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Xerox University Microfilms 300 North Zeeb Road Ann Arbor, Michigan 48106 MASTERS THESIS M-5505 SPEAR, Joseph Carroll THE PRESIDENT AND THE PRESS: A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF THE NIXON ADMINISTRATION'S POLICY TOWARD THE NEWS MEDIA. The American University, M.A., 1973 Journalism University Microfilms, A XEROX Company , Ann Arbor, Michigan 0 1974 JOSEPH CARROLL SPEAR ALL RIGHTS RESERVED THE PRESIDENT AND THE PRESS : A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF THE NIXON ADMINISTRATION * S POLICY TOWARD THE NEWS MEDIA by Joseph C. Spear Submitted to the Faculty of the College of Arts and Sciences of The American University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in Communication Signatures of C theDean of theDean the College Date ; iQj I ÿ Date : 1973 The American University Washington, D. C. THE AWiER:c;.:i ü ;;:'.':"ôîty library y/7? PREFACE The purpose of this thesis is to analyze the Nixon Administration's policy toward the news media. The heart of the study is a presentation of what is alleged to be a dis­ cernible pattern, or "grand strategy," which apparently has been adopted by President Nixon and his top advisors for handling the press. As a prologue to this main portion of the thesis, the writer has included a brief review of the history of the relationships between the Presidents and the press from Washington to Johnson, and a short history of Mr. Nixon's relationship with the press from his first term as a young Congressman to his election as President. It should be noted that unless otherwise designated, the words "press" and "newsmen" are used interchangeably to mean those men and women of the network news shows, the wire services, magazines, and the major newspapers, who devote most of their time to covering the President and the Admin­ istration. Depending on the context, the word "press" can also refer to television and radio networks and stations, and the larger publications, which transmit and print con­ siderable news about the President and the Administration. ii 1X1 In this sense, the term "news media" is often used inter­ changeably with "press." The writer is deeply indebted to Dr, Robert O. Blanchard, Chairman of the Department of Communication and chairman of the writer’s thesis committee, for his guidance, assistance, and extraordinary patience- Thanks also go to Jack Anderson, another thesis committee member and the writer's employer, for his invaluable advice and for grant­ ing time off to complete the study. Most of all, the writer would like to thank his wife, Linda Mahaffey Spear, who financed the project. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page PREFACE ............................................... ii Chapter 1. THE PRESIDENTS AND THE PRESS: AN INTRODUCTION................................ 1 A BRIEF REVIEW .............................. 2 RICHARD N I X O N .......................... .. 32 THE GRAND STRATEGY .......................... 42 2. THE EVOLUTION OF THE NIXON PHILOSOPHY OF THE PRESS ................................ 46 HISS, "CHECKERS," AND OTHER HISTORY .... 46 THE 1968 CAMPAIGN .......................... 69 3. THE NONESSENTIAL PRESS ........................ 87 A VERY PRIVATE PRESIDENT ................... 90 THE PRESS "SPOKESMEN" ..................... 104 THE MORIBUND PRESS CONFERENCE ............. 126 4. TAKING IT TO THE P E O P L E ............... 140 THE END RUN; T E L E V I S I O N ................... 140 THE END RUN: TO THE H I N T E R L A N D S ........... 187 OTHER END RUNNERS .......................... 221 iv V chapter Page 5. THREATS AND COMPLIMENTS: KEEPING THE PRESS OFF BALANCE............................ 233 THE VICE PRESIDENT AND THE PRESS ........... 234 OTHER ADMINISTRATION OFFICIALS AND THE PRESS................................... 265 THE RESULTS OF INTIMIDATION................. 347 "THANK YOU FOR THE NICE COVERAGE" ......... 360 6. THE 1972 CAMPAIGN; THE GRAND STRATEGY AT WORK....................................... 370 THE NONESSENTIAL PRESS ..................... 371 THE END RUN............................ 383 THREATS AND COMPLIMENTS ................... 406 THE RESULTS OF INTIMIDATION ............... 412 BIBLIOGRAPHY........................................... 422 APPENDIXES A. A Sample "Mailing from Herbert G. Klein to Newspaper Editors ........................ 450 B. A "Mailing" from Barbara Hackman Franklin, Staff Assistant to the president, to Interested Persons .......................... 458 C. "Secret" Excerpt from the "Treleaven Report"....................................... 461 D. Documents Dealing with the Operation of the Inter-Departmental Group on Foreign Policy .............................. 464 E. Presidential Directive Ordering a Cutback of Governmental Public Relations A c t i v i t i e s ................................... 475 VI Chapter page F. Statement Issued by Congressman William Morehead, Democrat of Pennsylvania, Concerning Public Relations Spending During the Nixon Administration............... 478 G. Teletype Message from Patrick Buchanan to "Governor" Agnew, October 29, 1968 . 481 chapter 1 THE PRESIDENTS AND THE PRESS; AN INTRODUCTION On the principle that a free people cannot long enjoy such a condition without a free flow of information, the Pounding Fathers adopted the First Amendment to the Con­ stitution, which strictly forbade Congress from making any law "abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press . From the beginning, the First Amendment has been steeped in controversy, but it has stood the test of time and has been generally hailed through the ages as the salvation of our democracy. But some, especially Presidents, have not been so williig to concede the Founders' wisdom. For in adopting the First Amendment, they created, perhaps deliberately, an "adversary relationship" between the nation's leaders and its press. Every Chief Executive, from George Washing­ ton to Richard Nixon, has been plagued with journalistic a-seaults. Most have survived their "bad press" to be remembered in history as effective leaders with good inten­ tions . Is the relationship between president Richard Nixon and the press different from that of other presidents and the newsmen who covered them? Has the press dealt more harshly with Nixon? Is this President's well-known antip­ athy for reporters unique among Chief Executives? To find the answers, it is necessary to review the history of the President-press relationship. A BRIEF REVIEW Although the record of George Washington's relations with the press is far from complete, it suggests the Father of our country had little use for the "gazettes" of his day. He first began to express his displeasure while engi­ neering the fight with the British. The papers, he wrote to the president of Congress in May, 1777, were revealing too much military information to the English: It is much to be wished that our printers were more discreet in many of their Publications. We see almost in every Paper, Proclamations or accounts transmitted by the Enemy, of an injurious nature. If some hint or caution could be given them on the Subject, it might be of material Service.1 Writings of George Washington. Bicentennial Edition, Vol. XXX, pp. 319-21, cited by James E, Pollard, The Presi­ dents and the Press (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1947), p. 1. After Washington won the nation's first election without opposition, he became the target of partisan barbs. Most of the criticism centered around his aristocratic demeanor, which led detractors to believe he had designs on becoming America's first monarch. When everyone stood at Washington's reception, for example, he was accused of want­ ing to be a king. Such affairs, wrote some, were "court- 2 like