Nessen - Clippings: General (5)” of the Ron Nessen Papers at the Gerald R
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The original documents are located in Box 15, folder “Nessen - Clippings: General (5)” of the Ron Nessen Papers at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library. Copyright Notice The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material. Ron Nessen donated to the United States of America his copyrights in all of his unpublished writings in National Archives collections. Works prepared by U.S. Government employees as part of their official duties are in the public domain. The copyrights to materials written by other individuals or organizations are presumed to remain with them. If you think any of the information displayed in the PDF is subject to a valid copyright claim, please contact the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library. Digitized from Box 15 of the Ron Nessen Papers at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library THE SECOND MOST AGONIZING JOB IN THE WORLD A White House alumnus explains the rugged life of a Presidential press secretary By Herbert G. Klein If you can find a relatively young man United States is the most agonizing who will get up each morning prepared occupation in the world. But close be to walk with bare feet across a bed of hind is the position of press secretary red-hot coals, who feels little pain as to the President. blunt needles are injected into his body, On a typical day recently, Ron and who occasionally gets pleasure Nessen, press secretary to President from banging his head against a stone Ford, left his home at 6:30 A.M., read wall, you have a man who in today's the White House news summary and Washington world has some of the scanned The Washington Post as he qualifications to become a White House rode in a chauffeured vehicle to the press secretary. Mayflower Hotel. There he answered Anyone who falls short of ·those qual questions from 100 students brought to ifications need not apply. Washington by the Hearst Newspaper Beyond that,- you can debate whether Foundation. During the long day that he should have a background of news followed at the White House, he sur paper or television. reporting, a close vived the questions and barbs of the relationship with the President, political White House reporters at two press experience, articulateness and other briefings, attended half a dozen policy qualifications. meetings, met and telephoned several The Nation has accepted the .fact reporters, briefed his staff and talked that the job of the President of the with 20 or more government officials. RonNessen · (with President Ford): 'They often start with the assumption I am not telling the truth.' 2 He was still studying Ronald Ziegler background papers (with President Ni~ton): as he returned home at 10 P.M. Fatiguing as it may 'Few remember sound, it is not the lhat we pioneered demanding schedule television film,' which makes the job of Presidential press secretary so difficult. The more serious problem, the thing that really makes the post a man-killer, is the intense conflict between the White House news office After a Camp David ' weekend of and the press corps. candid discussion by members of the The press had an early but short· President's press office, the incident lived love affair with President Ford, an produced some procedural changes. affair broken off not over news policy More important, behind the scenes, it but over an emotional issue, the Nixon brought Nessen a reaction of strong pardon. Many In the White House press support from the President and as corps took that as a personal affront. surances from senior White House staff This June the conflict broke into the members, including the national secur headlines when Nessen Interrupted a ity advisers, that they would give him . long round of questions. on John Con fuller information. That was an improve- nally to take on directly charges that ment. he had been lying or was no longer John Osborne of The New Republic, credible. He accused· the White House one of the respected sages of the news press corps of "blind, mindless, irra corps, explains the growing conflict this tional suspicion and cyniCism." way: "Numerous reporters and com The outburst resulted directly from mentators forgot that the controlling intense questiOning over minor matters function of the White House press sec such as the release time for the Rocke retaries and other official spokesmen Is feller report on the CIA. Behind the not to tell the truth. It is to put the best headline spectacular, however. was a possible appearance upon what their longstanding hand-to-hand combat be principals do and say and, if necessary tween Nessen and a few antagonists in In the course of that endeavor, to con the press, primarily James Deakin of ceal the truth. What my brethren in the the St. -l-ouis f'ost-Dispatch; Sarah Mc White -Hoose press room were really Clendon of Texas Newspapers; les celebrating, during the halcyon interlude Kinsolving, a liberal minister with ra that ended with the pardon of Richard dio press credentials; and Adam Cly Nixon, was the departure of Mr. Nixon mer of the Baltimore Sun. It was the and the quaint illusion that conceal latter who jumped the bounds of pro ment and deception departed with him." fessionalism during a Nessen briefing The office of the ~ secretary has to utter, in amateur fashion, an opinion . become more visible in recent years, that Nessen was a "liar." Traditionally particularly since the emotional debates briefings are for reporters' questions, between Ronald Ziegler and the news not opinions, right or wrong. In this corps. As a result, Ron Nessen is today case, Clymer was wrong. Professionally the focus of some extremely careful and in fact. scrutiny. Nessen has made mistakes. -+ 1V GUIDE AUGUST 2. 11175 3 continued which are recounted more often than with the assumption I am not telling· his successes. But his successes are the truth. I think we deserve more the worth mentioning. benefit of the doubt." Nessen has made the White House a But today's newsmen are often in· lot more open than it was during the clined to take an adversary position.. Nixon years. He has been innovative On some days the encounter between in several ways. He has improved the the press secretary and the news corps format of the Presidential press con resembles more a debating society than . ference by providing a mechanism for a quest for information. The public Is follow-up questions. He has given tele the loser. visioft a full place in the pool on Air Typical was a press briefing on Feb. Force One when the President travels. 7 after Charles Colson had said Presi And it is probably due to Nessen that dent Nixon considered Secretary or -· the number of Presidential press con State Kissinger sometimes unstable (a ferences has increased. statement later denied) and Sen. Lloyd Through late June, President Ford Bentsen had been critical of the Sec had held 16 full-scale meetings with retary on the eve of a departure for . the press, 10 in Washington and the Middle East. Nessen read a state six elsewhere. The President has also ment expressing President Ford's strong given live interviews to all three net support of and faith in Kissinger. works. When a press conference is 0: Did Dr. Kissinger have any role held away from Washington, local re- · In writing this statement? ·.porters are given a chance to ask ap Nessen: That is a statement that the proximately half the questions. President wants made clear. · All of this helps, but a substantial 0: Ron, are you asking for a mora amount of bitterness remains. Nessen torium on criticism of Henry Kissinger said recently, In a public address, "The until the 1976 election? cloud of mistrust is beginning to lift, Nessen: I am just telling you how the but we have a long way to go." Private I President feels about Senator Bentsen's ly, Nessen says that "suspicion, distrust comments. and cynicism" In the press corps are 0 : Ron, where should the fitness of · his toughest obstacles. "They '!ften start th~ Secretary of State be discussed If not in the political Bill Moyen arena? Nessen: I think I (with President Johnson): will stick to what the 'The press President feels about secretary (has) to this particular criticism explain the of the Secr~tary . 0: Could I renew Mr. Inexplicable.' Fulsom's question, which you did not an swer, which was, did the Secretary of State have anything to do with writing that state ment? Nessen: It is a state ment that comes out of my office. 0: But did the Sec retary of State have James Hagerty (with President Eisenhower): 'Caught between two fire~, press and governmental.' anything to do with it? Q: The other Ron [Ziegler] said eve- Nessen: It is the President's views. ning was at 4 o'clock. Q: But did the Secretary of State Nessen: No. I think we will be back have anything to do with it? in the evening. Nessen: The. Secretary of State did Nessen works' with a total staff of not draft this statement. about 40, slightly smaller than the Q: Did he approve It? fluctuating staff of the Nixon White Nessen: It is a Presidential state House and larger than the staff of ment, and Presidential statements do President Johnson. Forty does not in not need to be approved by the Sec clude Mrs. Ford's mini-staff. retary of State. That 40 number includes 17 people Q: What we are asking is whether Nessen labels as professionals, mostly he looked at it or commented about It in pay brackets above $28,000.