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Peoples Temple Collection; Box 12, Virtual item 05, Q279-B- Jones rehearses community in reporters’ questions

 Digital Record
Identifier: ms-0183_12.05B

Creator

Summary Note

Jim Jones leads the Jonestown community in anticipating questions which visiting reporters and other outsiders might ask about their project. Throughout the tape, he alternate roles between that of an aggressive reporter asking questions and a critic dissecting the answers the people give him. He maintains a conversational tone for most of the tape, gently offering suggestions and even remarking – with some levity – on the inconsistency of the responses, but there are several occasions when he seems to be frustrated and angry. The specific impetus for the night of role-playing is unknown. The tape label has a mid-August 1978 date, and the references he makes – the recent defection of long-trusted advisor Debby Blakey and the anticipated arrival of American screenwriter Don Freed – are consistent with the label. The Jonestown community often hosted official delegations from the Guyanese government, and certain relatives of Jonestown residents were granted entry into the settlement, but the detailed critiques and repeated warnings about reporters’ tricks in tripping up their interview subjects suggest the expected arrival of a more hostile contingent. While Jones praises many of the answers, he offers either a lengthy critique, a minor correction, or alternative phrasing to practically everyone who comes before him. Full summary of the recording available at Alternative Considerations of Jonestown website, along with the tape transcript.

Rights Statement Note

The copyright interests in these materials have not been transferred to San Diego State University. Copyright resides with the creators of materials contained in the collection or their heirs. The nature of historical archival and manuscript collections is such that copyright status may be difficult or even impossible to determine.  Requests for permission to publish must be submitted to the Head of Special Collections, San Diego State University, Library and Information Access. When granted, permission is given on behalf of Special Collections as the owner of the physical item and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder(s), which must also be obtained in order to publish. Materials from our collections are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study. The user must assume full responsibility for any use of the materials, including but not limited to, infringement of copyright and publication rights of reproduced materials.

Physical Description Note

Original audio cassette tape recording digitized and made available as .mp3 audio file.

Publisher Note

Publisher: The Jonestown Institute

Repository Details

Part of the Special Collections & University Archives Repository

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