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COLLECTION FINDING AID



JOHN W. "BILL" ROBERTS PAPERS, 1973-77

Bill Roberts assisting President Ford with preparations for his taped message to the Radio and Television News Directors conference, September 12, 1974 (A0739-14)

Deputy Press Secretary to the Vice President;
Assistant Press Secretary to the President



CONTENTS

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

Listen to the Roberts audio diary and read the transcript

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 United States of America his copyright interest in any other of his writings that might be included in this collection.  The copyright interest to materials written by other individuals or organizations is presumed to remain with them.

Prepared by: Helmi J. Raaska, April 1992
[s:\bin\findaid\roberts, bill - papers.doc]

BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION


John W. "Bill" Roberts


March 21, 1919 - Born, Ft. Atkinson, WI

1941 - B.A., Ripon College

1942-46 - U.S. Army

1946-48 - Radio news reporter, WOC, Davenport, IA

1948-58 - Radio news reporter and television anchorman, WMT Stations, Cedar Rapids, IA

1958-72 - Washington Bureau Chief, Time, Inc.

1972-73 - Washington Bureau Chief, McGraw-Hill

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 Iowa and then Washington bureau chief for stations owned by Time, Inc. and McGraw-Hill.  When McGraw-Hill closed its Washington bureau, Roberts joined Vice President Ford's staff.  As Deputy Press Secretary to the Vice President, Roberts assisted in planning media coverage of events involving Ford and was responsible for all media arrangements on vice presidential trips.  Roberts was also involved in preparation of press releases, statements, speeches, and articles, and occasionally briefed the press.  In the transition to the Ford administration, Roberts became Assistant Press Secretary to the President.

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 Washington, DC.  He escorted photographers for photo sessions, served as press officer for pool trips and White House social events, wrote messages for the President to deliver by film or radio tape, drafted press releases, and suggested possible questions for press briefings and presidential news conferences.

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 July 10, 1974.

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 August 25, 1974.  The cassettes have been transferred to the audiovisual department, and transcripts of the recordings will be placed in the folder, "Roberts - Personal - Recollections."

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 Camp David in August 1976 to consider the role of the press office in the general election campaign.

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

Vice Presidential Subject File, 1973-74.  (Boxes 1-3, 1.0 linear feet)
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.

View container list for this series

Presidential Subject File, 1974-77.  (Boxes 3-7, 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.

View container list for this series

President's Daily Schedules, 1974-77.  (Boxes 8-35, 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 March 25, 1975, each day or presidential trip has its own folder and additional materials as listed above are filed with the schedules. A broad range of topics is covered in the files, but no one topic is dealt with extensively.

Arranged chronologically.

View container list for this series

Audio Diary, July-September 1974. (AV Collection, 6 audio cassettes and transcripts)
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. The diary begins and ends abruptly, and it is sporadic. 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 August 25, 1974. Researchers can access digitized copies of the recordings and transcripts through links in the container list.

View container list for this series

 

CONTAINER LIST

Box 1 - Vice Presidential Subject File

  • Clippings and Cartoons (1)-(2)
  • Correspondence (1)-(5)
  • Domestic Council Committee on the Right of Privacy
  • Interviews and News Conferences (1)-(4)

Box 2 - Vice Presidential Subject File

  • 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)

Box 3 - Vice Presidential Subject File

  • Speech Material
  • Speeches and Statements
  • Speeches and Statements - Drafts
  • Staff
  • Travel (1)-(3)
  • White House - General Information for Staff
  • White House Press Releases

Box 3 (Continued) - Presidential Subject File

  • Budget and State of the Union Briefings and Fact Sheets
  • Correspondence (1)-(3)

Box 4 - Presidential Subject File

  • Correspondence (4)-(7)
  • Ford, Betty - Cancer Surgery
  • Ford Presidency: A Portrait of the First Two Years
  • Japan - Visit of Emperor and Empress (1)-(2)
  • Mayaguez Incident (1)-(2)
  • Memos
  • Nessen Briefings - Possible Questions
  • President - Bicentennial Speeches

Box 5 - Presidential Subject File

  • President - Foreign Trips
    - November 1974 - Japan, Korea, Soviet Union (1)-(3)
    - May-June 1975 - Belgium, Spain, Austria, Italy, Vatican City (1)-(2)
    - July-August 1975 - Germany, Poland, Finland, Romania, Yugoslavia (1)-(2)
    - November 1975 - France - Pool Reports
    - November 1975 - France - Press Notes (1)-(2)
    - November 1975 - France - Press Releases
    - November-December 1975 - Pacific Basin - Pool Reports

Box 6 - Presidential Subject File

  • President - Foreign Trips
    - November-December 1975 - Pacific Basin - President's Schedule
    - November-December 1975 - Pacific Basin - Press Notes
    - November-December 1975 - Pacific Basin - Press Schedules
  • President - Interviews
  • President - Schedules, August 1974
  • President - Testimony to Hungate Committee
  • President - Travel - Air Force One
  • Press Office - Background Information (1)-(4)
  • Press Office - Camp David Meeting, August 6-7, 1976
  • Puerto Rico Summit Meeting

Box 7 - Presidential Subject File

  • Republican National Convention
  • Roberts - Personal - General (1)-(2)
  • Roberts - Personal - Personnel Forms
  • Roberts - Personal - Recollections (click on link to access digitized content)
  • Roberts - Personal - Ripon College
  • Senior Staff Meeting Notes (1)-(2)
  • Sequoia
  • White House Office Handbook (1)-(2)
  • White House Staff
  • White House - West Wing

Box 8 - President's Daily Schedules

  • October 1974 - April 11, 1975

Box 9 - President's Daily Schedules

  • April 12, 1975 - May 5, 1975

Box 10 - President's Daily Schedules

  • May 6-24, 1975

Box 11 - President's Daily Schedules

  • May 26, 1975 - June 17, 1975

Box 12 - President's Daily Schedules

  • June 18, 1975 - July 10, 1975

Box 13 - President's Daily Schedules

  • July 11, 1975 - August 4, 1975

Box 14 - President's Daily Schedules

  • August 5, 1975 - September 8, 1975

Box 15 - President's Daily Schedules

  • September 9-30, 1975

Box 16 - President's Daily Schedules

  • October 1-31, 1975

Box 17 - President's Daily Schedules

  • November 1-29, 1975

Box 18 - President's Daily Schedules

  • December 8, 1975 - January 7, 1976

Box 19 - President's Daily Schedules

  • January 8, 1976 - February 6, 1976

Box 20 - President's Daily Schedules

  • February 7-24, 1976

Box 21 - President's Daily Schedules

  • February 25, 1976 - March 10, 1976

Box 22 - President's Daily Schedules

  • March 11-26, 1976

Box 23 - President's Daily Schedules

  • March 26, 1976 - April 9, 1976

Box 24 - President's Daily Schedules

  • April 9-27, 1976

Box 25 - President's Daily Schedules

  • April 27, 1976 - May 14, 1976

Box 26 - President's Daily Schedules

  • May 14, 1976 - June 4, 1976

Box 27 - President's Daily Schedules

  • June 5-26, 1976

Box 28 - President's Daily Schedules

  • June 29, 1976 - July 18, 1976

Box 29 - President's Daily Schedules

  • July 19, 1976 - August 5, 1976

Box 30 - President's Daily Schedules

  • August 6, 1976 - September 7, 1976

Box 31 - President's Daily Schedules

  • September 8-24, 1976

Box 32 - President's Daily Schedules

  • September 25, 1976 - October 9, 1976

Box 33 - President's Daily Schedules

  • October 11-22, 1976

Box 34 - President's Daily Schedules

  • October 22, 1976 - December 18, 1976

Box 35 - President's Daily Schedules

  • December 19, 1976 - January 19, 1977

AV Collection - Audio Diary (click on links to access digitized content)

  • Audio diary, July 24-August 9
  • Audio diary, August 10-13
  • Audio diary, August 13-27
  • Audio diary, August 28-September 12
  • Diary transcript
  • Reporters aboard Air Force Two singing songs poking fun at President Nixon and Vice President Ford
  • Remarks and songs at a party for President Ford and Air Force Two reporters at journalist Ron Nessen's home, August 25, 1974