This collection contains material used by Jonathan D. Hoornstra in the course of his work on President Gerald Ford's daily news summary staff.
Series Description and Container List
Container List
Collection Overview
Scope and Content Note
Jonathan D. Hoornstra joined the news summary staff in February 1972. The President’s daily news summary was an objective compilation of television and national wire services’ news reports covering foreign and domestic events. In the Nixon White House, the news summary was under the direction of the communications office. Mr. Hoornstra’s primary responsibility was to review 35-40 daily newspapers from across the United States for the purpose of selecting columns and editorials for the President to read and preparation for the President’s daily news summary.
Shortly after Ford became President, the news summary came under the direction of the press office and was later standardized and retitled, News and Comment. Additionally, Mr. Hoornstra was promoted to Director of Media Analysis and a few months later to Director of Special Projects for the News Summary. His assignment in these roles was to analyze trends in how the press characterized White House policy decision and programs. Mr. Hoornstra’s research enabled the press staff to determine whether news from the White House was being reported accurately, and, if not, who was at fault-the staff or press. He resigned in November 1975.
The bulk of this collection consists of newspapers articles and the occasional magazine article clipped for use in Mr. Hoornstra’s work on the news summary. Although Mr. Hoornstra worked on the news summary from 1972 to 1975, the clippings in this collection begin in April 1975. Overall, the collection is useful for studying the development of the news summary and the many changes it went through in the months after Ford took office.
Related Materials (March 2017)
Materials related to the news summaries are also located in a number of other collections, including the James B. Shuman Files, Agnes Waldron Files and the White House Central Files Subject File categories PR 16-2 (Press Conferences) and PR 16-3 (Presidential News Analysis). President Ford's copies of the news summaries are among the files of the Office of the Staff Secretary.
Details
7.9 linear feet (ca. 15,800 pages)
Gerald R. Ford (accession number 77-91)
Access
Open. Some items may be 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 R. 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.
Processed by
John J. O'Connell, April 2017
Biography
Johnathan D. Hoornstra
May 17, 1943 - Born in Madison, Wisconsin
1961–1968 - Active Duty, U.S. Air Force
1968–1969 - Manager, Radio Shack
1969–1972 - Mayor’s Office of Madison, Wisconsin/Volunteer for Republican Party of Dane County Wisconsin
February 1972 - News Summary Staff (Patrick J. Buchanan Office Staff)
September 1974 - News Summary Staff (Press Secretary Office)
April 15, 1975 - Director of Media Analysis (News Summary Staff)
July 10, 1975 - Director of Special Projects for the News Summary
November 11, 1975 - Resigned