Inventory of the Governor'S Office. Office of Information Services Records, November 1972-June 1976
Processed by The California State Archives staff; supplementary encoding and revision supplied by Xiuzhi Zhou.
California State Archives
1020 "O" Street
Sacramento, California 95814
Phone: (916) 653-2246
Fax: (916) 653-7363
Email: ArchivesWeb@sos.ca.gov
URL: http://www.sos.ca.gov/archives/
© 2000
California Secretary of State. All rights reserved.
Inventory of the Governor'S Office. Office of Information Services Records, November 1972-June 1976
Inventory: F3715
California State Archives
Office of the Secretary of State
Sacramento, California
Contact Information:
- California State Archives
- 1020 "O" Street
- Sacramento, California 95814
- Phone: (916) 653-2246
- Fax: (916) 653-7363
- Email: ArchivesWeb@sos.ca.gov
- URL: http://www.sos.ca.gov/archives/
- Processed by:
- The California State Archives staff
© 2000 California Secretary of State. All rights reserved.
Descriptive Summary
Title: Governor'S Office. Office of Information Services Records,
Date (inclusive): November 1972-June 1976
Inventory: F3715
Creator:
Governor'S Office. Office of Information Services
Repository:
California State Archives
Language:
English.
Administrative Information
Publication Rights
For permission to reproduce or publish, please contact the California State Archives. Permission for reproduction or publication
is given on behalf of the California State Archives as the owner of the physical items. The researcher assumes all responsibility
for possible infringement which may arise from reproduction or publication of materials from the California State Archives
collections.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Governor'S Office. Office of Information Services Records, F3715, California State Archives.
Agency History
Governor Ronald Reagan established the Office of Information Services (OIS) in October of 1972 (Executive Order R 39-73) to
improve communications with the public on the activities of state government. The main purpose of the office was to make the
information systems of various state agencies, departments, and commissions more responsive to public needs. Prior to the
establishment of the OIS, most of the forty-odd agencies in the executive branch of state government had their own information
officers; but there was no overall coordination of the communications functions. Subsequently, most state agencies continued
to employ communications personnel. The OIS was simply an attempt to systematize their activities.
The Office of Information Services had three divisions. The first was the Office of the Chief, a position filled by Harvey
F. Yorke from November 1972 through November 1975 and by Fred R. Epstein from December 1975 through June 1976. The chief's
major duties were to provide direction for the agency and to coordinate the information activities of other agencies and departments
in the executive branch of state government. Yorke also devoted a considerable amount of time to developing and participating
in training programs designed to upgrade the professional skills of state information officers, and he served as the liaison
between the California Bicentennial Commission and the governor's office.
The Broadcast Services Division produced a series of tapes for radio stations which converted the press releases of various
state offices into audio form. The staff of Broadcast Services received press releases from state agencies, wrote radio announcements
based on them, and recorded these announcements on tape. In most cases the tape also included an actuality by an executive
or information officer in the agency which produced the news release - i.e., a recording of that person's voice explaining
the news item. Radio stations could call Broadcast Services over a number of toll-free telephone lines to listen to the tapes.
There were three feeds each day (10 A.M., 2 P.M., and 5:30 P.M.), five days a week. The California Information Broadcast Service
began its programs on December 11, 1972, and terminated on June 30, 1976. Bob McCafferty managed the Broadcast Services Division
from November 1972 through September 1975. Larry Martz succeeded him and stayed with the program until its termination.
The Southern Area Office, located in Los Angeles, acted as a field service center for agencies and departments of state government
that did not have their own information officers in the Los Angeles area. In this capacity it helped them contact the news
media about their programs and arranged news conferences and public meetings. It produced several weekly public service programs,
both in English and in Spanish, for Southern California radio and television stations that described the various state government
services and instructed individuals how to obtain them. In addition, it served as a contact point on the activities of state
government for the news media in the southern part of the state. Simon Nathenson headed the Los Angeles office for all three
and one-half years of its operation.
The Office of Information Services went out of existence at the end of the 1976 fiscal year. Convinced that most of its activities
were superfluous Governor Brown cut it out of the 1977 budget.
Records Relating to the Office of the Chief
Folder F3715:1-13
1. HISTORY, ORGANIZATION, AND FUNCTIONS OF THE OIS. 1972-76.
Physical Description: 13f.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged by subject and then roughly in chronological order. The arrangement is artificial.
A number of reports, recommendations, and memoranda outlining the establishment and functions of the OIS. Also several status
reports on changes in its functions between 1972 and 1976. Recommendations for more efficient utilization of public information
officers in California state government. A limited sampling of Feature File summaries, weekly listings of feature stories
on activities of state agencies, which were disseminated by the OIS. One file of newspaper clippings on reactions of the press
and public to the establishment and activities of the OIS.
Folder F3715:4-16
2. CORRESPONDENCE, OFFICE OF THE CHIEF. 1972-75.
Physical Description: 3f.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged roughly in chronological order. The arrangement is artificial.
A miscellaneous collection of letters and interoffice memoranda to and from the office of the chief. A file of letters addressed
to Harvey Yorke from Mike Cullen, chairman of the Assembly Committee on Efficiency and Cost Control, mainly relating to public
relations in state government. Letters from Yorke to the public on working as an information officer in the state service.
Folder F3715:17-19
3. REPORTS, OFFICE OF THE CHIEF. 1973-74.
Physical Description: 3f.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged in chronological order. The collection is artificial.
Materials relating to a study of whether or not the state should establish an in-house advertising agency to handle the newspaper
advertising of various state agencies. A report on how to inform the public about the role of veterans in the California Ecology
Corps.
Folder F3715:20-23
4. SPEECHES, OFFICE OF THE CHIEF. 1974-75.
Physical Description: 4f.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged in chronological order. The collection is artificial.
A group of speeches Harvey Yorke gave to various organizations on public relations. A typed version of Yorke's testimony before
the Senate Subcommittee on Political Reform concerning the functions of the OIS.
Folder F3715:24
5. BUDGET FILES. 1973.
Physical Description: 1f.
Scope and Content Note
The OIS was funded by the various agencies and departments in the executive branch of the government on a reimbursable basis.
This folder contains samplings of interagency agreements through which the OIS obtained operating monies.
Folder F3715:25-28
6. INFORMATION RELEASE FORECASTS. 1973-75.
Physical Description: 4f.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged in chronological order.
The information release forecast was a simplified system for co-ordinating the release of information by state agencies. The
OIS issued it weekly starting March 2, 1973. It included such items as speaking engagements, dedications, dates when press
releases would be issued, public hearings, and news conferences. The series also contains a file unit on the planning of this
service and on its operation during the first few weeks.
Folder F3715:29-33
7. VIDEO AND FILM PROJECTS. 1973-74.
Physical Description: 5f.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged in chronological order.
Questionnaires, memoranda, and a report by Caspar Weinberger, Jr., on the state's videotape/closed circuit television needs
and resources. Materials related to the implementation of the report's recommendations. A file of materials on a proposed
documentary film on the old state capitol.
Folder F3715:34-44
8. TRAINING PROGRAMS FOR STATE INFORMATION OFFICERS. 1973-76.
Physical Description: 11f.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged by subject and then in chronological order.
One of Harvey Yorke's principal activities as chief of the OIS was to plan and coordinate training programs for the information
officers in various state agencies. This series includes general guidelines on the development of training programs for state
information officers, materials regarding the planning of various training seminars, and transcripts of the proceedings of
several seminars and workshops.
Folder F3715:45-47
9. THE OIS AND THE CALIFORNIA BICENTENNIAL COMMISSION. 1974.
Physical Description: 3f.
Scope and Content Note
Yorke served as liaison between the Bicentennial Commission and the various agencies of state government. The series includes
correspondence and memoranda on his role and a March 1974 report on the commission's progress that the prepared for the governor's
cabinet.
Records Relating to the Los Angeles Office
Folder F3715:48-50
10. ACTIVITY REPORTS. June 1973 - Nov. 1975.
Physical Description: 3f.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged chronologically.
Weekly reports to Harvey Yorke from the Los Angeles office concerning its activities. Selected weeks in 1973 and 1975. Almost
a complete set for 1974.
Folder F3715: 51-53
11. CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMORANDA. 1973-75.
Physical Description: 3f.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged roughly in chronological order.
Correspondence and memoranda, primarily to and from Simon Nathenson, head of the Los Angeles office, on a wide variety of
subjects. Also lists of questions for a Spanish language television program about the services of state government, Puertas
Abiertas del Estado, which was produced by the Los Angeles office, and an important essay that explained the functions of
the Los Angeles office.
Records Relating to the Broadcast Services Division
Folder F3715: 54
12. WEEKLY PROGRESS REPORTS. Dec. 11, 1972 - Nov. 17, 1975.
Physical Description: 1f.
Scope and Content Note
Reports arranged chronologically. Some gaps.
The director of Broadcast Services submitted a weekly report to Harvey Yorke detailing the activities of his division.
Folder F3715: 55-61
13. CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMORANDA. 1972-76.
Physical Description: 7f.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged by subject and then chronologically thereunder. The arrangement is artificial.
A collection of correspondence principally dealing with the California Information Broadcast Service (hereafter cited as the
C.I.B.S.). Letters and memos from Bob McCafferty, the manager of the Broadcast Services Division, and from his successor,
Larry Martz, to news directors of radio stations all over California, informing them about the offerings of the C.I.B.S. Letters
from news directors and managers of radio stations inquiring about the programs of the C.I.B.S. or criticizing them. One folder
of letters written in Spanish to directors of Spanish-language radio stations. Two folders of interoffice memos to other state
agencies and commissions concerning the C.I.B.S. Also scattered correspondence on other subjects such as invitations to McCafferty
to speak to various groups about his profession and inquiries about state programs from people who had heard C.I.B.S. broadcasts.
A small selection of letters on the public reaction to the C.I.B.S. at the time of its inception.
Folder F3715: 62
14. FIVE-WEEK SUMMARIES OF STORIES. April 1973 - Oct. 1975.
Physical Description: 1f.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged chronologically.
Every five weeks Broadcast Services published a summary of the number of stories submitted to the C.I.B.S. by each state agency
and sent it to the information officers. The folder includes one copy of the summary for most five-week periods from April
30, 1973, through Oct. 31, 1975.
Folder F3715: 63-67
15. STORY LISTS AND SPECIAL FEEDS. 1972-76.
Physical Description: 5f.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged by subject and chronologically thereunder.
Weekly lists of stories broadcast over the C.I.B.S. from the week of Dec. 11, 1972, through the week of June 6, 1976. Almost
a complete set. The lists contain very brief summaries of the subject matter, the name of the information officer who submitted
each story, and the date and time it was broadcast. Also one folder containing scripts of a few emergency special feeds broadcast
over the C.I.B.S.
Folder F3715: 68-253
16. RADIO SCRIPTS FOR THE C.I.B.S. Dec. 1972 - June 1976.
Physical Description: 7½ cf.
Scope and Content Note
Partial scripts for all stories broadcast over the C.I.B.S. from Dec. 11, 1972, through June 30, 1976, excluding scripts for
the week of June 14, 1976, which are missing. The subject matter ranges over the activities and services of various state
agencies and commissions of interest to the general public. Samples are announcements of changes in the labor codes promulgated
by the Department of Industrial Relations, announcements of flu vaccination programs set up by the Department of Health, and
statements on California's unemployment rate by the Employment Development Department. There is very little material on Reagan's
activities and political programs.
The scripts contain all materials written by the staff of Broadcast Services for taping but do not include transcriptions
of the actualities - i.e., the taped voices of information officers and executives of various state agencies explaining their
programs. Beginning with the week of Sept. 16, 1974, the major stories of each day were translated into Spanish and broadcast
in that language directly after the 5:30 P.M. feed. All Spanish translations have been discarded except those for Sept. 16,
1974, through Oct. 11, 1974. The scripts are foldered by the week and arranged in chronological order.
Folder F3715: 254-520
17. TAPE RECORDINGS OF THE C.I.B.S. PROGRAMS. Dec. 1972 - June 1976.
Scope and Content Note
Master tapes of the C.I.B.S. programs. Twenty-nine reel to reel tapes (week of Dec. 11, 1972, through week of June 25, 1973);
two hundred cassettes (July 2, 1973, through June 11, 1976); thirty-eight reel to reel tapes (June 14, 1976, through June
30, 1976). Weeks of March 5, 1973; July 8, 1974; Nov. 4, 1974; and March 1, 1975 are missing. Also missing are recordings
of the 5:30 P.M. broadcasts on June 29 and June 30, 1976.
Folder F3715: 521
18. SURVEY OF THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH OF STATE GOVERNMENT ON THE OFFERINGS OF THE C.I.B.S. Nov. - Dec. 1975.
Physical Description: 1f.
Scope and Content Note
In November and December of 1975 Broadcast Services conducted a survey among the heads of agencies in the executive branch
of state government inquiring about whether they thought the C.I.B.S. was useful
and whether they thought it ought to be continued. This folder contains a report based on the survey, which was written by
Larry Martz, and a sample copy of the questionnaire.