The San Diego Public Information Office Records documents the establishment of an information service for San Diego and the daily responsibilities of the Public Information Office (PIO) in the county. The collection consists of community liaising program files, correspondence, memorandums, financial reports, and purchase orders documenting the management and daily responsibilities of the PIO. The collection also includes news releases written and released by the PIO, and newspaper clippings. The collection dates from 1971- 1978, however there is minimal documentation for the years 1971-1975. The collection consists of four series: Committee Files, Administrative Files, News Releases, and Newspaper Clippings. The Committee Files are divided into two sub-series: Community Liaising Files and Projects and Programs Files. The Administrative Files are also divided into two sub-series: Correspondence and Memorandums, and Financial Records.

The Committee Files series documents the Public Affairs unit which distributed and liaised between communities and development agencies, and the Publications unit which created skits, slide shows, and pamphlets for County projects and programs. It consists of two sub-series: Community Liaising files, and Projects and Programs. The Community Liaising files sub-series consists of minutes and agendas for San Diego County communities which were distributed by the PIO to the general public. The sub-series also includes minutes and agendas from the Chief Administrative Office, the Civil Service Commission, Environmental Development Agency, and Integrated Planning Office. It dates from 1975-1978 and is files alphabetically by community name. The Projects and Programs sub-series document the tasks and community outreach programs the Public Information Director and staff carried out on a daily basis. The Projects and Programs files also include general files such as job descriptions, policies, procedures, reports, and office information.  It dates from 1972-1976 and is filed alphabetically.

The Administrative Files series documents the Staff Services unit of the PIO and contains the financial records and inter-departmental documents used by the Public Information Director and staff throughout the duration of the offices existence, and documents the spending habits and cutbacks to the County department in the 1970's. It consists of two sub-series: Correspondence and Memorandums and Financial Records. The Correspondence and Memorandums sub-series consists of inter-departmental agendas, memorandums, and correspondence, as well as correspondence with other County departments and community programs and documents the everyday tasks of the PIO staff. It dates from 1973-1976 and is filed alphabetically. The Financial Records sub-series consists of budget analysis, fiscal and quarterly reports, purchase orders, and bills and documents spending habits and cutbacks during county-wide budget shortfalls in the 1970's. The Correspondence and Memorandums are arranged in alphabetical order and date from 1973-1976.  The sub-series dates from 1972-1977 with a majority of reports dated from 1974-1976, and is filed alphabetically.

The News Releases series documents the Media unit of the PIO and includes a copy of the majority of news releases distributed by the PIO. It includes some news releases from different County departments such as the Office of the Tax Collector, San Diego Region Overall Economic Development Program, Water Conservation, Department of Human Services, and Air Pollution Control District. The series also includes issues of News Across the Board; press releases from the County Board of Supervisors dating from 1976-1978.  The series dates from 1972-1973 and 1975-1978, and is arranged in chronological order.

The Newspaper Clippings series documents stories and events significant to local county government published by local newspapers.  It includes clippings from nearly all newspapers in the county and range from 1971- 1978. There is only one clipping from 1971, no clippings from 1972-1974, and only one dated clipping from 1975 along with three topical folders from 1975. An official newspaper clipping service was established by the Public Information Office and 1977 and continued through 1978. Most of the clippings are arranged in chronological order; there is one section from dated April 1977 to May 1977 that is arranged alphabetically by newspaper title.