This accession consists of records created and maintained by Karen Loveland, Director of Special Projects for the Office of Telecommunications, documenting the planning,
development, and execution of film, video, and television productions for general release, for accompaniment to exhibitions and exhibition halls, for training, and for television
spots. Film, video, and television productions for general release include Smithsonian Video Collection; American Picture Palaces; Coral Reefs: How to Make Use of 400 Million
Years of Evolution; John Bull; Maine Coast; Leaf Making: Or the Secret Life of Museum Plants; Smithsonian World; Changes: The Story of Evolution and Speciation; Quadrangle;
Flue-Cured Tobacco Culture; The Big Cats and How They Came to Be; Indiana Engine Retrieval; Census: Accounting for the Nation; Enter Life; Thomas A. Edison and His Amazing
Invention Factories; The Ghosts of Forever; Who Would Have Thought?; The Giant Panda Story; Shells and the Animals Inside; Columbus and His Time; Mirror of Kings: Tales from
Kalila Wa Dimna; and Reunions: Memories of an American Experience.
Films and videos accompanied American Sailor, 1984-1985; Harry S. Truman Centennial: The Berlin Airlift, 1984; Clockwork Universe: German Clocks and Automata, 1550-1650
in 1980; Hall of Dynamic Evolution, beginning in 1979; Hall of Paleontology, beginning in 1982; FDR: The Intimate Presidency, 1982; Field to Factory: Afro-American Migration,
1915-1940, beginning in 1987; Festival of American Folklife; Hall of American Maritime Enterprise, beginning in 1978; the Communication Exhibition, beginning in 1977; Hall
of Western Civilization, beginning in 1978; and It All Depends: How Man Affects and is Affected by his Natural Environment. Training films and videos include Communication
and Security.
Materials include memoranda, correspondence, video proposals, scripts, interview transcripts, production and post-production schedules, computer editing forms, story boards,
roll logs, budget summaries and expense reports, orders and requisitions for supplies and services, travel vouchers, invoices, notes, mailing lists for premieres, publications
with articles about videos, clippings, press releases, fact sheets, copies of contracts, color and black and white negatives and transparencies of credits, and research materials.
See accession 01-230 for a 16 mm distribution print of the "Mirror of Kings:...".
Topic:
Video recordings -- Production and direction Search this
These records are the official minutes of the Board. They are compiled at the direction of the Secretary of the Smithsonian, who is also secretary to the Board, after
approval by the Regents' Executive Committee and by the Regents themselves. The minutes are edited, not a verbatim account of proceedings. For reasons unknown, there are no
manuscript minutes for the period from 1857 through 1890; and researchers must rely on printed minutes published in the Annual Report of the Smithsonian Institution instead.
Minutes are transferred regularly from the Secretary's Office to the Archives. Minutes less than 15 years old are closed to researchers. Indexes exist for the period from
1907 to 1946 and can be useful.
Historical Note:
The Smithsonian Institution was created by authority of an Act of Congress approved August 10, 1846. The Act entrusted direction of the Smithsonian to a body called
the Establishment, composed of the President; the Vice President; the Chief Justice of the United States; the secretaries of State, War, Navy, Interior, and Agriculture; the
Attorney General; and the Postmaster General. In fact, however, the Establishment last met in 1877, and control of the Smithsonian has always been exercised by its Board of
Regents. The membership of the Regents consists of the Vice President and the Chief Justice of the United States; three members each of the Senate and House of Representatives;
two citizens of the District of Columbia; and seven citizens of the several states, no two from the same state. (Prior to 1970 the category of Citizen Regents not residents
of Washington consisted of four members). By custom the Chief Justice is Chancellor. The office was at first held by the Vice President. However, when Millard Fillmore succeeded
to the presidency on the death of Zachary Taylor in 1851, Chief Justice Roger Brooke Taney was chosen in his stead. The office has always been filled by the Chief Justice
since that time.
The Regents of the Smithsonian have included distinguished Americans from many walks of life. Ex officio members (Vice President) have been: Spiro T. Agnew, Chester A.
Arthur, Allen W. Barkley, John C. Breckenridge, George Bush, Schuyler Colfax, Calvin Coolidge, Charles Curtis, George M. Dallas, Charles G. Dawes, Charles W. Fairbanks, Millard
Fillmore, Gerald R. Ford, John N. Garner, Hannibal Hamlin, Thomas A. Hendricks, Garret A. Hobart, Hubert H. Humphrey, Andrew Johnson, Lyndon B. Johnson, William R. King, Thomas
R. Marshall, Walter F. Mondale, Levi P. Morton, Richard M. Nixon, Nelson A. Rockefeller, Theodore Roosevelt, James S. Sherman, Adlai E. Stevenson, Harry S. Truman, Henry A.
Wallace, William A. Wheeler, Henry Wilson.
Ex officio members (Chief Justice) have been: Roger B. Taney, Salmon P. Chase, Nathan Clifford, Morrison R. Waite, Samuel F. Miller, Melville W. Fuller, Edward D. White,
William Howard Taft, Charles Evans Hughes, Harlan F. Stone, Fred M. Vinson, Earl Warren, Warren E. Burger.
Regents on the part of the Senate have been: Clinton P. Anderson, Newton Booth, Sidney Breese, Lewis Cass, Robert Milledge Charlton, Bennet Champ Clark, Francis M. Cockrell,
Shelby Moore Cullom, Garrett Davis, Jefferson Davis, George Franklin Edmunds, George Evans, Edwin J. Garn, Walter F. George, Barry Goldwater, George Gray, Hannibal Hamlin,
Nathaniel Peter Hill, George Frisbie Hoar, Henry French Hollis, Henry M. Jackson, William Lindsay, Henry Cabot Lodge, Medill McCormick, James Murray Mason, Samuel Bell Maxey,
Robert B. Morgan, Frank E. Moss, Claiborne Pell, George Wharton Pepper, David A. Reed, Leverett Saltonstall, Hugh Scott, Alexander H. Smith, Robert A. Taft, Lyman Trumbull,
Wallace H. White, Jr., Robert Enoch Withers.
Regents on the part of the House of Representatives have included: Edward P. Boland, Frank T. Bow, William Campbell Breckenridge, Overton Brooks, Benjamin Butterworth,
Clarence Cannon, Lucius Cartrell, Hiester Clymer, William Colcock, William P. Cole, Jr., Maurice Connolly, Silvio O. Conte, Edward E. Cox, Edward H. Crump, John Dalzell, Nathaniel
Deering, Hugh A. Dinsmore, William English, John Farnsworth, Scott Ferris, Graham Fitch, James Garfield, Charles L. Gifford, T. Alan Goldsborough, Frank L. Greene, Gerry Hazleton,
Benjamin Hill, Henry Hilliard, Ebenezer Hoar, William Hough, William M. Howard, Albert Johnson, Leroy Johnson, Joseph Johnston, Michael Kirwan, James T. Lloyd, Robert Luce,
Robert McClelland, Samuel K. McConnell, Jr., George H. Mahon, George McCrary, Edward McPherson, James R. Mann, George Perkins Marsh, Norman Y. Mineta, A. J. Monteague, R.
Walton Moore, Walter H. Newton, Robert Dale Owen, James Patterson, William Phelps, Luke Poland, John Van Schaick Lansing Pruyn, B. Carroll Reece, Ernest W. Roberts, Otho Robards
Singleton, Frank Thompson, Jr., John M. Vorys, Hiram Warner, Joseph Wheeler.
Citizen Regents have been: David C. Acheson, Louis Agassiz, James B. Angell, Anne L. Armstrong, William Backhouse Astor, J. Paul Austin, Alexander Dallas Bache, George
Edmund Badger, George Bancroft, Alexander Graham Bell, James Gabriel Berrett, John McPherson Berrien, Robert W. Bingham, Sayles Jenks Bowen, William G. Bowen, Robert S. Brookings,
John Nicholas Brown, William A. M. Burden, Vannevar Bush, Charles F. Choate, Jr., Rufus Choate, Arthur H. Compton, Henry David Cooke, Henry Coppee, Samuel Sullivan Cox, Edward
H. Crump, James Dwight Dana, Harvey N. Davis, William Lewis Dayton, Everette Lee Degolyer, Richard Delafield, Frederic A. Delano, Charles Devens, Matthew Gault Emery, Cornelius
Conway Felton, Robert V. Fleming, Murray Gell-Mann, Robert F. Goheen, Asa Gray, George Gray, Crawford Hallock Greenwalt, Nancy Hanks, Caryl Parker Haskins, Gideon Hawley,
John B. Henderson, John B. Henderson, Jr., A. Leon Higginbotham, Jr., Gardner Greene Hubbard, Charles Evans Hughes, Carlisle H. Humelsine, Jerome C. Hunsaker, William Preston
Johnston, Irwin B. Laughlin, Walter Lenox, Augustus P. Loring, John Maclean, William Beans Magruder, John Walker Maury, Montgomery Cunningham Meigs, John C. Merriam, R. Walton
Moore, Roland S. Morris, Dwight W. Morrow, Richard Olney, Peter Parker, Noah Porter, William Campbell Preston, Owen Josephus Roberts, Richard Rush, William Winston Seaton,
Alexander Roby Shepherd, William Tecumseh Sherman, Otho Robards Singleton, Joseph Gilbert Totten, John Thomas Towers, Frederic C. Walcott, Richard Wallach, Thomas J. Watson,
Jr., James E. Webb, James Clarke Welling, Andrew Dickson White, Henry White, Theodore Dwight Woolsey.
Folk Masters from the Barns of Wolf Trap (Radio program)
Spirits of the Present: The Legacy from Native America (Radio program : 1992)
Dream Window: Reflections on the Japanese Garden (Documentary film : 1991)
Smithsonian World (Television program : 1984-1991)
Folk Masters: Traditional Music in the Americas (Radio program : 1991)
Extent:
5.5 cu. ft. (5 record storage boxes) (1 document box)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Manuscripts
Brochures
Clippings
Compact discs
Black-and-white photographs
Color transparencies
Color photographs
Black-and-white negatives
Electronic records
Date:
1974-1999
Descriptive Entry:
This accession includes records documenting the activities of Martha Knouss, Marketing Manager, with earlier records dating back to when Knouss was Marketing Assistant
for the Office of Telecommunications. Materials include Knouss' correspondence and memoranda; meeting minutes of the Smithsonian Marketing Committee; program news releases,
schedules, and fact sheets; carriage reports; video listings; special events and conference information; budget summaries; public inquiries; production brochures, logos, and
promotional information; and photographs of staff members. Some television and radio productions documented in these records include "Here at the Smithsonian," "Dream Window:
Reflections on the Japanese Garden," "Folk Masters," and "Spirits of the Present: The Legacy from Native America."
Smithsonian World (Television program : 1984-1991)
Extent:
15.5 cu. ft. (15 record storage boxes) (1 document box)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Brochures
Clippings
Manuscripts
Newsletters
Date:
1981-2000
Descriptive Entry:
This accession consists of records created and maintained by Milo Cleveland Beach, Director, 1987-2001, documenting participation in professional associations; donations
to endowment funds; events held for, or by, the Freer Gallery of Art (FGA); development; fellowships and grants; affiliated museums, universities, and institutions; strategic
plans and mission statements; acquisitions; and various committees and boards on which the Director served. Materials include correspondence; memoranda; research materials;
planning documents; brochures for the Freer and Sackler galleries, for other Smithsonian museums, and from non-Smithsonian museums; staff newsletters; Smithsonian publications;
grant proposals and proposal evaluation forms; purchase agreements; exhibit texts; lecture texts; donor and prospective donor contact reports; Director's daily schedules;
reports; meeting agendas and supporting materials; committee and board membership lists; clippings; survey results; event invitations and invitation lists; and accounting
reports of inventories and floor plans for the gallery shops. There is also a significant amount of materials associated with the Council of Bureau Directors (COBD), including
correspondence; member lists; working files; meeting schedules, agendas, and supporting documents; and files concerning the acquisition of the National Museum of the American
Indian.
Smithsonian World (Television program : 1984-1991)
Creator::
National Zoological Park. Office of Public Affairs Search this
Extent:
1 cu. ft. (1 record storage box)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Brochures
Clippings
Manuscripts
Serials (publications)
Color photographs
Color transparencies
Black-and-white transparencies
Date:
1979-1991, 1998
Descriptive Entry:
This accession consists of records documenting the research and activities of the National Zoological Park, Office of Public Affairs, including a "Smithsonian World"
episode, planning for the centennial celebration at the National Zoological Park in 1989, and a panda slide presentation. Materials include transcripts, logs, and notes for
the "Smithsonian World" episode; correspondence and memoranda; brochures and bumper stickers; clippings; zoo publications; slides and photographs; and a manuscript.
Smithsonian World (Television program : 1984-1991)
Creator::
Smithsonian Institution. Office of the Counselor to the Secretary Search this
Extent:
7 cu. ft. (7 record storage boxes)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Brochures
Clippings
Manuscripts
Newsletters
Pamphlets
Place:
Japan
Date:
1990-1997
Descriptive Entry:
This accession consists of records that document the administrative activities of Marc Pachter during his tenure as Deputy Assistant Secretary for External Affairs
(1990-1994), Counselor to the Secretary for Electronic Communications and Special Projects (1994-1995), and Counselor to the Secretary (1995-2000), respectively.
The majority of the records document activities associated with the formation and work of the Electronic Media Board formed in 1991 to address the issues of uniformity
and efficiency in the review and production of Smithsonian electronic media outreach and education efforts. The Electronic Media Board was composed of the following members:
Chair - Deputy Assistant Secretary for External Affairs (Pachter); the Director of the Office of Telecommunications; the Smithsonian Senior Business Officer; and representatives
from the Office of General Counsel, Council of Bureau Directors, Council of Information and Education Directors, and the Institutional scholarly research community. The Electronic
Media Board was disbanded in 1997.
The Board's mandate was as follows: 1) identify and eliminate duplication in existing media projects thus becoming more cost-effective and efficient with regard to the
production of those projects; 2) identify legal and financial issues of importance to the Institution and to avoid unnecessary risks; 3) assess appropriateness of projects
against Institutional goals and standards; and 4) ensure that procedures are in place for expert oversight by Smithsonian staff of program content, production, and use of
the Smithsonian name.
In addition to the records of the Electronic Media Board, there are records relating to Pachter's interaction with the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars,
The Smithsonian Associates, the Smithsonian World television program, and a major trip to Japan. Materials include agendas, minutes, notes, reference files, correspondence,
memoranda, reports, development files, budget files, subject files, and related materials.
Celebrating a Century: The 1876 Philadelphia Exhibition (Motion picture : 1976)
Piano Grand! (Television program : 2000)
Black Radio: Telling It Like It Was (Radio program : 1995)
Beyond Category: The Music of Duke Ellington (Video recording)
Sawyer and His Mill (Motion picture : 1969)
Creatures Great and Small (Video recording : 1989)
Smithsonian World (Television program : 1984-1991)
Yorktown (Motion picture : 1982)
First Ladies (Video recording : 1989)
Engines of Change: The American Industrial Revolution, 1790-1860 (Video recording : 1987)
The Mississippi: River of Song (Television program : 1999)
Piano 300 (Video recording : 2000)
Jazz Smithsonian (Radio program : 1993)
Smithsonian Quest (Television program : 1986)
Science in American Life (Video recording : c. 1992)
Jazz Age in Paris: 1914-1940 (Video recording : 1998)
Smithsonian Minutes (Television program : c. 1995)
Smithsonian video collection
Last Wheel Works (Motion picture : 1974)
Beyond the Ocean, Beneath the Leaf (Video recording : 1982)
What in the World (Television program : 1977)
Extent:
3.90 cu. ft. (3 record storage boxes) (1 16x20 box) (4 oversize folders)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Manuscripts
Floor plans
Drawings
Black-and-white photographs
Color photographs
Color negatives
Black-and-white negatives
Date:
1968-2002
Descriptive Entry:
This accession includes records documenting the film, video, and radio production activities of John P. Meehan, Audio-Visual Production Specialist; Jacquie Gales Webb,
Producer; and Paul B. Johnson, Director. Material consists of correspondence, memoranda, and notes; performer's licenses; production logs; contracts and releases; music cue
sheets; blueprints; interview transcripts; grant information; audio scripts; photographs and slides; drawings; budget summaries; meeting agenda; proposals; and information
on the Smithsonian Video Collection.
Productions documented in these records include "Piano Grand!," "Black Radio: Telling it Like it Was," "Beyond Category: The Musical Genius of Duke Ellington," "The Sawyer
and His Mill," "Creatures Great and Small," "Celebrating a Century: The 1876 Philadelphia Exhibition," "The Last Wheel Works," "Smithsonian Quest," "Smithsonian World," "Yorktown,"
"The First Ladies," "Engines of Change," "Beyond the Ocean, Beneath the Leaf," "River of Song: Music Along the Mississippi," "Piano 300," "Jazz Smithsonian," "What in the
World," "Science in American Life," "Jazz in Paris: 1914-1940," and "Smithsonian Minutes."
Smithsonian World (Television program : 1984-1991)
Creator::
Smithsonian Institution. Office of the Counselor to the Secretary Search this
Extent:
2 cu. ft. (2 record storage boxes)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Brochures
Clippings
Manuscripts
Newsletters
Pamphlets
Compact discs
Black-and-white photographs
Color photographs
Date:
1990-1997
Descriptive Entry:
This accession consists of records that document the administrative activities of Marc Pachter during his tenure as Deputy Assistant Secretary for External Affairs (1990-1994); Counselor to
the Secretary for Electronic Communications and Special Projects (1994-1995); and Counselor to the Secretary (1995-2000), respectively.
The records document activities associated with the formation and work of the Electronic Media Board [EMB] (1991-1997), which was established to address the issues of uniformity
and efficiency in the review and production of Smithsonian electronic media outreach and education efforts. See Accession 00-138 for a detailed description of the Board and
its mandate.
In addition to the records of the Electronic Media Board, there are records relating to Pachter's interaction with the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars;
The Smithsonian Associates; the Smithsonian World television program; the Office of Telecommunications; Smithsonian Press and Productions; the Museum of the American Indian;
the Office of Institutional Studies; the National Portrait Gallery; the Office of Sponsored Projects; and a major trip to Japan. Additional material relates to his involvement
in the promotion and public awareness of exhibitions and educational programs and projects.
Materials include agendas, minutes, notes, reference files, correspondence, memoranda, reports, press kits, photographs, booklets, brochures, development files, budget
files, subject files, and related records.
Smithsonian World (Television program : 1984-1991)
Extent:
1 cu. ft. (1 record storage box)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Motion pictures (visual works)
Date:
1976, undated
Descriptive Entry:
This accession consists of film related to echinoderm research conducted by Porter M. Kier, an invertebrate paleontologist who held various positions in the Department
of Geology, the Department of Paleobiology, and the Office of the Director at the United States National Museum and the National Museum of Natural History from 1957 through
1985. Much of the footage documents the behavior of sea urchins and some was recorded as time-lapse photography. Kjell Bloch Sandved, a biological photographer in the National
Museum of Natural History, Office of Exhibits, likely collaborated on some of these projects. Much of the footage was provided for possible use in an episode of the television
series "Smithsonian World." Materials include originals and prints.
Smithsonian World (Television program : 1984-1991)
Extent:
7 cu. ft. (7 record storage boxes)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Manuscripts
Brochures
Clippings
Newsletters
Architectural drawings
Color transparencies
Color photographs
Black-and-white photographs
Color negatives
Video recordings
Audiotapes
Date:
circa 1984-1994
Descriptive Entry:
This accession includes records documenting activities of the Center for Advertising History (CAH) in the preservation of advertising history in the United States,
primarily through the acquisition of information relating to advertising and projects such as oral history interviews and public seminars. The records consist of correspondence
and memoranda pertaining to CAH publicity, oral history initiatives, seminar planning, and fundraising; CAH Advisory Board agendas and minutes; CAH articles; photographs of
CAH staff and Advisory Board members; project proposals and contracts; videotapes and audio recordings of special events; and CAH brochures and newsletters.
Smithsonian World (Television program : 1984-1991)
Creator::
National Portrait Gallery (Smithsonian Institution). Department of History Search this
Extent:
0.5 cu. ft. (1 document box)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Manuscripts
Floor plans
Sketches
Date:
1989-1992
Descriptive Entry:
This accession consists of records that document the planning and execution of Living Self-Portraits, a series of interviews with prominent American artists.
Marc Pachter, Chief Historian, conducted the interviews at the National Portrait Gallery (NPG). The "evenings" were a collaborative effort between the Resident Associates
Program, Smithsonian Productions, WETA (Washington, DC's public television station), and NPG.
As stated in a letter to Agnes De Mille (interviewed October 10, 1990), "the self-portraits are informally autobiographical, going beyond what might be found in published
biographical sources" and the format was "an hour of conversation with . . . Marc Pachter" before "a select group of 250 enthusiastic and informed guests to share the event
in the Great Hall of the National Portrait Gallery." The interviews were videotaped and segments were to be used in the Smithsonian Productions series Smithsonian World
that aired on WETA television.
The interviewees featured in the records are dancer and choreographer Agnes De Mille, actor Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., editor of the Washington Post Katharine Graham, and
photographer Gordon Parks.
Materials include correspondence, memoranda, program notes, budgets, itineraries, sketches of the Great Hall (NPG), technical specifications, releases and agreements, logistical
planning files, reference files, mailing lists, notes, and related records.
Topic:
Television -- Production and direction Search this
Global Environment: Are We Overreacting? (Video recording : 1989)
In Open Air: A Portrait of the American Impressionists (Motion picture : 1982)
Yorktown (Motion picture : 1982)
Work of Peace (Television program : 1984)
Piano 300 (Video recording : 2000)
Piano Grand! (Television program : 2000)
Smithsonian Institution (Documentary film)
America of the Braves: The Dark and Bright Sides of the Frontier Spirit (Television program)
America of Presidents (Television program)
The Mississippi: River of Song (Radio program : 1999)
American Inventions (Television program)
Smithsonian video collection
Here at the Smithsonian (Television program)
Flying Machines (Video recording : 1989)
The Mississippi: River of Song (Television program : 1999)
Smithsonian World (Television program : 1984-1991)
Extent:
9 cu. ft. (9 record storage boxes)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Manuscripts
Clippings
Black-and-white photographs
Black-and-white transparencies
Date:
1980-2002
Descriptive Entry:
This accession includes records documenting the film, video, and radio production activities of Paul B. Johnson, Director. Material consists of correspondence and memoranda;
production proposals; information on the Nippon Hoso Kyokai (NHK)-Smithsonian Institution collaborative television project; budget summaries; information on the Smithsonian
Video Collection; contracts; release and rights forms; videotapes of Lawrence M. Small's installation as Secretary, and his first press conference; research articles, fundraising,
marketing, and awards information; production scripts; shooting schedules; and special events information.
Productions documented in these records include "The Jazz Singers," "Memphis: Cradle of Rock and Soul," "River of Song: A Musical Journey Down the Mississippi River," "River
of Song: Music Along the Mississippi," "The Buried Mirror," "The Global Environment: Are We Overacting," "Smithsonian World," "In Open Air: A Portrait of American Impressionists,"
"Yorktown," "The Work of Peace," "Piano 300," "Piano Grand!," "Here at the Smithsonian," "The Flying Machines," and "The Smithsonian Institution." NHK-SI productions include
"America of the Braves: The Dark and Bright Sides of the Frontier Spirit," "America of Presidents," and "American Inventions."
Topic:
Television -- Production and direction Search this
Reunions: Memories of an American Experience (Documentary film : 1979)
Leaf Thieves (Motion picture : 1963)
Mirrors on the Universe: The MMT story (Motion picture : 1979)
Sense of Discovery, The National Collection of Fine Arts (Motion picture : 1980)
Smithsonian Galaxy (Radio program)
Smithsonian World (Television program : 1984-1991)
Radio Smithsonian (Radio program)
Smithsonian Institution with S. Dillon Ripley, Secretary (Television program)
Here at the Smithsonian (Television program)
Extent:
7.5 cu. ft. (7 record storage boxes) (1 document box)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Clippings
Manuscripts
Date:
circa 1963-1988
Descriptive Entry:
These records primarily document the activities of OTC under Director Nazaret Cherkezian. A small amount of records were created by Paul B. Johnson. There are also
a few records created by OTC's predecessor offices. The records include correspondence, memoranda, proposals, contracts, budgets, reports, newspaper clippings, press releases,
scripts, and related materials concerning OTC radio broadcasts Radio Smithsonian and Smithsonian Galaxy; television and film productions, especially "Smithsonian World" and
the Emmy award-winning "The Smithsonian Institution with S. Dillon Ripley, Secretary;" production planning; facilities and equipment, including the construction of the OTC
studio in the National Museum of History and Technology; and administrative records.
Historical Note:
The Office of Telecommunications (OTC) was established on August 15, 1976, as a separate unit reporting directly to the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Public
Service. Prior to the creation of OTC, coordination of Smithsonian telecommunication activities was a function of the Smithsonian Museum Service, 1958-1965; the Office of
Public Information, 1965-1967; and the Office of Public Affairs, 1967-1976. OTC develops ideas for the production of programs and broadcast series for public and commercial
television and radio, films, and related visual and audio materials, which bring a better understanding of the Smithsonian to American and foreign audiences. OTC is also the
contact point for all interested outside producers of telecommunications projects relating to all Smithsonian bureaus. OTC broadcast series have included Radio Smithsonian,
a national, weekly radio program providing information about the multi-disciplinary activities of the Institution which was in production from 1969 to 1990; Smithsonian Galaxy,
a series of short radio features highlighting the work of Smithsonian curators, scientists, and researchers broadcast from 1979 to 1987; and Here at the Smithsonian, a series
of short features for television, produced from 1982 to 1989. In addition, OTC produces films of special events of the Institution; provides archival recordings of conferences,
symposia, and other programs; and produces films for Smithsonian exhibitions. Nazaret Cherkezian was appointed Director of OTC in 1976. He retired in 1986 and was replaced
by Assistant Director Paul B. Johnson who served as Acting Director, 1986-1988, and Director, 1988-2002.
Spirits of the Present: The Legacy from Native America (Radio program : 1992)
Black Radio: Telling It Like It Was (Radio program : 1995)
Smithsonian World (Television program : 1984-1991)
Extent:
9 cu. ft. (9 record storage boxes)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Manuscripts
Clippings
Brochures
Date:
1972-2002
Descriptive Entry:
These records document film, television, and radio production activities at Smithsonian Productions, with earlier material dating from when the office was known as
Smithsonian Press/Smithsonian Productions and the Office of Telecommunications (OTC), respectively. The records include correspondence and memoranda of Nazaret Cherkezian,
Director; Paul S. Johnson, Director; Karen Loveland, Director of Special Projects; Denise Freeland, Marketing and Promotion Specialist; and Elizabeth Smith Brownstein, Media
Project Development Specialist. Also includes production proposals, scripts, and publications; meeting minutes; program reports; budget summaries; donor, grant, and contractual
information; interview transcripts; subject files; and conference information. Some of the productions documented in these records include "Here at the Smithsonian," "American
Picture Palaces," "Spirits of the Present: The Legacy from Native America," and "Black Radio: Telling It Like It Was."
Smithsonian Institution. Office of Public Affairs Search this
Extent:
7.5 cu. ft. (7 record storage boxes) (1 document box)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Audiotapes
Videotapes
Date:
1979-1995 and undated
Descriptive Entry:
This accession consists of videotapes and some audiotapes, chiefly Public Service Announcements (PSAs) organized by the Office of Public Affairs, which are duplicate
or master copies. The audiotapes are all reel-to-reel, whereas the videotapes vary from VHS to 3/4-inch to Beta.
Included are PSAs with celebrities such as Gregory Peck, Sandy Duncan, Pat Morita, Astronaut Guion Bluford, and Alex Haley. Many PSAs are geared to specific audiences,
including Senior Citizens, African Americans, children, the handicapped and the Latino community. Several are in Spanish.
Other videotapes include the announcement of the appointment of Robert McC. Adams as Secretary of the Smithsonian, two tapes of the program Smithsonian World, an interview
with Madeleine Jacobs, and America's Smithsonian in Los Angeles.
