WILLIAM GREENER, JR., PAPERS, 1975-1976

William Greener had a long career in public affairs positions with the United States Air Force until 1970. After that he handled media relations for civilian agencies, including the Internal Revenue Service, Department of the Treasury, Cost of Living Council, Department of Housing and Urban Development, and Office of Management and Budget.

In April 1975, Greener joined the White House staff as Deputy Press Secretary. In this position, he handled tasks assigned to him by Press Secretary Ron Nessen, represented Nessen at meetings, and substituted for Nessen as needed in such roles as conducting press briefings. He traveled frequently with the President on both domestic and foreign trips, often handling the details of liaison with the news media while Nessen was busy acting as a spokesman for the President.

Soon after White House Chief of Staff Donald Rumsfeld left the White House to become Secretary of Defense, he asked Greener to join his staff. President Ford nominated Greener as Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs in December 1975 and the Senate quickly confirmed this nomination. Greener acted as chief spokesman for the Department of Defense and also planned Secretary Rumsfeld’s contacts with the press.

In July 1976, President Ford asked Greener to join his presidential campaign committee. As Director of Communications for the President Ford Committee during the Republican Convention and the fall campaign against Jimmy Carter, Greener supervised the work of the press secretary and the campaign advocates office. The latter office provided briefing materials and campaign updates to advocates (First Family, Cabinet, Republican officials) who were campaigning on behalf of President Ford.

The Greener Papers document all three of his Ford administration positions. A small subject file, a correspondence file, and a large file on presidential trips concern his work as Deputy White House Press Secretary. Included are copies of transcripts for Greener’s press briefings and documents on special projects that he handled. The file on presidential trips is large and very detailed, but mostly duplicative of material appearing in the Nessen Papers and other Library collections.

Materials on Greener’s brief service as spokesman for the Department of Defense include press briefing transcripts, notes on public affairs staff meetings, materials on DOD public information policies, and press releases and news coverage on Secretary Rumsfeld’s statements during his trip to Europe and Africa in June 1976. Much of the material on Greener’s work with the campaign committee consists of briefing papers and talking points on campaign issues, updates on campaign developments, candidate quotebooks, and schedules for the candidates and for campaign advocates.

Related Materials (April 2001)
Closely related collections concerning White House relations with the news media include the Ron Nessen Files and Papers and the working files of various members of the Press Office staff. The President Ford Committee Records contain the files of PFC Press Secretary Pete Teeley and other PFC officials with whom Greener worked.