The Media Series (126.5 linear feet) consists of seven subseries: Audio, Digital Media, Microfilm, Newspaper Clippings and Press Releases, Political Cartoons, Speeches, and Visual Media. The majority of this series is in the Microfilm, Newspaper Clippings-Press Releases, and Political Cartoons sections.
The Audio subseries contains cassette tapes from 1987, 1989-1991, 1994, 1997, and some with no date. The majority of the cassettes from 1989-1991 are of Bullock news conferences, campaign advertisements, and question and answer sessions, all done for radio. There are also cassettes of Robert Mosbacher campaign advertisements and news conferences. There is one tape of a televised debate between Bullock, Rob Mosbacher, and Tom Owens from October 6, 1990, and a tape of the Texas Women’s Political Caucus Roast for Bullock in February 1987. One tape is in Spanish and is a 60-second campaign advertisement. Some of the tapes are unclear in spots and not of the best quality. Eight blank cassette tapes were removed from the subseries. Also found in this subseries are six Dictaphone tapes believed to be from the Lieutenant Governor time period and 5 audio reels. Three of the audio reels are labeled “Byron Tunnell for RR Commissioner” and the other two contain Bullock campaign radio “spots.”
The Bullock Collection also contains Digital Media in
the form of CD and computer backups. The Family Scrapbook CD is discussed
at length in the description of the Personal Series and contains digital
copies of family scrapbooks, photos and audio/video clips. The DVD is
discussed at length in the description of the Lieutenant Governor’s
Series and contains Lieutenant Governor Alpha correspondence. See note
on access restriction. The section called Computer Backups consists of
eight 3.5” floppy disks containing Bullock information, two 5.5”
floppy disks with database information and one cartridge hard drive. These
items are not dated and are sparsely labeled. There are also nine “Mars”
Disks which appear to contain information for some months of 1996, 1997,
and 1998. Two of these disks are labeled blank. Six tape drives are also
located in this digital media section of the collection, which also have
no date or reference to content except a label of “Lt. Go S01/.”
Finally, there are nine large 10.75” computer tape drives that contain
the original database for the Bullock Correspondence DVD. Unfortunately,
the majority of these older digital media items have not been migrated
to a current usable form, and are not accessible to researchers.
Bullock had his Texas state records microfilmed and sent copies of the
microfilm (278 rolls) to the following repositories in
Texas: The Texas State Archive in Austin, Baylor University in Waco, University
of Texas in Austin, Hill College in Hillsboro, Texas Tech University in
Lubbock, Blinn College in Brenham, and Texas A&M International University
in Laredo}. The Microfilm subseries of the Collection is divided into
three general categories: Comptroller of Public Accounts records (C section-1975-1990),
Lieutenant Governor records (L section-1991-1998) and Media (M section-1972-1998).
The Comptroller of Public Accounts records are on six microfilm reels, and while these six reels represent only a portion of the Comptroller’s records that were deaccessioned by the State, they do reflect the individual management style of Bullock and the policies he implemented in the Comptroller’s Office during his 16-year tenure as Texas’ chief tax collector and revenue estimator. Found on these reels is executive correspondence, educational work papers and policy reports. While much of the Comptroller’s operations dealt with tax records, which are confidential, the documents that are microfilmed in this section provide insight into Bullock’s innovative policies and practices. Many publications by the Comptroller’s Office are microfilmed in the Media section of the microfilm and will be described in that section.
The Lieutenant Governor’s records on microfilm consist of one hundred thirty-two reels of correspondence from constituents and state agencies as well as correspondence on issues and policies. Also included are administrative records, press releases and speeches, and the general daily records of the Lieutenant Governor’s office. The constituent correspondence is referred to as “alpha” correspondence, and is filmed alphabetically by year. Bullock placed a great importance on answering constituent mail, and truly, all mail, in a prompt and thorough fashion. Therefore, Bullock’s correspondence system was such that the incoming correspondence was logged twice daily. Copies of original mail were routed to the appropriate staff members for drafting, then to administrative staff in preparation for Bullock’s signature. Often, Bullock would dictate or write out personal responses to mail. He was also given a log of daily mail summaries for incoming and outgoing mail.} The microfilming of the Lieutenant Governor’s materials follows the arrangement of the physical materials in the Lieutenant Governor’s Series in that they are microfilmed by year from 1991-1993, then 1994-1996 are microfilmed together, and records for 1997 and 1998 filmed separately. The Lieutenant Governor’s Press Clips (news clippings or releases) are microfilmed in the Media section of the microfilm and will be discussed there.
The Media subseries (one hundred thirty-eight reels)
of the microfilm consist of newspaper clippings, press releases, speeches
and agency publications from the Comptroller’s Office and Lieutenant
Governor’s Office, with the bulk being Comptroller’s News
Summaries from the Comptroller’s Office. {COLLECTION The Comptroller’s
News Summaries were made up of various news items from state and national
newspapers, as well as smaller newspapers that sent their information
in for inclusion, and were items of relevance to Bullock, the Comptroller’s
Office or state politics or policy. The clips were marked and distributed
to executive administration, department heads, and certain offices in
the Capitol on a daily basis, with the first articles being those relevant
to Bullock and the Comptroller’s Office. When Bullock became Lieutenant
Governor, this practice continued.] Though the Comptroller’s News
Summaries are microfilmed in their entirety, it is important to note that
there are no longer any hard copies for these news summaries. They exist
on microfilm only. The Lieutenant Governor’s news clippings on microfilm
are only those articles, photos, or references that were incorporated
into the Lieutenant Governor Press Clips. See Researchers Notes.
There are also news releases in the Media section covering
the years 1971-1998, and they include his Secretary of State years, 1971-1973,
the news releases used for his first campaign for Comptroller, the Comptroller
years, 1975-1990, and the Lieutenant Governor years from 1990-1998. The
news releases for the Comptroller and Lieutenant Governor years are also
represented in 41 bound volumes of news releases mentioned in the News
Clippings and Press Releases section of the Media Series description.
The speeches microfilmed in this section are those given during Bullock’s
four terms as Comptroller and two terms as Lieutenant Governor and are
also located in 26 bound volumes discussed in the Speeches section of
the Media series description. These speeches do not reflect any change
Bullock may have made during the actual presentation of the speech. Some
publication of the Comptroller’s office such as employee newsletters,
the Bottom Line, and Fiscal Notes are also microfilmed in this Media section.
Fiscal Notes is a publication originated by Bullock out of the Comptroller’s
office that was distributed to state officials, local officials, and taxpayers
which contains pertinent information on economic issues.
The Bullock Microfilm brought with it a unique set of problems. Bullock began microfilming his materials while he was in the Lieutenant Governor’s office. The microfilm project was headed at different times by different individuals. As a result, the numbering of frames and use of identification markers was not always consistent, and in some cases was lacking completely. There are also omission files, which belong in one year but may have been found three years later and as a result, were microfilmed where they were found. In order to facilitate use of this microfilm, the development of microfilm analysis sheets that analyze and compare each reel of film with the actual physical record was necessary. These microfilm analysis sheets were expanded and entered into a searchable database and given to all of the repositories that own copies of the Bullock microfilm. NOTE to Researchers. There are also materials on the microfilm that would fall under the governance of right to privacy laws as well as materials that are open records. As a result, researchers will not be able to search the microfilm on their own.
The News Clippings and Press Releases subseries of the Media Series consists of sixty-eight notebooks of original news clippings that range from November 7, 1990 to May 1999, one hundred forty-three news clipping notebooks (copies) that date from November 1990 to December 1998, and 41 bound volumes of New Releases from September 1971 to December 1998. The 41 bound volumes are also located on the Bullock Microfilm, Media section, and were given to the same repositories in Texas (University of Texas, Texas Tech, Hill College, Blinn College, Texas A&M-Laredo, Baylor University, and the Texas State Archives) that received the Bullock microfilm. These news releases contain a great deal of information and evidence as to the issues Bullock felt important to the state of Texas and the policies and procedures he used to improve state government in Texas. Six additional manuscript boxes of news clippings are also in this subseries. They are unbound and in legal sized files, and range from October 1987 to October 1988.
The Political Cartoon subseries contains political cartoons about Bullock by cartoonists from different Texas newspapers. The majority of these cartoons are framed and there are duplicates of many of the cartoons. When a cartoon was published with Bullock in it, he would contact the cartoonist to try to purchase the cartoon. Then he would make copies and frame them (including the original) and either hang them at his office, home, or simply give them away.} Bullock had an intense relationship with the press, and these cartoons represent some of the most important issues facing Texas Government during the years Bullock held public office. Some copies of these cartoons are also at the Texas State Archive in Austin, Texas, and at Hill College in Hillsboro, Texas.} The majority of the framed cartoons here at Baylor are framed copies and not the originals. Paper copies of the cartoons are in a notebook for reference, along with some small cartoons from newspapers that were not purchased and framed. There are also copies of cartoons that were printed about Bullock posthumously.
Along with the 41 bound volumes of news releases mentioned previously, Bullock also had 26 volumes of speeches bound, spanning 1975 to 1998. (The volume for 1982 is missing, along with the original speeches that were printed in that volume.) These bound speeches were also sent to the same repositories in Texas (University of Texas, Texas Tech, Hill College, Blinn College, Texas A&M-Laredo, Baylor University, and the Texas State Archives) that received the bound news releases and Bullock microfilm. Copies of these bound speeches are also located on microfilm in the Media section. Note: There are three speeches located in Bullock’s personal files that are speeches given by other individuals. These three speeches are: Address of Governor Mark White to the 70th Texas Legislature on January 14, 1987, the State of the Judiciary Message by Chief Justice John L. Hill, Jr. on February 9, 1987, and a speech by Paul Hobby given to at the Texas Legislative Conference on March 23, 1995.
The Visual Media subseries of the Media Series contains one small film and numerous videos. An 8mm reel of film was found in Bullock’s material in with the materials he had on his friend, Bob Johnson. There is no date or content explanation with this film reel. The videos in the collection span the dates 1984 to 2002 with the bulk ranging from 1989-1995 and contains 196 videos that vary widely in content. The videos include video clips of campaign events, ads and endorsements for Bullock and other politicians. There are video clips both for and against Robert Mosbacher, as well as clips Mosbacher did that showed Bullock in a negative light. One full program of a KERA Channel 13 debate between Bob Bullock, Robert Mosbacher, and Tom Owens is also here in its entirety. Other politicians such as Ann Richards, Clayton Williams, George H. W. Bush, Dan Quayle, Judge John Kyles, John Engler, Dan Morales, Bill Clinton, Bob Dole, Alicia Chacon, Barbara Jordan, and George W. Bush are also represented in the Bullock Videos in copies of news clips, interviews, and speeches.
The issues that infused Texas politics also are represented here largely in the form of video news clips. Bingo, taxes, prison overcrowding, education, welfare reform, the lottery and different laws are among those addressed in this section. Some issues are represented by tapes of nationally aired programs such as 20/20 reports and segments on Texas Nursing Homes from 1991, the Joost Murders from 1992, and Medicare in 1995. One 60 Minutes report on Ann Richards from October 1991 and one PBS documentary on LBJ are also included. Video coverage of events that were personally important to Bullock are also included in this section such as taped footage of both the 1991 and 1995 Texas Inaugurations and news footage surround the renovation of the Texas State Cemetery in Austin. Bullock’s funeral and the dedication of the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum are documented on video as well through donations made by Jan Bullock after Bob Bullock’s death.
