Scope and Contents
Arrangement Note
Conditions Governing Access
Conditions Governing Use
Source of Acquisition
Preferred Citation
Historical Note
Accruals
Contributing Institution:
Special Collections & University Archives
Title: San Diego Public Information Office Records
Creator:
Public Information Office
Identifier/Call Number: MS-0450
Physical Description:
29.39 Linear Feet
Date (inclusive): 1971-1978
Date (bulk): 1976-1978
Language of Material:
English
.
Scope and Contents
The
San Diego Public Information Office Records documents the establishment of an information service for San Diego and the daily responsibilities of the Public Information
Office (PIO) in the county. The collection consists of community liaising program files, correspondence, memorandums, financial
reports, and purchase orders documenting the management and daily responsibilities of the PIO. The collection also includes
news releases written and released by the PIO, and newspaper clippings. The collection dates from 1971- 1978, however there
is minimal documentation for the years 1971-1975. The collection consists of four series:
Committee Files,
Administrative Files,
News Releases, and
Newspaper Clippings. The
Committee Files are divided into two sub-series:
Community Liaising Files and
Projects and Programs Files. The
Administrative Files are also divided into two sub-series:
Correspondence and Memorandums, and
Financial Records.
The
Committee Files series documents the Public Affairs unit which distributed and liaised between communities and development agencies, and
the Publications unit which created skits, slide shows, and pamphlets for County projects and programs. It consists of two
sub-series:
Community Liaising files, and
Projects and Programs. The
Community Liaising files sub-series consists of minutes and agendas for San Diego County communities which were distributed by the PIO to the general
public. The sub-series also includes minutes and agendas from the Chief Administrative Office, the Civil Service Commission,
Environmental Development Agency, and Integrated Planning Office. It dates from 1975-1978 and is files alphabetically by community
name. The
Projects and Programs sub-series document the tasks and community outreach programs the Public Information Director and staff carried out on a
daily basis. The
Projects and Programs files also include general files such as job descriptions, policies, procedures, reports, and office information. It dates
from 1972-1976 and is filed alphabetically.
The
Administrative Files series documents the Staff Services unit of the PIO and contains the financial records and inter-departmental documents used
by the Public Information Director and staff throughout the duration of the offices existence, and documents the spending
habits and cutbacks to the County department in the 1970's. It consists of two sub-series:
Correspondence and Memorandums and
Financial Records. The
Correspondence and Memorandums sub-series consists of inter-departmental agendas, memorandums, and correspondence, as well as correspondence with other
County departments and community programs and documents the everyday tasks of the PIO staff. It dates from 1973-1976 and is
filed alphabetically. The
Financial Records sub-series consists of budget analysis, fiscal and quarterly reports, purchase orders, and bills and documents spending habits
and cutbacks during county-wide budget shortfalls in the 1970's. The
Correspondence and Memorandums are arranged in alphabetical order and date from 1973-1976. The sub-series dates from 1972-1977 with a majority of reports
dated from 1974-1976, and is filed alphabetically.
The
News Releases series documents the Media unit of the PIO and includes a copy of the majority of news releases distributed by the PIO. It
includes some news releases from different County departments such as the Office of the Tax Collector, San Diego Region Overall
Economic Development Program, Water Conservation, Department of Human Services, and Air Pollution Control District. The series
also includes issues of News Across the Board; press releases from the County Board of Supervisors dating from 1976-1978.
The series dates from 1972-1973 and 1975-1978, and is arranged in chronological order.
The
Newspaper Clippings series documents stories and events significant to local county government published by local newspapers. It includes clippings
from nearly all newspapers in the county and range from 1971- 1978. There is only one clipping from 1971, no clippings from
1972-1974, and only one dated clipping from 1975 along with three topical folders from 1975. An official newspaper clipping
service was established by the Public Information Office and 1977 and continued through 1978. Most of the clippings are arranged
in chronological order; there is one section from dated April 1977 to May 1977 that is arranged alphabetically by newspaper
title.
Arrangement Note
I. Committee Files
1. Community Liaising, 1975-1978
2. Projects and Programs, 1972-1976
II. Administrative Files
1. Correspondence and Memorandums, 1973-1976
2. Financial Records, 1972-1976
III. News Releases, 1972-1978
IV. Newspaper Clippings, 1977-1978
Conditions Governing Access
This collection is open for research.
Conditions Governing Use
The copyright interests in some of these materials have been transferred to or belong to San Diego State University. The nature
of historical archival and manuscript collections means that copyright status may be difficult or even impossible to determine.
Copyright resides with the creators of materials contained in the collection or their heirs. Requests for permission to publish
must be submitted to the Head of Special Collections, San Diego State University, Library and Information Access. Permissions
is given on behalf of Special Collections as the owner of the physical item and is not intended to include or imply permission
of the copyright holder(s), which must also be obtained in order to publish. Materials from our collections are made available
for use in research, teaching, and private study. The user must assume full responsibility for any use of the materials, including
but not limited to, infringement of copyright and publication rights of reproduced materials.
Source of Acquisition
Hal Peyer
Preferred Citation
Identification of item, folder title, box number, San Diego Public Information Office Records, Special Collections and University
Archives, San Diego State University Library.
Historical Note
In 1970, the San Diego County Board of Supervisors became aware that the public lacked understanding of the roles, responsibilities,
and limitations of the county government. The County Board of Supervisors established the San Diego Public Information Office
(PIO) which was developed into a public relations firm under the Chief Administrative Office and charged with creating a communications
program for San Diego County government. Frank Aleshire was elected as Chief Administrative Officer for the County in 1973,
and oversaw the PIO for two years. During which time the PIO developed and began implementing a broad, comprehensive public
information program for the County. In order to perform the tasks, the office was divided into four units: Media, Publications,
Public Affairs, and Staff Services.
The Media unit was responsible for providing information and assistance to the news media servicing San Diego county public
broadcasting and news releases. Media created and distributed news releases to local newspapers for events and programs put
on by various County departments. The Publications unit provided slide shows, audio-visual programs, and pamphlets for projects
around San Diego. The skits and shows were used by different community outreach programs. The Public Affairs unit developed
and implemented programs designed to communicate directly with various community groups and to coordinate with the planning
department. In the 1970's, many communities were built across San Diego and the Public Affairs unit recorded and distributed
the notices, agendas, and minutes of all the community planning groups and the development agencies. Staff Services provided
specialized clerical support for the whole department. Staff Services paid and kept information about vendors, made reports
and budgets for the office, and distributed that information to the County.
San Diego County underwent many changes in the 1970's, some motivated by budget cuts and job freezes. Fred Christensen came
in as Public Information Director in the early 1970's interested in re-evaluating the program and re-designing it, and Hal
Peyer, Assistant Director was hired in 1975 to help reformulate the program. In the late 1970's, the PIO was moved into the
County's Program Development Agency along with several other departments. Since the 1980's, the Public Information Office
moved several times. In 1997, the Board of Supervisors developed the Department of Media and Public Relations (DMPR) to ensure
information about county issues, programs and services move quickly and accurately to the public, employees, and news organizations.
In 2010, it was re-organized and re-named the County Communications Office and is responsible for media and public relations
for the County of San Diego, including emergency communications, media relations, news releases, news letters, publications
and several major multimedia Board presentations. While the Office's responsibilities have remained the same, its name, job
titles, and staffing structure have reflected changing times and the importance of the internet as an important communications
vehicle.
Accruals
9999-156
Subjects and Indexing Terms
San Diego County (Calif.). Office of Public Information Services
Organizational Records