Press Office Files for First Lady Anita Perry
Texas Governor Rick Perry:
An Inventory of Governor Rick Perry Press Office Files for First Lady Anita Perry at the Texas State Archives, 2001-2010, 2012-2014
| Organization | History | Scope and Contents | Restrictions | Related Materials |
Overview
Creator: Texas. Governor (2000-2015 : Perry)
Title: Governor Rick Perry Press Office files for First Lady Anita Perry
Dates: 2001-2010, 2012-2014
Abstract: Major responsibilities of the Press Office (also known as Communications) under Texas Governor Rick Perry included providing public relations support for Governor Perry and First Lady Anita Perry by issuing press releases and media advisories on their activities and actions; writing speeches and public service annoucements for them; and creating visual and audio documentation of their public events. Anita Perry acted as First Lady of Texas from 2000 to 2015. Press Office files covering her activities were maintained by the Governor’s Press Office and comprise electronic records including event briefs, media advisories, speeches and formatted remarks given by the first lady, scripts for public service announcements (PSAs), subject files related to topics of particular interest to the First Lady, biographies, introductions, question and answer materials, talking points and photographs, dating 2001-2010, 2012-2014.
Quantity: 1.41 GB (1,950 files)
Language: These materials are written predominately in English.
Repository: Texas State Archives
Click here to enter the records
Other Finding Aids
An alternative description of the records described in this finding aid is available at https://txarchives.org/tslac/finding_aids/50119.xml.
Organization of the Records
These records are organized into four series:
- Event files, 2002-2010, 14.66 MB (363 files) (digital)
- Speech files, 2001-2009, 2012-2014, 34.03 MB (1,154 files) (digital)
- Subject files, 2002, 2005-2008, 5.59 MB (130 files) (digital)
- Photographs, 2002-2008, 1.34 GB (291 files) (digital)
Agency History
The Press Office (also known as Communications), managed media relations for the governor, the first lady and the administration by disseminating information to print and broadcast media, state and federal agencies and the public. Staff prepared news releases and speeches for the governor; handled media calls and requests for interviews; and produced and distributed audio, video and photographic public service announcements about the governor’s activities and issues of concern to Texans. In 2008 staff included Deputy Director of Communications Andrew Barlow, Press Secretary Allison Castle, and Deputy Press Secretary Katherine Cesinger. In 2012 staff expanded to include Director of Communications Allison Castle, Deputy Press Secretary Lucy Nashed and Josh Havens, Speechwriter Matt Thompson, and Media Relations Specialist Steffany Duke. By the end of Perry’s term as governor, the Press Office staff had added Deputy Director of Communications Rich Parsons, Digital Strategist Baylis Atherton, Webmaster Jeremy Newman, and Photographer Stephen Stephanian.
Anita Perry Biographical Sketch
Click here to read First Lady Anita Perry’s biographical sketch.
Scope and Content of the Records
Major responsibilities of the Press Office under Governor Rick Perry included providing public relations support for Governor Perry and First Lady Anita Perry by issuing press releases and media advisories on their activities and actions; writing speeches and public service annoucements for them; and creating visual and audio documentation of their public events. Anita Perry acted as First Lady of Texas from 2000 to 2015. Press office files covering First Lady Anita Perry’s activities were maintained by the Governor’s Press Office. Records of this office comprise electronic records including event briefs, media advisories, speeches and formatted remarks given by the First Lady, scripts for public service announcements (PSAs), subject files related to topics of particular interest to the First Lady, biographies, introductions, question and answer materials, talking points, and photographs, dating 2001-2010, 2012-2014.
Event files include briefs, public event schedules and media advisories, dating 2002-2010, and provide details about events participated in by the first lady. Speech files include introductions and biographical information written about Anita Perry for special events, opinion editorials and letters to the editor about topics of importance to the first lady, scripts for public service annoucements, talking points, question and answers, fact sheets for public events, quotes credited to the first lady, thank you letters, and scripts for video appearances by the first lady, spanning 2001-2009, 2012-2014. Subject files provide background information on topics Anita Perry took a professional interest in as Texas First Lady including the 73rd Annual Rose Festival Parade; the Anita Perry School of Nursing; breast cancer awareness; the Texas Governor’s Mansion; immunization, Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) and National Infant Immunization Week; the Texas Main Street Program; the Texas Conference for Women; the Texas Round-Up; and tourism in Texas and date 2002, 2005-2008.
Images in Photographs include headshots, official portraits, and official group portraits of First Lady Anita Perry with Governor Rick Perry, along with images of elementary school visits; a UT Nursing School visit; the Governor’s Commission for Women; public speaking events related to domestic violence, sexual abuse and breast cancer awareness; award ceremonies; a commencement address; and group portraits with Boy Scouts, young cancer patients and nursing professionals, dating 2002-2008.
Formats of the original electronic files include word processing or plain text files (.doc, .docx, .txt), spreadsheets (.xls, .xlsx), PDFs, PowerPoint, audio files (.mp3), photographs and graphic images (.jpg, .tif, .gif), video files (.wmv), and web-ready files (.htm, .mdb, .css, .js, .eps, .ai). Digital files presented for public use will generally be .jpg for photographic or graphic images, .mp3 for audio files, .mov for video files, and PDF for text documents or spreadsheets. Files in their original format are available on request; restrictions may apply.
While these records document duties of the First Lady, additional media files from her public appearances are located in the separate finding aid Governor Rick Perry Press Office media files, 1972, 1998-2015, undated, bulk 2008-2012.
Restrictions and Requirements
Restrictions on Access
Records described in this finding aid may contain information that is confidential under the Texas Public Information Act (PIA) (Texas Government Code, Chapter 552) or other statutes. Restricted information, as outlined in the statutes, applies to both physical and electronic records. As laws change, statutory restrictions may be added to or removed from these records. See our Texas Public Information Act and Researching in the State Archives web page for the more common types of restrictions found in state government records.
Requests for materials held within the State Archives, whether a Research Request or Public Information Act Request, must be submitted via this form: https://www.tsl.texas.gov/sites/default/files/public/tslac/ref/Texas_State_Archive_Material_Request_Form.pdf. A Research Request is sufficient for requesting most State Archives materials. While a PIA Request is always an option, a PIA Request for State Archives materials is required only if a researcher does not agree to the redaction or removal of restricted government information (see: Texas Gov’t Code Chapter 552).
For further assistance with accessing materials within the State Archives, contact the Reference Desk: archinfo@tsl.texas.gov or 512-463-5455.
Restrictions on Use
Most records created by Texas state agencies are not copyrighted. State records also include materials received by, not created by, state agencies. Copyright remains with the creator. The researcher is responsible for complying with U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17 U.S.C.).
Related Material
The following materials are offered as possible sources of further information on the agencies and subjects covered by the records. The listing is not exhaustive.
Administrative Information
Preferred Citation
(Identify the item and cite the series), Texas Governor Rick Perry Press Office files for First Lady Anita Perry. Archives and Information Services Division, Texas State Library and Archives Commission.
Accession Information
Accession number: 2015/117
Records were transferred to the Archives and Information Services Division of the Texas State Library and Archives Commission by the Office of the Governor on January 29, 2015.
Processing Information
Processed by Halley Grogan, June 2015
