Click on the link here for Audio Player – News reports and bulletins – August 7, 1974 – ABC Information Network – Gordon Skene Sound Collection
Since history was made on August 8th in 1974, it was still unfolding on August 7th.
Forty years ago today rumors were rampant over the impending resignation of President Nixon. Attempts at spin were ringing hollow, despite the persistence that Nixon had no intention of resigning.
Starting off with a news bulletin regarding the just-concluded White House meeting between Nixon and Senators Hugh Scott, Barry Goldwater and John Rhodes and an impromptu Press conference where Barry Goldwater vehemently denied any talk of Nixon resigning – calling the assertions “goddamn lies”. The claims were met with an air of skepticism as a flood of “informed sources” said otherwise. But it was assured, no matter what, Nixon was not resigning on this day.
Still, it was news America was engrossed by – to the exclusion of practically all other news. And even though there was intense fighting going on in Cyprus between Greek and Turkish Cypriots with a crisis situation looming in the Mediterranean, it was given scant notice in mainstream media, in favor of the events at home.
And all day speculation was rife – anyone who looked reasonably informed was offered an opinion as to what was going to happen next. We were, in fact, sailing into uncharted territory. We didn’t have a Presidential resignation before this – we didn’t know what to expect. The House was moving to impeach and the evidence was piling up. But the brave faces were out in force attempting to tell us there was nothing to be concerned about – nothing to see – just keep moving.
And that’s how this day rolled; August 7th 1974 as reported by ABC Information Network News.
This is the sort of thing Past Daily is all about – presenting history as it was unfolding without the benefit of foresight or the safety of hindsight. The scary and uncertain parts. What we’ve been doing here is preserving all that history so you can have a chance to hear it as it happened, with all the urgency and uncertainty we witnessed at the time, like Watergate and the Nixon resignation and so many other defining moments in our past. But presenting these to you takes a lot of effort – it takes preservation and digitizing and lots of time. That’s why we’ve hooked up with Indiegogo and Fractured Atlas to start our Fundraiser to help keep this project and this on-going archive alive and continuing to offer these unique slices of history. Your Tax Deductible Donation will help keep this project going -it will provide upgraded equipment and help get us out of these cramped facilities and hire people to continue the task of preserving the thousands of hours of history we haven’t even touched on yet. Your donations go to helping all that happen. Your donations, no matter how large or how small are all vitally important to us if we’re going to continue our work and continue making Past Daily the place you rely on for the best of History, Arts, Pop Culture and life in general. We can’t really do it without your support. So if you can, as many of have so far, please consider making your pledge today to help us stay part of your life and your experience. Remember, anything you give will be a Tax Deductible donation, and that will come in very handy around April 15th. We’re depending on you for your support and with your help, we can make this happen. Click on the link just below our Piano-playing/singing Mascot and make your pledge today. It means a lot.
Related articles
