and thereunder by date of each trip.

View container list for this series

District of Columbia Area Trip File, 1974-77. (Boxes 44-47, 1.5 linear feet)
Hotel floorplans and publications, press releases, schedules, memoranda, and checklists regarding presidential events in the D.C. metropolitan area.

Arranged chronologically by trip.

View container list for this series

CONTAINER LIST

Box 1 - Subject File

Box 2 - Subject File

Box 3 - Subject File

Box 4 - Subject File

Box 5 - Subject File

Box 6 - Foreign Trips

Box 7 - Foreign Trips

Box 8 - Foreign Trips

Box 9 - Foreign Trips

Box 10 - Foreign Trips

Box 11 - Foreign Trips

Box 12 - Foreign Trips

Box 13 - Foreign Trips

Box 14 - Foreign Trips

Box 15 - Foreign Trips

Box 16 - Foreign Trips

Box 17 - Domestic Trips

Box 18 - Domestic Trips

Box 19 - Domestic Trips

Box 20 - Domestic Trips

Box 21 - Domestic Trips

Box 22 - Domestic Trips

Box 23 - Domestic Trips

Box 24 - Domestic Trips

Box 25 - Domestic Trips

Box 26 - Domestic Trips

Box 27 - Domestic Trips

Box 28 - Domestic Trips

Box 29 - Domestic Trips

Box 30 - Domestic Trips

Box 31 - Domestic Trips

Box 32 - Domestic Trips

Box 33 - Domestic Trips

Box 34 - Domestic Trips

Box 35 - Domestic Trips

Box 36 - Domestic Trips

Box 37 - Domestic Trips

Box 38 - Domestic Trips

Box 39 - Domestic Trips

Box 40 - Domestic Trips

Box 41 - Domestic Trips

Box 42 - Domestic Trips

Box 43 - Domestic Trips

Box 44 - Domestic Trips

Box 44 (Continued) - District of Columbia Area Trip File

Box 45 - District of Columbia Area Trip File

Box 46 - District of Columbia Area Trip File

Box 47 - District of Columbia Area Trip File