Press Club to hear Ted Gup

Former Beacon Journal reporter Ted Gup, who is a: Case Western Reserve University professor of journalism and author, will discuss his new at the Akron Press Club's luncheon Thursday at 11:45 a.m. at the Martin Center at 105 Fir Hill on the University of Akron campus.

Gup’s book is about the threat of secrecy in government. It is titled Nation of Secrets: The Threat to Democracy and the American Way of Life.. The book is published by Doubleday and is 321 pages/

It is best described by Gup himself in an article from the Chronicle of Higher Education. Here’s the quote:

“As a child of the 50's and the cold war, I was taught both at home and in the classroom that ours is an open society. Openness was what set us apart from other nations, particularly those despotic regimes in Moscow and Beijing. It was presented as something sacrosanct and unassailable, a part of our national birthright and identity. Hallowed ground. To question it would have been, well, un-American. So I accepted it as an article of faith. It was only later, after years as an investigative reporter, that I came to see that the open society was more myth than reality.

“Don't get me wrong. I know perfectly well -- better than most -- that if I practiced my craft of investigative reporting in most other countries, I would be writing this essay from prison -- if I were lucky enough to have escaped a bullet.”

Although Gup spent most of the past 20 years in the Washington, D.C., area, he is well-acquainted with Ohio. He grew up in Canton, attended Western Reserve Academy in Hudson, and earned his law degree from CWRU in 1978. He worked only briefly at the Akron Beacon Journal from 1974-75 as a news reporter

The cost of the luncheon is $10 for members and $15 for nonmembers. Contact Abe or Nancy Zaidan at 330-835-4980 or azaidan@neo.rr.com for further information.

Click on the headline for more about the book.






.