Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

Collection is open to research.

Use Restrictions

Attorney-client privileged documents are restricted. This material has been sealed, but has not been removed from the collection.

Preferred Citation

Governor Mark R. Warner, Press Office records, 2001-2006 (bulk 2002-2006), [cite specific accession number]. State records collection, The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Va. 23219.

Acquisition Information

Transferred by the Office of the Governor, Press Office, Patrick Henry Building, 1111 East Broad Street, 3rd floor, Richmond, Virginia, 23219, 18 March 2003 (Accessions 40483 and 40484); 11 February 2004 (Accessions 41071, 41072, 41073); 27 May 2004 (Accession 41239); 3 February 2005 (Accessions 41692, 41693, 41694); 24 January 2006 (Accessions 42460, 42461, 42462, 42463, 42464, 42465); 7 April 2006 (Accession 42626).

Biographical/Historical Information

The Press Office is a division of the Office of the Governor in the Executive Branch of Virginia state government. Under the Director of Communications, the Press Secretary, the Deputy Press Secretary and various press assistants were responsible for directing and facilitating the Governor's interactions with the media. The Press Office created press releases and made them publicly available, gathered and analyzed newspaper and magazine articles and television coverage pertaining to Governor Warner and his administration, and maintained a file of photographs taken and collected by the Governor's Photographer that document Governor Warner's public appearances. The Press Office was also responsible for making the Governor's public schedule, press releases, executive orders, proclamations, and selected speeches available online. Additional information about this office and links to the aforementioned items are available in the archived website files of the Governor's Office, (2005-2006). They can be found by searching the Library of Virginia's catalog using "Governor Mark R. Warner" as the subject.

In January 2002, Governor Mark R. Warner (2002-2006), chose Paul J. Reagan to serve as Director of Communications. In this position, Reagan was responsible for the Press Office, the Office of Constituent Services, and for the preparation of the Governor's speeches. Prior to Reagan's appointment, Governor Warner chose Ellen Qualls as his Press Secretary. Later, Kevin Hall was selected to fill the role of Deputy Press Secretary. Hall took over as Press Secretary in April 2005 when Qualls became the spokesperson for Governor Warner's political action committee (PAC) Forward Together.

Scope and Content

News clippings and summaries, photographs, press releases, reference material, schedules, speeches and other working papers created or collected by the Press Office, a division of the Office of the Governor. This collection consists of seven series which document the activities of the Press Office during the gubernatorial term of Virginia Governor Mark R. Warner, 2002-2006.

Arrangement

Series I. News clippings, 2001-2005 (Accessions 40484, 41071, 41693, 42464). News clippings are arranged chronologically by day, month and year. The clippings all pertain to Governor Warner and the activities of his administration, and were collected from various news media from across the state of Virginia and the Washington D.C. area. In most cases, they are individually labeled as to which newspaper or magazine published them. The clippings for each day are housed in a paper envelope placed inside an archival folder along with larger magazine articles and articles that were photocopied, stapled, taped or pasted onto paper. If no larger material exists for a particular day, the newspaper clippings can be found inside the paper envelope only. In a few instances, folders of articles designated as "special" are located at the end of the year in which they were published. After March 2005 the clippings become much more sporadic and fewer in number than in previous months. As a result, these clippings are housed chronologically by month instead of by day.

Series II. News summaries, 2002-2006 (Accessions 41072, 41239, 41692, 42461). News summaries are packets composed of articles and stories about Governor Warner and the activities of his administration, gathered from various news media from around Virginia and the Washington D.C. area. In most cases, the articles were printed off of websites. However, if only a hard copy of an article was available, it was photocopied and included. Many of the news summaries also contain descriptions of television coverage devoted to Governor Warner. The packets were distributed to the governor and his staff members on a daily basis, and vary widely in size and content.

Series III. Photographs, 2001-2005 (Accession 42460). This series is divided into Subseries A. Images on compact discs and Subseries B. Event files. Corresponding compact discs and event files may exist, but in some cases material only exists in one place. It would be beneficial to the researcher to utilize both subseries. Additionally, if photographs for a certain event are not located in an event folder or on compact disc, they may be located in the miscellaneous photograph files. These files are comprised of loose photographs that were found without any identifying information. These folders are filed at the end of each year, if dates for the photographs could be determined. Those without dates or any other identifying information can be found in the miscellaneous photograph files at the end of Subseries B.

Subseries A. Digital images on compact discs, 2001-2005. The compact discs that compose this subseries hold digital copies of photographs. Many of these discs correspond with event files in Subseries B, but some do not. The photographs are in .jpg or .tiff formats. The discs are arranged in chronological order based on the date of the event featured. However, most discs contain photographs from several events which occurred over a period of days, weeks, or even months. For ease of research, each event is noted in the content listing, and the discs are arranged according to the earliest event date found on that particular disc. The jewel cases for each disc have a label containing its box and disc numbers. Some cases also have inserts with written descriptions of the photographs contained on that particular disc. These descriptions and event titles were created by the Press Office staff, and are not always accurate or complete. During archival processing, the photographs on each disc were examined and are described as much as possible in the content listing of this finding aid. The digital images are listed in chronological order by disc number. The discs are arranged according to the earliest date featured on each disc, and the events are listed in that order here. There are many repetitive entries because pictures for a particular event may be housed on more than one compact disc.

Subseries B. Event files, 2001-2005. The event files are arranged chronologically by the date of the event featured. The files may have matching compact discs in Subseries A, but some do not. Many of the files contain only contact sheets of photographs taken. In some cases actual photographs and/or negatives are included as well. When large photographs are present, or if the file contains related paperwork, they are housed in a folder. If small photographs are present, they are housed in paper envelopes to prevent loss or misplacement. Many of the event files also contain documents relating to particular events photographed. Often included is email correspondence containing the Governor's schedule, background information, whether the event was open to the public, and the length of time the Governor would be in attendance. Files include events such as legislators' receptions, bill signings, press conferences, visits from foreign dignitaries, and meetings with various individuals and groups. Many files contain information, photographs, and negatives from more than one event. Repetitive entries exist because pictures and other material for a particular event may be housed in more than one folder, or because several events shared a roll of film. In these cases, each event and its date are listed on the folder, as well as in the container listing of the finding aid. The files are arranged according to the earliest event date featured in each folder, and the events are listed in that order here.

Series IV. Press material, 2001-2005 (Accession 42626). Notes and speech-writing material including reports, memos, correspondence and other working papers collected by Governor Warner's Press Office staff. They may be the files of Deputy Press Secretary Kevin Hall, but this is unclear. This small series contains several folders of notepads containing names and contact information, as well as what appear to be meeting notes spanning most of the Governor's term in office. Also included in this series is reference material collected and used for drafting speeches and statements, and for keeping abreast of current issues. Some folders cover broad topics, others contain a particular report, such as the Governor's Proposed Amendments for 2004-2006 Appropriation Act (HB 5001), or information pertaining to a specific program, such as the Partnership for Achieving Successful Schools (PASS) program. Additionally, there are also several folders of notes, revisions, and final drafts of selected speeches and statements issued by the Governor. Notable issues include the Base Realignment and Closure process that threatened Oceana Naval Base in Virginia Beach, the voter redistricting controversy, and the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors decision regarding discrimination. There are also several folders devoted to budgetary and tax issues that contain reports and other documentation created by the Department of Planning and Budget that may not be found elsewhere. For more information on speeches and statements made by Governor Warner, please see Series VII. Speeches.

Series V. Press releases, 2002-2006 (Accessions 40483, 41073, 41964, 42462). Press releases are arranged by month and year and contain all official releases furnished to the news media by the Press Office. The 2004 files also contain separate releases pertaining to Governor Warner's public appearance schedule, which can be found at the back of each month's folder.

Series VI. Public schedules, 2003-2005 (Accession 42463). Public schedules are similar to press releases, except that they specifically advise the media of appearances to be made by Governor Warner. The schedules were released on the Governor's website on a weekly basis, each one covering the Governor's activities from Monday through Friday. Included in the schedules are notes about locations and times, as well as occasional descriptions of the Governor's remarks. The public schedules are arranged chronologically.

Series VII. Speeches, 2002-2005 (Accession 42465). This series contains print-outs of certain speeches made by Governor Mark R. Warner. The speeches include State of the Commonwealth addresses, speeches given at university commencements, addresses of the General Assembly and its committees, and remarks made at other various speaking engagements. Speeches of note include those given during the budget crisis of 2002, and the highly detailed State of the Commonwealth addresses. It appears that some print-outs are either missing pages, or have been cut off at the end. The speeches are arranged chronologically, and are individually identified in the contents listing portion of this finding aid. For additional information on speeches and statements made by Governor Warner please see the files titled "Speech material," in Series IV. Press material.

Separated Material

Two folders of oversized material can be found in box 71. This material is part of Series V. Photographs. The box includes two photographs of Governor Warner and his Cabinet members, and one signed photograph of the Governor with members of the Arlington Police Department. Both photographs are undated and were originally part of the miscellaneous photographs associated with Series V. See separation notice in the first folder titled "Miscellaneous Photographs," located in box 70.

Adjunct Descriptive Data