Transcript prepared by Fielding M. McGehee III. If you use this material, please credit The Jonestown Institute. Thank you.
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Station jingle
Newscaster: It’s 5:02, 53 degrees in Ukiah, time for a complete summary of news of Ukiah and the Redwood Empire, California, world and national news, as well as a look at sports and weather, brought to you this noon by the National Association of Broadcasters. And I think I said it was 5 o’clock. It’s really noon, it’s 12:02.
Opening story about elementary school being closed early because of water emergency
Newscaster: The Peoples Temple Christian Church of Redwood Valley, led by Pastor Jim Jones, has voted to contribute $2000 to meet the demands of Patricia Hearst, who was taken hostage recently by the Symbionese Liberation Army. This morning, I asked uh, Jim Jones about this situation.
Jones: Our primary concern is just to help to save the life of uh, a young woman, and of course, secondarily, to make public our belief that if anything happens to her, it will only serve to aid those who want to bing– bring about a Big Brother demagogic-type of government. We only wish we could contribute more money at this time, but we can’t, because of our ongoing commitments to so many areas of charity, and we are only sustained by offerings, as you may know. Some people have the false rumor that we uh, had properties transferred to us and so forth, but we’ve never had any properties transferred to us. We have to raise our money, just like any church. But that was the primary reason, to help a young woman in distress, and as I said, secondarily, to see that uh, that uh, it wouldn’t lead to greater ramifications that could our hurt our nation.
Newscaster: A number of people, uh, members of your church, uh, who I understand uh, uh, say they would refuse to take uh, any of the food uh, that the SLA is demanding.
Jones: Yes, we have obtained a consensus of over 500 of our membership who are on Social Security, and all those – few – that are on welfare, that they will not take the seventy dollars worth of food demanded by this so-called liberation army. Um, Peoples Temple has, as you know, facilities to take care of its own people when their incomes can’t meet their needs. (Pause)
Newscaster: Pastor Jim Jones of the Peoples Temple Church. The Peoples Temple also recently gave $300 to each of the families of the innocent persons senselessly slain on the streets of San Francisco, as well as offered a reward for the capture of the murderers.
Beginning of story of North Coast Supervisors Association meeting. Tape edit
Woman: This is a recording on KLIL at– on the noon news broadcast, Thursday, February 14, 1974.
Tape edit
Newscaster: –on the local scene.
Jingle
Newscaster: Their nation by a church, and a political rally. That’s what’s happening close to home, brought to you by Mendocino Van and Storage, Agents for Allied Van Lines, featuring full moving service, and by Ukiah Motor Sales, 955 North State Street, the people pleasers.
Peoples Temple Church in Redwood Valley last night donated $2000 to newspaper publisher Randolph Hearst to help him meet the demands bade– made by the kidnappers of his 19-year-old daughter, Patricia. Pastor Jim Jones of the church explains why the donations were made.
Jones: Well, we feel, of course, that a young woman’s life is at stake, and it’s time that we all demonstrate what little we can to show the great American spirit of sharing. Um, we– we wouldn’t want to see her life forfeited for $300 million, it seems staggering, but I believe the Americans have the kind of spirit that can do something about this situation. At least, we wanted to start the ball rolling, and that’s why we did make our contribution. We wish we could give a hundred times more.
Newscaster: Jones said that the church has close to 500 people on Social Security income who have denounced the idea of free food.
Jones: We felt that we could make this kind of contribution, plus the fact that in the Bay Area and in the local area, we have over 500 people on Social Security. We have very few people that are on welfare. But all those on Social Security and welfare have said they will not take their uh, share of the seventy dollars, I think, approximately, which would mean then, there would be another thirty-five thousand, or forty thousand dollars that would save the– the Hearsts that they would have to raise.
Newscaster: Jones said the action of the kidnappers will lead to what he termed a Big Brother state in America.
Jones: I don’t approve of their method at all. But I think that if– if we don’t respond to this, I can see such horrible backlash. This type of uh, anarchistic behavior is going to lead to Big Brother demagoguery, uh, just in the name of maintaining law and order, a peace, uh–
Newscaster: He said the donations from the church were his idea, and they, along with other donations, will give a positive attitude to the Hearst family.
Jones: Often, some of the uh, charitable activities are– that come from various elements of our church, but I believe that this was my idea, that we do something, and do it quickly, because I– I was afraid that Mr. Hearst’s state– honest statement, he’s seemingly so honest in his approach, I’ve had a new appreciation of him, saying that he didn’t– he couldn’t meet this demand, I was afraid that if they weren’t terrorists or uh, troubled, uh, with psychopathic tendencies or deep neuroses that uh, anything could happen, and I wanted to give a positive note, uh, to counter this, and I see that many others have done– I believe ah, the report is now, a million dollars has come in.
Newscaster: Pastor Jim Jones of the Peoples Temple Church in Redwood Valley. That one million dollars that he spoke of has now been termed by the Hearst family as “not a correct estimate,” although they have no estimate now as to how much money has actually been donated.
Beginning of story about elementary school. Tape edit
Woman: This last item was taped from station KUKI on the 12:20 local news, Thursday, February 14, 1974.
Tape edit. End of story about elementary school. Story about unemployment in Mendocino County. Break for commercial
End of side one
Side two
Newscaster: –congregation has offered themselves as hostages in the Symbionese Liberation Army in exchange for kidnapped newspaper heiress Patricia Hearst. The offer was made to the Hearst family several days ago privately by Jones, and has since leaked out to the public. In commenting on the offer, Jones says, they’re not trying to hide anything, only to do what they thought was right, and he again deplored the tactics of the SLA in the kidnapping. Stay tuned to KUKI for all the news as it happens and regular news on the hour. We’ll have a full five-minute report at four o’clock, right here on KUKI, just about 19 minutes away from now.
Jingle. Tape edit. Jingle for radio station. Tape edit
Newscaster: –church in Redwood Valley, Jim Jones and other members of the church congregation have offered themselves as hostages to the Symbionese Liberation Army in exchange for kidnapped newspaper heiress Patricia Hearst. The offer was made to the Hearst family several days ago privately by Jones, and has since leaked out to the public. In commenting on the offer, Jones says, they are not trying to hide anything, only that– to which they thought was right, and he again deplored the tactics of the SLA in the kidnapping.
Beginning of next story cut off. Two tape edits.
Newscaster: –FBI agents to take any rash action in the case. Earlier, Randolph Hearst, father of kidnapped Patricia Hearst, denounced a Saxbe [U.S. Attorney General William Saxbe] comment that authorities would go get the kidnapped coed if they located her. I’ll have more news right after this.
Commercial. Tape edit. Unrelated story. Tape edit.
Newscaster: –kidnapped newspaper heiress Patricia Hearst. (unintelligible phrase and name) said, we received information and asked them whether they would like additional security, they said yes. The Attorney General made the disclosure to a San Francisco news conference today. He declined to describe the information received on the SLA or to disclose how many lawmakers are being protected by his office’s security unit.
Next story about bank robbery cut off. Tape edit. Two unrelated stories. Tape edit. Station jingle.
Newscaster: New developments and offer, and a political rally.
Beer commercial
Newscaster: New developments have occurred in that offer made last night by the Peoples Temple church to help the Randolph Hearst family meet the demands made by the kidnappers of 19-year-old Patricia Hearst. Pastor Jim Jones explains the circumstances surrounding their offer of $2000.
Jones: We understand that uh, this so-called liberation army will not accept anyone’s money in raising this ante, that– the ransom that they’ve required but actual Hearst funds. And it seems the Hearst funds are limited to approximately 160 million, whereas this bill for giving a seventy dollar food allotment to all the categories that they’ve mentioned would be something like 400 million. So I guess we will give that check just on our own to assist needy people in the categories that they have mentioned.
Newscaster: A few days ago, Jones and several members of his church offered to be hostages in exchange for the release of Miss Hearst. That offer was made in private to the Hearst family, and information on the offer was leaked out today. Jones explains why the offer was made.
Jones: Myself uh, have offered uh, to be a hostage if that would be acceptable to them, to release this young woman, um, either on rotating basis in the jails uh, for the two that they now have, or if they are going to demand, which many say they will, safe conduct out of the country, which would probably be in our best interest as a country, that they leave the country. We will offer myself and uh, Mr. Timothy Stoen, who’s an assistant district attorney here, and uh, Mrs. [Carolyn] Layton, and uh, Mrs. [Ann] Moore who is a daughter of [John V Moore] a Methodist [minister], (unintelligible word) member of our staff, and uh, Mr. Michael Prokes, who’s been with CBS as a commentator himself, have offered to be hostages if it will serve any purpose, because we feel that uh, they– they are defeating the– the progress of social justice in this country, and they are threatening the very life of uh, a free republic.
Newscaster: Pastor Jim Jones of the Peoples Temple Church in Redwood Valley. A member of that church now telling us that Jim has made that offer because of similar circumstances which he has been personally involved with.
New story on Chamber of Commerce cut off. Three tape edits.
Newscaster: –have offered themselves as hostages to the Symbionese Liberation Army in exchange for kidnapped newspaper heiress Patricia Hearst. The offer was made to the Hearst family several days ago privately by Jones, and has since leaked out to the public. In commenting on the offer, Jones says, they were not trying to hide anything, only do that which they thought was right, and he again deplored the tactics of the SLA in the kidnapping. In a moment, weather.
Tape edits. PSA on alcoholism. Weather report. End of news report. Sports program. Music
End of tape
Tape originally posted April 2002