Reports of the Bureaus 

 and Offices of 

 the Smithsonian 

 Institution for Fiscal 

 Year 1996 



Office of Communications 



The Office of Communications is responsible for the public 

 face of the Institution. Its Office of Public Affairs (OPA) is 

 dedicated to media relations, publications, and public rela- 

 tions. The Visitor Information and Associates' Reception Cen- 

 ter (VIARC) serves the 28 million people who visit the 

 Smithsonian each year. Both groups carried out intensive 

 preparations for the observance of the Institution's 150th an- 

 niversary this year. 



Office of Public Affairs 



Through media relations and publications, the Office of 

 Public Affairs (OPA) informs the American public, people 

 around the world and Smithsonian employees about the ex- 

 hibitions, programs, and research activities of the Smith- 

 sonian. The office provides the news media with press releases 

 (more than 470 this year), photographs, written materials, 

 videotapes, and public service announcements. Its publica- 

 tions this year included Smithsonian Institution Research Reports 

 (a quarterly bulletin), Smithsonian Runner (a bimonthly 

 newsletter about Native American activities at the Smith- 

 sonian), The Torch (a monthly employee newspaper), and the 

 Blue Bulletin (a biweekly administrative newsletter for staff), 

 as well as brochures for the public. 



The focus of nearly all public relations efforts for FY 1996 

 was the 150th anniversary. OPA developed and implemented 

 an overall national media and public relations campaign that 

 included network television, through the partnership with 



CBS News; publicity in each of the four cities that "America's 

 Smithsonian" visited during this year; and media relations for 

 the big August 10— 11 anniversary celebrarion on the National 

 Mall. In addition, special campaigns were developed for 

 marketing the Smithsonian's 150th commemorative coin and 

 stamp and for the Smithsonian's participation in the Rose 

 Bowl parade. 



A full-scale public relations campaign was developed to 

 gain maximum exposure in each city in which "America's 

 Smithsonian" appeared: Los Angeles, Calif; Kansas City, Mo.; 

 New York, N.Y; and Providence, R.I. Results were coverage 

 on network and cable TV and in daily newspapers, where the 

 Smithsonian was featured on the front page as many as six 

 times during a single venue. Publicity was supplemented by a 

 full advertising campaign using local radio, daily newspapers, 

 community papers, billboards, and transit advertising where ap- 

 propriate. In addition, outreach efforts to bring in visitors from 

 various organizations, from Boy Scouts to senior citizen groups, 

 were coordinated by OPA for the exhibition in each city. 



OPA worked closely with the executive producer of CBS 

 News and his staff on the three prime-time one-hour specials 

 that were broadcast in January, May and August of the an- 

 niversary year. One-minute vignettes about the Smithsonian, 

 called "Smithsonian Minutes," were broadcast on the CBS 

 television nerwork during prime-time and daytime hours 

 throughout the year. The spots featured treasured artifacts and 

 famous Americans, including President Jimmy Carter, actor An- 

 thony Hopkins, poet Maya Angelou and actor Robin Williams. 



For the August 10— II Birthday Party, weekend attendance at 

 the daytime events and evening concerts and fireworks was the 

 highest ever recorded at a Smithsonian event on the Mall, with 

 estimates of more than 630,000 people. The anniversary celebra- 

 tion was seen by the media and the public as the highlight of the 

 150th year, and it was featured in The Washington Post (front 

 page and cover stories with pull-out centerfold map in the 

 Weekend section), Chicago Tribune, USA Today, and many other 

 newspapers, wire services, and TV and radio stations locally and 

 nationwide. A video news release was filmed Saturday and sent to 

 700 TV stations via satellite on Saturday and Sunday. 



In addition, OPA's Publications Unit geared a number of 

 projects to the Institution's 150th anniversary celebration. 

 OPA produced a special glossy, color brochure with informa- 

 tion on 150th activities and exhibitions and worked with the 

 Visitor Information and Associates' Reception Center to 

 produce a 150th anniversary rack card for distribution through 

 Washington, DC, hotels and motels. 



OPA updated and redesigned the brochure "African and 

 African American Resources at the Smithsonian." That publi- 

 cation and other OPA brochures were made available to con- 

 siderably wider audiences by loading them onto the 

 Smithsonian Home Page on the World Wide Web. 



In the summer, OPA, working with the Provost's Office, 

 gathered information for entries, as well as artwork to il- 

 lustrate the entries, for the first version of a brochure on 

 Asian Pacific American Resources at the Smithsonian." 



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