SocietyDon’t of missthe Silurians the EXCELLENCEKIHSS AWARD IN JOURNALISMLuncheon AWARDShonoring a journalist GALA Thewho National has been Artsa mentor Club 15to Gramercy young reporters. Park South Wednesday, May 15, 2019 The National Arts Club Drinks: 6 P.M. • Dinner: 7:15 P.M. PublishedPublished by by The The Society Silurians of thePress Silurians., Club, an an organization organization Meet15 oldGramercy friends and Park award South winners ofof veteranveteran NewNew YorkYork CityCity journalistsjournalists foundedfounded inin 19241924 Wednesday,[email protected] April 15, 12 noon

MARCHMARCH 20202019 Bayeux Memorial Honors Journalists ‘Gone Missing’ BY AILEEN JACOBSON Feminism: e saw the rows upon rows of gleaming white tomb- Wstones for the very young Now and men who died in Normandy during World War II. We clambered over bunkers and around artillery from the D-Day landings on Then the beaches along France’s northern coast. We watched a somber flag ceremo- ny for the American dead at the cemetery near Omaha Beach. And now my hus- band and I, both of us journalists since high school, were ERNIE PYLE searching for the memorial for re- porters who died in the line of duty. We had read it was located in Bayeux. We were staying in that historic Normandy town—also known for its extraordinary A WOODSTOCK tapestry depicting battles that took place in 1066—as part of an October vacation in France. Bayeux, the first town in France to be liberated from the Nazi occupation, on June 7, 1944, MEMOIR is a good base for exploring Normandy. BY JACK DEACY bridge on Chappaquiddick Island and At first, we couldn’t find the jour- killed Mary Joe Kopeckne. During that Continued on Page 6 Slain journalists are listed by yearn the on stelessunny scatteredmorning throughof memorable a lush year,garden. the Vietnam War raged Friday Aug. 15, 1969, motel on, Nixon was sworn in and Sy Hersh Oowner Jack Besterman and broke the My Lai massacre story. The I walked up the driveway of the Pine Black Panthers brought a militant new Motel in White Lake, New York where phase to the Civil Rights movement, the Memoriesit meets Route 17B. of What weCovering saw Manson murders shook Losthe Angeles, amazed us. As far as our eyes could see, New York’s Stonewall riots started a gay the roadway was a vast sea of cars. All revolution, and the Beatles broke up. Teamstersabandoned. The only things and moving on theAnd on August Mob 15 upwards of the road were the drivers Anne Roiphe (inset) and Katie Roiphe BY ALLAN DODDS FRANK Peter is black, and I had curly ist Lewis Dischner and Charlie and passengers who shoulder-length Afro hippy hair, Edwardsen Jr., an Eskimo from had abandoned them, “I never seen nothing like this he murder was fresh so we stood out in the tomato & Barrow who spearheaded the York University. She is the author of The all walking slowly west BY ANNE AND KATIE ROIPHE from the front pages in red sauce crowd at Mulberry & Arctic Slope Native Association. Morning After: Sex, Fear, and Feminism, toward their destination before,” he said to me. “All this New York in 1972 as I Hester. “You could still see the I knew them from covering ilurian Anne Roiphe was one The Violet Hour, and the forthcomingT The five miles away: the deplaned from Juneau, where I bullet holes,” Peterfor remembers. a concert? Dischner’s Who’s guidance playing, of the Power Notebooks. She has also written Woodstock Music and of the most powerful and best- was Bureau Chief of the Anchor- “I thought they were going to kill Teamsters’ campaign to gain for The New York Times, Harper’s, Slate, Art Fair. In this pastoral known feminist writers of the age Daily News, for my annual us because we were askingFrank ques- jurisdiction Sinatra?” over construction S The Paris Review, and other publications. setting, for at least a few last century. Her daughter Katie Roiphe visit to The Lower 48. Nearly 50 tions. I think they didn’t because of the Trans-Alaska Oil Pipeline days, the human foot is one of the most prominent of this one. years later, I still remember how they thought we were two dumb and Edwardsen’s firebrand civil Katie Roiphe: would overtake the combustion engine. 400,000 young people descended Silurian News editor Michael Serrill I terrified Peter Francis, a room- rookie detectives.” rights leadership, which helped I wrote a piece for The Guardian on Besterman, an elderly Jewish on Max Yasgur’s dairy farm for the asked them to have a conversation about mate from Columbia Journalism Back in Alaska, thanks to force passage of the Alaska Na- finding out that my male colleagues man who once ran a grocery store Woodstock festival. The country seemed what has become known as the MeToo School, by dragging him and a the flying fists of a Teamsters tive Land Claims Act. (In 1989, were paid more than me. When they got in Brooklyn, kept staring at the to be spinning out of control. But it was movement, a vigorous debate about the girlfriend to dine, gawk and ask lobbyist and an Eskimo activist, Dischner and a colleague were their job offers from the university they monumental scene. “I never seen a newspaper reporter’s dream. discrimination and sexual harassment questions at Umberto’s Clam I had just survived a cinematic convicted of defrauding the Es- negotiated and asked for more money nothing like this before,” he said to me. At the time I was writing a Daily News that continues to plague society here and House, the Little Italy restaurant late-night brawl at a disco called kimo government on the North and when I got mine my instinct was “All this for a concert? Who’s playing, column three times a week that covered around the world. The format is Katie where mobster Joey Gallo had Dreamland. We were part of a Slope of more than $70 million.) just to say thank you. Since then I have Frank Sinatra?” music, politics, sports, government and interviewing her mother about how things just been whacked. rowdy, drunken bunch of legis- By the late 1970s, when I resolved to ask for more money for my So began my five-day odyssey city characters. I was 25 years old and have, and haven’t, changed. The memory was one of many lators, Native Land Claim activ- was covering federal courts and work. Have you ever asked for more covering the 1969 Woodstock Festival my cup runneth over. Anne, a former member of the Silurian about covering organized crime ists, oil, gas and labor lobbyists the Justice Department for The money for your work? Do you think this for the New York Daily News. I had In late May I began receiving releases Board of Governors, is the author of Up and the Teamsters that bubbled enjoying ourselves when a fight Washington Star, I had become is a feminist issue? come to cover a music festival. But and materials from promoters of a three- the Sandbox, 1185 park Avenue, Epilogue up watching “The Irishman,” between two women that started well-versed in the nation’s or- it would morph into an absolutely day concert in upstate New York. It was and 15 other novels and non-fiction Martin Scorsese’s movie about on the dance floor engulfed the ganized crime families’ grip Anne Roiphe: incredible weekend and one of the going to feature some of the biggest books. She has written for New York Mag- Teamsters hit man Frank Sheer- establishment. on organized labor. So when I do think this is a feminist issue or major stories not only of 1969 but of names in rock and folk music: the azine, The New York Times, Ms., Elle, an. Scorsese, with fidelity to After being tossed and som- in 1978 Silurian News Editor at least a problem for feminists. I would the Sixties. Grateful Dead, Creedence Clearwater Vogue, Cosmopolitan and a variety of detail, reproduced Umberto’s ersaulting through the mob, I Michael Serrill was editing never dream of asking for more money And what a year 1969 was for news. Revival, Jimi Hendrix, Crosby Stills other publications. and the Gallo hit, a deed claimed ended up in a defensive triangle Police, a magazine about law and I am sorry to say that I probably American astronauts walked on the Nash and Young, The Band, Janis Katie is the director of the Cultural by Sheeran, but which is often with my back being protected enforcement funded by the Ford Continued on Page 5 moon, Ted Kennedy ran his car off a Continued on Page 3 Reporting and Criticism programJackie Presserat New attributed to others. by Teamsters tough guy lobby- Continued on Page 5 PAGE 2 SILURIAN NEWS MARCH 2020 President’s Report The Times Morgue is Very Much Alive Onward! reetings, Silurians. Hard to believe, but just two more GPresident’s letters left be- fore I turn over the gavel, and my quill pen, to my worthy successor, Michael Serrill. My plan is to go out with a flourish, however, so stay tuned for our forthcoming events. They hold enormous promise. Our first cartoonist in a donkey’s years is on tap for February. You would not want to be on the wrong side of Jeff Danziger’ s brush (as so many of the wealthy and powerful have been). We’re planning a fabulous recip- ient for the Peter Kihss Award in April, but since he doesn’t know it yet, it must stay in pectore. But rest assured, he (there, I’ve given away part of it) is every bit in the Kihss mold. I happen to have been one of Peter’s mentees at The New York Times, back when I was a neophyte on night rewrite, then out on the streets—learning by watching that master of his craft at work. All of this is what makes the Si- lurians Press Club such a magical (even magisterial) group. We have been there, seen and experienced, chronicled history in the making and understand what we must pass Roth communes with his filing cabinets on to those who will come after. I recall the very moment when I first BY BILL DIEHL old clippings and store them electronical- Haberman, a long-time Times reporter made my decision to adopt this as ly? “It’s too much of a laborious process and editor, says he thinks of Roth as “the my life’s work. I was sitting in the “ open and close a lot of drawers,” to scan the crumbling newsprint, not true Indiana Jones: He is invaluable when stacks of Harvard’s Widener Library, says Silurian Jeff Roth, who con- worth it,” Roth says. it comes to finding long-lost treasures in finishing the last of my footnotes for I cedes he’s probably the end of the Times photos in the morgue date back the Times morgue. Over the years, I’ve my honor’s thesis in history, looking line as the caretaker of The New York to the early 1900’s, clips to about 1870. written my share of advance obituaries down at the life coursing through Times morgue. The morgue houses an Roth estimates there are about 4 mil- for The Times. Jeff’s help was invaluable Harvard Yard. It was then and there amazing archive of news clippings, pho- lion photographs in the morgue but only each and every time.” that I said, I want to be out there, tographic prints, microfilm records and about a million and a half are digitized. The morgue may not live forever but narrating the events of today that other archival material stored in several Some of the subjects in the files are bi- it will last a few years more. “They’ve historians a hundred years from now thousand steel filing cabinets. zarre. Like the Doukhobors, a Russian been trying to kill the morgue since will be examining as clues to our The numbers are mind blowing. Roth religious sect in Canada who would re- 1972,” Roth said. “They said we didn’t oversees hundreds of thousands of clip- move their clothes and burn down their need all this stuff, but it’s outlived all civilization and our way of life. And pings—there are 65,000 subject headings own homes rather than submit to putting the people who tried to do it in. It lives I never regretted my choice—would alone--plus five to seven million photo- their children in public schools. and exhales news.” not have traded a moment of these graphic prints. Topics include thousands Roth says that no one should consider Roth, who is in his 60’s, clearly en- 75 years racing around this city or of names, of course, but also subjects the Times archive dead: “We use the joys his work, giving frequent tours of around the world for a life in the like ships, planes, cats, dogs and gorillas. morgue library all the time. Not a day the morgue. A photo on the wall shows archives of any library. How can Roth find anything? He says goes by that I don’t get a clip file request actress Marilyn Monroe at the morgue So what will I do when I finally one can find it “as long as you know the from a Times reporter, photo editor or counter with editor Lester Markel in turn over my gavel—all the free time alphabet and can count.” researcher who needs something extra 1959, looking at clippings in her file. I’ll have while Michael is chasing Roth, who has worked at the pa- to flesh out an article.” Silurian Clyde Continued on Page 6 down amazing speakers to delight per since 1993, says and entertain us? Well, that’s easy. that at its zenith there I’ll go back to traveling the world as were 24 people on the long as my aging legs will allow, and morgue staff, creating writing about it all of course. Watch 600 new clip folders for my next book coming later this a week by cutting up year (110,000 words done to date, copies of the “late city” 30,000 to go). Times edition and other My plea to you: find some great newspapers--anything new recruits for the Press Club to the morgue manager continue giving our distinguished considered collectible. organization fresh blood. Pitch in for The archive includes freedom of information, or any other articles that were killed, new initiative we might undertake. speeches and even pub- We need ideas and excited minds to licity handouts. There carry them out. That’s the nature of are two separate card news, the nature of Silurians. Fake- catalogs, one for clip- ness stops at our doors. We are all the pings, another for the real deal. Never forget that, or lose picture library. sight of our mission and what we can The Times stopped leave to our successors—honor, fair- clipping the daily paper ness, accuracy of course, but also a in 1990 as the digital sense that we have managed to leave age took hold. “I still the world and how we clip,” says Roth, “and present it no worse than make some folders, when we arrived. but it’s more of what I want in there; it’s not Cheers, systematic.” David A. Andelman Why doesn’t the newspaper scan all the Marilyn Monroe looking at her morgue file with editor Lester Markel. MARCH 2020 SILURIAN NEWS PAGE 3 THE CAMEL THAT BROKE THE REPORTER’S BACK BY JOSEPH BERGER

et me be clear: I did not ride a camel at the Great Pyramid of LGiza for a front page picture in the New York Post, though that is the story that often followed me. The real story is less swashbuckling, yet worth recalling because it offers a flavor of what the changeover was like between the comparatively sober Post of Dolly Schiff and Rupert Murdoch’s more sensational- ized successor. In the fall of 1977, I was given an enviable assignment by editors at the Post, newly acquired by Murdoch. They wanted me to travel to Cairo a few days ahead of a visit by Prime Minister Men- achem Begin of Israel. I would be cov- ering a historic event, the first visit by an Israeli leader to Egypt, a move made to repay the even more groundbreaking and courageous visit by Egyptian President Anwar Sadat to Jerusalem. Both gestures were dramatic highlights of the effort to forge peace between fierce enemies. That campaign culminated in the 1978 Camp David accords and a full-blown treaty the following year that returned the Sinai to Egypt and granted Egyptian recognition to Israel, making Egypt the first Arab nation to do so. It was also a visit I longed to make. I had been to Egypt once before, during the 1973 war, having tagged along with Joe Berger did NOT ride a camel in the vicinity of the Pyramid of Giza. Israeli forces as they mopped up after hard-fought and costly combat. But the guilty by reason of insan- Israelis and I only got as far as the Suez ity and then confined to Canal. I had never been to the country’s secure mental institutions heart: Cairo, with those phenomenal were eventually released. pyramids jutting out of the desert, one of I wrote a story whose lead the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. paragraphs stated that al- So, in what seemed like a ride on a though a third of insanity magic carpet, I soon found myself stay- pleaders were eventually ing at the palatial Mena House in Giza, released, the assessments a hunting lodge built for a 19th century done before they were freed pasha with a room overlooking the pyr- were so cautious that only amids. My enjoyment of the view was one person since early in soon deflated by a call from the hotel con- the 20th century had ever cierge. There was a Telex from the Post’s gone on to kill again. picture editor. She wanted me to get up When the story ap- before dawn the next morning, head to the peared, my lede was turned pyramids, and mount one of the rentable around without anyone’s camels. A freelance photographer would checking with me. It fairly take my picture. screamed that one third of It was, she said, to be the front-page insane killers were back photo and the “wood” headline would on the streets. The caveats read “Our Man in Cairo.” I thought about were in the sixth graph or the idea for a few seconds and concluded so. I could not do it. This was a stunt, and I I decided I had to leave before whatever reputation was trying to remain a straightforward Post columnist/editor Steve Dunleavy newspaper reporter, conveying stories I had achieved was shred- of other people’s doings, not hyping my The proposed camel ride was disheart- covered the Senate Watergate hearings ded. I joined a half-dozen other seasoned own reportage. ening because it suggested that the plea- on deadline, even if I did so by watching reporters in asking for severance pack- There ensued several tense rounds of sure and fulfillment I anticipated filing television in the Post’s South Street offic- ages. When Murdoch’s editors finally Telexes and telephone calls. The new articles from Egypt and Israel over the es. Now, while my colleagues and I were relented, I was part of the exodus. editors hired by Murdoch tried to entice next three weeks—the date of the Begin still getting some good assignments, the I know that the accomplished report- me with details of the splashy front page visit kept being moved—would not get stories were too often twisted to frighten ers who remained had no illusions about they planned and the well-placed stories serious treatment and adequate space. readers or get their blood boiling. the paper, but decided to have fun within that would follow. I in turn insisted that In seven years at the Post, I had grown The final straw for me was my experi- the bounds of its madcap daily carnival. riding a camel had nothing to do with accustomed to high standards under such ence during the Son of Sam coverage. On And sometimes they enjoyed the thrill Begin’s peace trip. I would, I told them, Dolly Schiff editors as Paul Sann, Bob the day David Berkowitz was arrested, of scoops that forced papers like the be glad to interview camel drivers, local Spitzler, Warren Hoge, Andy Porte and I was sent to the Brooklyn home of his Times and Newsday to catch up. But my folks and tourists at the pyramids and ask Al Ellenberg. Yes, the Schiff Post was a last victim, Stacy Moskowitz, to get her decision turned out to be right for me. what they thought of Begin’s visit and tabloid—an often jazzy and sometimes mother’s reaction. I knocked on Neysa One footnote: I learned after I got the impact of a peace agreement. But “I sensationalist one—but it also prized Moskowitz’s door and asked her for an back from my reporting in Egypt that refuse to get on a camel,“ I said. serious journalism and stylish writing. interview, but she begged off. She had when my friend, Texas journalist Linda After several hours the editors yield- It was a place where writers like Nora promised columnist Steve Dunleavy, Scarborough, saw the “Our Man in Cairo” ed. I learned upon my return to New Ephron, Helen Dudar, Anna Quindlen, Murdoch’s star, that she would talk to front page headline with my photograph, York that a wood headline did run intro- Clyde Haberman, Joyce Purnick, Tony no one else. she gasped. She thought I had died. ducing “Our Man in Cairo” but the pho- Mancini and Joyce Wadler could shine. “But I also work at the Post,” I pro- tograph was a head shot of me that was And because its journalism did not have tested. taken when I was hired. I told the story the gravity of the broadsheets, the atmo- “Steve said I should especially not Berger is second vice president of of the camel-ride request to colleagues sphere was more relaxed. talk to other reporters from the Post,” the Silurians Press Club. He worked at as a way of conveying how life would While reporting for the Post in the she replied. the Post from 1971 to 1978, at Newsday be different under the new regime. But 1970s, I’d had a chance to do some in- A few days later, when it became from 1978 to 1984, and at The New York in the retelling by friends they had me vestigative reporting on corruption in the clear that Berkowitz would plead insan- Times from 1984 to 2015. Though he has actually riding the camel. It made for a Beame administration and conditions in ity, I was asked to find out how many mounted the occasional horse, to this day better story. seedy city-financed S.R.O. hotels. I had homicide suspects who were found not he has not ridden a camel. PAGE 4 SILURIAN NEWS MARCH 2020 MY STINT AS TRUMP’S RELUCTANT ADVISOR BY GERALD ESKENAZI Jets’ coach, perhaps fueled by something more than Gatorade. onald Trump was asking my And now Donald Trump wanted my advice: What did I think about opinion. To tell the truth, I was flattered Da structure that could hold that he asked me. So I hemmed and hawed 80,000 people on the West Side? And and finally said, “He’s a good football what did I think of the guy he planned to man.” hire to run one of his businesses? Trump hired Michaels. Now the future Also, does it pay to put a dome over president had to figure what to do about Shea Stadium? getting his team into the NFL. He knew To tell the truth, I felt sort of proud that it couldn’t play in Giants Stadium in New this man, this fellow with an international Jersey, since both the Jets and Giants footprint, was actually asking me for already played there. advice. Oh, this didn’t happen recently. So he had this idea: put a dome over In fact, since he was elected president, he Shea Stadium, home of the Mets. And hasn’t called me once to ask my opinion. he went further. He was contemplating a But back in the 1980s, when I was novel idea: condominium seating—that covering the Jets and other football mat- is, if you owned the seats you could sell ters for The New York Times, Trump was them, rent them. It was a radical concept branching out into the sports world. You (since adopted in several stadiums). have to remember that by then Trump had Then one day, I got a call. He wanted become a quite high-profile figure, noted to know what I thought of a West Side sta- beyond his soaring, gleaming buildings. dium (where the Hudson Yards are) that So in 1984, he bought the New Jersey could also be used to attract the Olympics Generals, a team in the United States to New York? Football League that had been created I have to admit, it was all heady stuff. the year before. The league played its I’m sure he wasn’t really asking for my games in the summer, the theory being advice, but thinking that by tipping me off that pro-football fans didn’t want to wait to his plans, perhaps I’d write something until the fall to see what was becoming and he’d be getting publicity. And he did. America’s most popular game. And the Meanwhile, he began spending to get league also made sure it was not going to players. He loaned the Giants’ future Hall go wild in paying salaries to its players. of Famer, Lawrence Taylor, $1 million. Don’t hire the best, even second-best. Taylor already was under contract to the Keep salaries down. Giants, but Trump figured he could sign Trump had laid out a heck of a lot of mon- dithered since the 1970s to fix it. Trump Enter Mr. Trump. him to a personal-services contract until ey to get Heisman winner Doug Flutie fixed it up in less than a year, and to many “I want a Tiffany operation,” he said the Giants’ obligation was up, and then as his quarterback. Now Trump unveiled people that solidified his reputation as a (not referring to a future child, but to the put him on his football team. his master plan: to get his Generals, and master builder. Fifth Avenue jeweler). “Everything I do, “But Donald,” I said to Trump, “what perhaps the whole league, to merge into But he was having trouble in football. it’s a Tiffany operation.” happens if your league goes bust in the the NFL. He couldn’t make the transition to a fall Yes, he wanted an aura of class around meantime? Then you’re out a million The USFL had three seasons under its league to go against the NFL and the NFL his team, which meant being in a league dollars.” belt, and now Trump was also becoming wanted no part of his team. So the USFL that wasn’t a second-class copy of the His response? “If that happens, I’ll a sort of heroic New York figure. For went out of business, just like that—a vaunted National Football League. His put Taylor in a uniform and make him a by 1986, he was the guy who rebuilt testament to his profligacy. plan was to get his team into the NFL. doorman in one of my buildings.” the iconic Wollman ice-skating rink in Undaunted, he spearheaded an an- The resulting tumult presented me with Well, the 1985 season came and went. Central Park after New York City had ti-trust lawsuit against the entrenched some journalistic conundrums: Could NFL—and won. But what the jury ruled I be a neutral observer and writer if he was that, yes, the NFL was a monop- asked my advice? And if he did, wasn’t oly, but the USFL didn’t demonstrate my obligation not to give it? To remain that the old league prevented the new at arm’s length? league from doing business. In fact, the I brought him up to the paper for lunch panel said the USFL failed because its in the executive dining room. When some management was incompetent. of the editors heard he was coming, they So the USFL was awarded—are you asked if they could join us. We had a ready--$1 in damages, which was tre- pleasant meal, and Trump touted his plans bled. The NFL had to part with $3, plus for the league, how he wanted to see his a few pennies in interest. Generals go beyond summertime, how he After that I had no dealings with was eyeing great players. Trump until the year 2000, when I During the meal, he got up to go to the retired. My kids wonderfully dropped men’s room. As soon as he walked out, notes to many of the people I had writ- the editors leaned forward, and in unison ten about and asked if they would like said, “What a bullshitter!” to say something on my retirement for At the end of the meal, I walked a book I’d be presented with. Included Trump to the curb, where the longest in the book is a letter on gold-colored stretch-limo I had ever seen was waiting stationery that begins, “The New York for him, along with a chauffeur. Trump Times sports department will not be the introduced me to his driver. “He’s a big same without you.” Yes, Donald Trump fan of yours,” the future President told sent me a lovely note on my retirement. me. “He reads you all the time.” In fact, I made a copy of it and have it Then Trump said, almost as an af- facing my autographed photo of Hillary. terthought, “What do you think of me I think about Trump and his football hiring Walt Michaels as coach?” Ah, dreams whenever I see that letter, and I here it was. An ethical dilemma: As a also think about his repeated references newspaperman, do I give someone I’m to “the failing New York Times.” Did he writing about advice? Beyond that, the mean it’s failing because of my retire- fellow he’s asking me about is someone ment? But I’m probably giving myself that I would have to be judgmental about too much credit. one day. I do look back on those few years with I knew Michaels very well from his a smile--even though he never asked my tenure as the Jets’ coach. He was an opinion on whether he should run for old-fashioned football guy who liked to President. quote his father: “Don’t tell me if the sea was stormy; just tell me if you brought Gerald Eskenazi generated 8,000 the ship home safely.” He was a no-ex- bylines--second-highest in the paper’s cuses guy in a 1980s world in which history--during a 44-year career at The athletes increasingly were questioning New York Times. He also has written 16 authority and the old verities. Walt had books and speaks regularly on sports and flown off the handle many times as a the news media. MARCH 2020 SILURIAN NEWS PAGE 5 Memories of Covering the Teamsters and the Mob Continued from Page 1 ognizes the pencil is mightier than the Foundation, I was thrilled when he asked baseball bat.” me to do a Teamsters story. Serrill, also a In 1983, Presser had succeeded Jim- journalism school classmate, wanted an my Hoffa protégé Roy Williams after he investigation of the Teamsters national was indicted for conspiring to bribe U.S. drive to unionize police departments, Senator Howard Cannon of Nevada to so I visited Teamsters locals and police influence trucking legislation. departments in suburban Virginia, St. Presser hailed from Cleveland, where Petersburg, Fla. and New Orleans. he built a reputation as a voluble, hard-as- In New Orleans, the Teamsters had nails, corrupt, loyal unionist. He draped routed the Service Employees Interna- his burly body with expensive suits and tional Union in taking over the New glad-handed everyone he met at Team- Orleans Police Association, representing sters’ headquarters, in the shadow of the 1,500 cops. I remember prowling around Senate side of the U.S. Capitol. with Mitchel Ledet, the Teamster’s or- The first time we met, we had lunch ganizer and secretary-treasurer of the in the Teamsters cafeteria, which had 10,000 member New Orleans Teamsters an open alcove for his table so all his Local 270. Watching Mitch in action was employees could approach him com- instructive. Mitch knew the side entrance fortably. It was a PR show put on by and maître d’s at all of New Orleans’ best his communications director, a perpet- restaurants, including Antoine’s, where it ually tanned Paul Newman look-alike was almost impossible to get a table at named F.C. “Duke” Zeller. He and the last minute, unless you were a guy Jackie allowed me to attend a Team- whose union controlled garbage pick- sters national executive board meeting ups and beer and food deliveries. and the subsequent cocktail party with My conclusion: Teamsters National the union’s most important leaders. I President Frank Fitzsimmons’ wish to used the occasion to seek the answer to wrestle away big city police locals was a delicate question: “How much does possible, but unlikely. Nationally, there Jackie weigh?” was too much political fear of infiltration Most Teamsters I asked said some- by organized crime and lots of fierce op- thing like “too much,” but confessed position from the public service unions. they were not about to inquire. Then a My biggest Teamsters assignment - in senior, and allegedly mobbed up, trustee every sense – was ahead. told me the board had passed a half-jok- The opening page of Frank’s story in Police magazine In 1984, I was in the Washington ing resolution that Jackie had to lose 60 on Teamsters organizing police bureau of Forbes. The man who hired pounds in 90 days. me, Jerry Flint, was a Detroit native and To get a better fix on Jackie’s regal shirt, tucked his tie in and put the napkin stations featuring the food of nations. legendary chronicler of the auto industry style, I pressed him to schedule a meal on top. So did I. Chatting with Presser, as he cruised the and its unions. Flint was fascinated by in the private Teamster’s Presidential Years later, while enjoying cheeseburg- buffet like a Circle Liner going around Teamsters’ President Jackie Presser and Dining room. He said he hated the place, ers with Forbes colleagues, I repeated Manhattan, Jackie said: “You know, I his decision to back Republican Pres- because it was one of the locales the FBI the defensive move. John Merwin was had a private eye following you around ident Ronald Reagan. Presser decided bugged to catch Roy Williams, but he reminded of “The Williams Shift”—the the country.” To this day, I have no idea to grant Forbes exclusive access to the finally relented. strategic baseball innovation which shift- whether that was true. union and Jerry turned me loose, urging Zeller assembled a diverse crew of ed six fielders to one side of the diamond During that lunch in the President’s me to make good use of my Forbes ex- Teamster leaders for the lunch, and I in an attempt to stymie the great Boston dining room, I had asked Presser wheth- pense account. got to see the Teamsters President and Red Sox pull hitter Ted Williams. Merwin er he was a government informant, an During two months of reporting, I flew his supplicants in action. No one, espe- dubbed my action: “The Presser Shift.” annoying rumor he had denied. What to Chattanooga, St. Louis, Detroit and cially the chef, wanted to see Presser go My extensive story, including a sidebar was true, we all learned in a court filing Denver to interview Teamsters officials hungry. The waiters came with steaming about Presser’s weight, was tough, but in 1989, was that Jackie was pretending. and dissidents. In Bloomfield Township, plates of spaghetti, the one in front of the fair and accurate in a magazine that had Presser, while perhaps a onetime Mafia Michigan, I paused for a steak at the last Teamsters President nearly a foot tall, a President Reagan’s attention. So, after associate, became an FBI stool pigeon in place Jimmy Hoffa was seen before he tomato sauce volcano with meatballs cas- the 1985 inauguration, I was invited to a the investigation that sent his predecessor disappeared, fantasizing about getting the cading down the sides. I started laughing fancy Teamsters board reception attended to prison. clue that would solve his murder. and said: “Jackie, how can you handle by Vice President George Bush. Presser My big take-out was entitled: “The this without splattering that beautiful was always cordial but liked to project State of the Union” with the subhead: Brioni tie?” He laughed, unbuttoned his that implicit fear the Teamsters made so Allan Dodds Frank is a member of the “The Teamsters’ new president, Jackie shirt and tucked his tie inside. Around famous. Board of Governors of the Silurians Press Presser, is no angel, but at least he rec- the table, every Teamster unbuttoned his The buffet was a lavish array of food Club and a former president.

ken out my best, mainly quality goods “Well, then, the book will destroy your In Pursuit of the Elusive Blurb from the best thrift shops. family,” he countered. BY HERBERT HADAD as I headed to the Society of the Silurians I bided my time until everyone was He was tall and slim except for a small luncheon to hear the great journalist Gay about to sit down, and as I approached paunch, and looked down at me as we ne could argue endlessly Talese. my seat, only two away from Talese, a sparred. I felt as though I was punching about the value of a celebrity I ran into the president of the venerable small round woman pushed away from upward and that we were going toe to toe. Obook-jacket blurb and never press club, David Pitt, and told him I’d the table and into me. I made a quick bal- “No, not true, they’ve read a lot of the reach a conclusion. I’ve been told they once worked with Talese. “Fine, then I’ll letic leap backward to avoid the collision, book. They’re excited by it.” turn a publisher’s head. I’ve been told seat you at his table,” he said. during which I spilled the drink all over “If I like it then, I’d have to find a some readers buy a book because of the Actually, we didn’t exactly work to- myself. I couldn’t approach him covered publisher.” blurb and the name of the blurber. I’ve gether; we sat together on the same rented with Bloody Mary mix and horseradish. I “No, I don’t want you to. I’m only been told blurbs are entirely irrelevant. bus on the way to a tort reform conference grabbed napkins off the table and started asking for your e-mail. I’ll send you a few A decade ago the manuscript of my in Southern California. to brush furiously. After a few minutes excerpts. If you really like them, please book Finding Immortality: The Making of The club was crowded; I ordered a most of the damage was not visible. consider an endorsement. Otherwise, do One American Family was with an agent. Bloody Mary and made my way around “Gay, hello! We worked together in nothing.” It was, in my humble view, an absolutely the hall. Don’t lose your nerve, this California,” I said. “I’d like to talk with We separated as Pitt called the lun- delightful collection of essays about the is important to you, you’re smart and you for a minute.” He didn’t remember cheon to order. joys and occasional sorrows of family charming, you’re honest, I kept telling the bus ride or the conference, so I moved Talese rose to make a few points. He life. (An earlier title, “Home Fires,” myself as if I were my own mother. right to my point. said getting the story right is more import- was purloined by a more agile author.) I Talese arrived and was immediately “What’s your book about?” he asked. ant than getting it first. The writer of the thought the book was useful and engaging surrounded by old colleagues and new “Family life. The adventure of raising classic Esquire essay, “Frank Sinatra Has and even inspiring. I also thought that a sycophants. A famous dandy, he was a family. It’s very good.” a Cold,” said he wrote in long-hand and good blurb could help a book fly. dressed in a three-piece hound’s tooth “It will be saccharine,” he said. then transcribed his work to a typewriter. Which is why, one Thursday morning suit, red striped shirt and red tie. Because “It’s not at all. These are good, solid As for writing brilliance, he said reas- a decade or so ago, I rehearsed my pitch I knew he favored fine clothing, I’d bro- stories, some of them tough.” Continued on Page 7 PAGE 6 SILURIAN NEWS MARCH 2020 Bayeux Memorial Honors Journalists ‘Gone Missing’ Continued from Page 1 nalists’ memorial. We knew where it should be located, by piecing together descriptions we had gleaned about this rarely-mentioned site. We marked it on our map of Bayeux and thought we couldn’t miss it. It was supposed to be next to the imposing Museum of the Battle of Normandy, across the street from a cemetery for 5,000 mostly Brit- ish soldiers, and immediately behind a classical-columned British monument on the Boulevard Fabien Ware com- memorating Commonwealth soldiers who died during D-Day and subsequent battles. We walked the long block in front of the British monument several times but couldn’t find a break in the dense forest of trees behind it. The more we looked, the more determined we were to pay our respects to the fallen reporters who were being honored. We felt an obligation. Finally, we walked back to the far corner of the boulevard and turned right on a side street we had passed on the way from our hotel, which was slightly outside the center of town. There, on the right as we rounded a curve, we saw a bright banner waving in the breeze. This had to be the entrance, and it was, on the Rue de Verdun. It turned out be the opening to a secret garden, a quiet grove where revelations awaited us. We had expected another World War II monument, but this was both more bucolic in tone and more expansive in its mission. Though it is sometimes referred to as a war reporters’ or war correspondents’ memorial, it encom- with names for one year. And some of group comes by, too, according to an- This year, the commemoration passes journalists throughout the world the recent places where reporters died other of a handful of articles about the events are happening October 5-11, killed since 1944 (at least as far as can (if you happen to recognize the names) site. During the day we visited, spending Viel wrote. The unveiling will be on be determined) and it is updated every are uncomfortably close to home. considerable time and coming back again Thursday, Oct 8 at 5 p.m. and the award year. Broad paths meander through The 2018 list of engraved names after going through the neighboring mu- ceremony will be on Saturday, October green lawns, lush plants, lovely flowers includes, among the 67 professional seum (which devotes a whole section to 10, at 6 p.m. and sheltering trees. On either side of journalists killed that year, five who reporters, including some notable wom- You may or may not want to attend the paths, tall stone columns, or steles, were shot at the Capital Gazette in en), we saw no one else. at that time, but I do recommend that, rise up. They are engraved with years Maryland by a man who was unhappy The Bayeux awards for war correspon- if you hanker to visit the beaches of and names, but no one is buried here. with an article about him, and two from dents (http://www.prixbayeux.org/en/) Normandy, or see the Bayeux tapestry, They are, however, remembered. South Carolina TV station WYFF who started in 1994, the 50th anniversary or take the trip up to Mont Saint-Michel, A sweeping lawn at the beginning were crushed by a tree in their SUV as of the town’s liberation and of D-Day, or just want to see lovely French coun- includes a low horizontal stone with they covered the impact of heavy rains according to an informative email sent tryside, set aside some time to commune the words: “One may only taste free- in their area. by Aurélie Viel, who is in charge of the with the spirits of journalists who served dom when others around us are free,” The assassination of Saudi Arabian awards given by the city, in collabora- this profession of ours well. I left feeling attributed to Simone de Beauvoir. There dissident and Washington Post colum- tion with Reporters Without Borders. proud to be a reporter. is also a life-size metal cut-out silhou- nist Jamal Khashoggi took place in The boulevard of “31 white stones, ette of a person, to commemorate “the 2018, too. Ten days before we visited, on which are engraved the names of memory of journalists who have gone I discovered while researching this more than 2,665 journalists who paid Aileen Jacobson is a member of missing.” At the other end of the long article, Khashoggi’s fiancé had un- with their lives in their bid to keep the Silurian Board of Governors. She winding paths, not visible from the veiled his name during a ceremony at us informed” perpetuates, along with writes regularly for the New York entrance, two extra steles provide some the site. (Reporters Without Borders the prize, “the City’s commitment to Times and other publications, after basic information. “This place is dedi- compiles lists of the names at https:// defending freedom of the press and a long career as a staff writer at the cated to reporters and to freedom of the rsf.org/en/barometer; look for previous democracy,” she wrote. Washington Post and at Newsday. press,” one begins. The other notes that years in the “archive” box.) “Bayeux, which witnessed a freedom Somehow, coming across the en- dearly won, has included the Memorial graved name marking the death of to Reporters in its ‘Liberty Alley’ centre Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel The Times Morgue is Alive to encourage the younger generations Pearl, who was beheaded in Pakistan to think about what freedom really in 2002, was exceptionally startling Continued from Page 2 of The Times print archives,” Amster means.” This turns out to be the exit, or and upsetting. Reports are that her arrival caused a says, “culling massive troves of clips perhaps another entrance. Just outside The memorial was established in huge uproar in the mostly male news- and photos to retrieve exactly the items it, we discovered, there actually is a 2007 by the City of Bayeux and by room. that the newsroom needs. And he does sign pointing to the memorial, among Reporters Without Borders, which each Jon Belmont, a former ABC News it on deadline.” other tourist sites. It is in a far corner of year holds a ceremony at the site to colleague who is now a freelance anchor With no one trained to succeed him, the museum’s lawn, beyond a hulking award war correspondents’ prizes and to at WINS, went on one of the tours that Linda worries about the impact of Jeff’s World War II tank. honor the dead, particularly those who Roth conducts, and says, “with no line eventual retirement on The Times cov- What we found most disturbing died in the previous 12 months. On a of succession, when he goes a ton of erage. “It would largely eliminate the about the steles is that they show that visit in 2006, during a first phase of the institutional memory will go with him.” historic depth and scope that illumi- far more journalists have been killed in site’s inauguration, Michèle Montas, “Jeff’s devotion to the Times is ex- nate Times journalism and distinguish recent years than in many earlier years, widow of Haitian journalist Jean Domi- ceptional,” says Silurian Linda Amster, it from other news reports,” she says. including 1944 (about 30 names) and nique, who was murdered in 2000, said, who was his colleague when she was Yes, Jeff Roth opens and closes a lot 1945 (13 deaths, including Ernie Pyle, “It’s the only place in the world where the paper’s director of news research. of drawers, but those drawers contain who won a Pulitzer the year before my husband’s name is carved in stone.” “It’s practically in his DNA,” she quips, a staggering and irreplaceable archive being killed by enemy fire during the The families and friends of several noting that Meyer Berger, The Times of history. Battle of Okinawa). Some of the 31 other commemorated journalists have legendary About New York columnist, steles combine several years in periods also visited the memorial, according to was Roth’s older cousin and an import- Bill Diehl is a member of the Silurians like the 1950s, when reporters were the news account that reported Montas’s ant family influence. Board of Governors and a longtime cor- relatively safe. Others are crammed statement. And occasionally, a school “Jeff’s the human search engine respondent for ABC Radio. MARCH 2020 SILURIAN NEWS PAGE 7 In Pursuit of Sazeracs and Liberty BY BETSY WADE readers. The deed was done. All of this gave Frank charisma that I n 1981, I was elected leader of knew nothing about. When the two of us the Newspaper Guild’s New first met, in December 1978, the Guild IYork delegation to our union’s Local’s election period, our political international convention --United States, allies had decided that we would make Canada and Puerto Rico. Although I an electable team: a president from the was just a copy editor at The New York Times news department and, for first-vice Times, I was shop steward for the copy president, a popular News reporter. editors around me and had enough allies We did win. On the cold night when elsewhere, including the Post, (under our the count was complete, Frank said he, fellow Silurian Joy Cook,) and Time Inc. properly, should buy me dinner. Where to to win the local’s presidency in December go? Clueless about his links to the World The view from the late, great Windows on the World. 1980. Trade Center, I answered Windows on the This emergence was a product of the World; I had never been there. café where my banished kinsman might Our Canadian audience looked about first-ever coalition between the rank-and- A day later we went. When we exited have lifted a few under these trees. uneasily when this was read. But, truth be file of two big newspapers: the Times and the elevator at the top, we were met by But I had another goal, well known told, Canada had shunned all invitations to Daily News Guild units. a sharply dressed restaurant manager to Joan and others who had joined join the new United States, the American The union leader from the News was who rushed forward, crying: “Frankie! me on earlier July Fourths. It was my colonials having had the poor judgment Frank Mazza, a cityside reporter. Frank Frankie! Thought I’d never see you family’s custom to read the Declaration to burn several Canadian cities. was tall, debonair and charming. One again!” Introductions. Welcomes. of Independence aloud. A sequence of But when we got to “our lives, our of his beats was the Port Authority of Soon, the manager turned to me, relatives and guests took successive fortunes, and our sacred honor,” everyone, New York and New Jersey, builder and waving an arm 360 degrees to say, “So, sections of the text, deciphering the Canadians and all, applauded and another landlord of the first World Trade Center, Miss Wade, where would you like to squiggly Colonial script that covered a round of Rye was called for. opened in 1973. sit?” I picked the spot overlooking the back page of the day’s Times. When my phone rang a while ago The News classically positioned itself Brooklyn Bridge. In this setting Frank We started the party by ordering our here in the 21st century, it was an old on the side of the humble. “He Made So laid out the story I have now told you. first Sazeracs. The ingredients include editing friend from Baltimore who had Many of Them” is carved on its entrance. the historically mandatory Peychaud’s been with me in New Orleans, and with And Frank believed this when he took As president of the Guild local, I got Bitters, plus Rye whiskey and absinthe. whom I had spent many intense hours up journalistic battle against the Port to attend the annual convention, wherein My first swallow of the reddish-brown on Guild strategy. He had moved on to Authority’s proposal to charge admission 250 or so delegates would meet in June drink nearly floored me, and before long more venturesome endeavors. I’m retired, to Windows on the World, the fancy and spend a few days, and all-nights, the good times were rolling. (Before telling old tales to grandchildren. dining complex atop the North Tower of arguing, drinking and voting. In 1981, you try one, I should tell you that Eric Solidarity must be nurtured over time the Trade Center. The Authority, seeking not only was our New York insurgency Asimov, the Times wine critic, believes and I often nag my friend to write about revenue, wanted to sell, at a stiff price, novel but so was the convention site: a Sazerac would make a better medicine our adventures, discussing encounters of lunch-club memberships for Windows to Memphis, a Southern city notorious as than a cocktail.) greater importance than those in a French corporate tenants. the onetime domain of Boss Crump and, At our big round table, while we drank Quarter saloon. Still, I do recall that Frank’s articles on the proposal took more recently, the site of the assassination our Sazeracs, a copy of the Declaration day with amusement on occasions when the side of the common people—the of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was passed around. As usual, the readers someone orders a Sazerac, mentions Jersey commuters who poured coins The convention went off more or less stumbled on the ancient holography of Peychaud’s bitters, or invokes New into the Authority’s coffers at the George routinely, but as it neared its end, the New the “f ’s” that were really “s’s.” Orleans. Washington Bridge and the two Hudson York coalition decided that it was too Then something happened: guests Frank is gone, and so is Joan Cook, tunnels. They should not have to subsidize soon to quit. It struck us that a 400-mile across the courtyard noticed and drifted and likewise many of the newspapers a luxurious dining place that neither they drive to New Orleans would provide a over to our table. They were vacationing where we worked. The Guild has been nor their children could afford: that was priceless July Fourth weekend. We New Canadians, and they were hearing, assimilated into a larger union. But that the News view. Yorkers called friendly delegates from perhaps for the first time, what happened priceless trip seizes me when survivors With its millions of readers, the News San Jose, Madison, Chicago, Baltimore, in the “course of human events”: a meet, and sometimes it envelops me even was a powerful force that Port Authority Washington and Providence. Some of revolution against the British government when the piano plays “Basin Street.” bigwigs feared. As they conferred over them called still others and it shaped up brought on by the nasty acts of King May I treat you to a Sazerac? the lunch-club issue, they consulted as more of a motorcade than a carload. George, who had sent “hither swarms of Frank, trying out prices on him. The My dear friend and fellow delegate, his officers to harass our people and eat Betsy Wade worked 45 years for The numbers shrank each time Frank shook Joan Riddell Cook, (not related to Joy out their Substance.” Times, as an editor and as writer of the his head no. Cook) had deep New Orleans roots. A Most alarming, the Founders noted, Practical Traveler. Earlier she edited for Finally, he said, someone popped typical Silurian president, she was the were acts “abolishing the free System the Herald Tribune and was a columnist out of the negotiators’ room and called: first to start the wagons rolling down of English Laws in a neighboring for Scripps-Howard’s N.E.A. Service, “Hey, Frankie, what would you think the river. Since Joan and I had worked Province, establishing therein an arbitrary whose wealth depended on having of ---,” and they named a price Frank together at both the Herald Tribune Government, enlarging its Boundaries, so acquired all rights to the Dionne Quints. considered low enough to suit his (Friday lunches at Bleeck’s) and the as to render it at once an Example and a Betsy and Jim Boylan, also a Silurian, Times (industrial-strength martinis at fit Instrument for introducing the same have six grandchildren and two great- Gough’s), information on good watering absolutist rule in these Colonies.” granddaughters. spots was easy to get. “We can drink Sazeracs,” Joan exulted. “And we can visit my ancestors’ graves in Metarie Cemetery.” Chasing the Elusive Blurb I could flash some credible Southern roots myself, including a black-sheep Continued from Page 5 one publication to break into print, one Great-Uncle Charlie who was banished suringly: “We’re all .200 hitters.” And must not depend on one celebrity. In the to New Orleans and somehow died in a despite constant reports on the demise end, the book was bestowed with blurbs bathtub. of newspapers, he said he was not pes- from writers from The New York Times So we toured Metarie Cemetery, then simistic about the future of journalism. and Newsday and a Pulitzer Prize win- moved on to celebrate Independence There was a brief Q&A session, and ner from The New Yorker. In addition, a Day as our Founders doubtless intended, the event was over. well-known novelist and a professor lent by lifting a mug. The place Joan picked Talese, even in his three-piece suit, can their names. was the Court of the Two Sisters. “Two present the mien of a parish priest, and it I went home that day feeling pretty Sisters” as a name for anything in the was the kindly one who came around the good. I’d put up the good fight. The suit French Quarter might imply something table to shake my hand. went to the cleaners. possibly from the red-light district. But “I just want your understanding,” he said. “I don’t mean to fail you.” not so; the original business there was a Hadad’s stories have appeared in It was an elegant and enigmatic re- seamstresses’ atelier. The New York Times, The International jection. Even though I knew I was an On Joan’s model, we drank Sazeracs, Herald Tribune, Parenting, Reader’s underdog in this match-up, I felt floored. a cocktail known to me only from the Digest, Poets & Writer, Salt Water Sports- The luncheon – and my battle for a blurb movies, but it was New Orleans born and man and several other publications. – was over. bred, with deep French roots. Ordering He worked as a reporter for The Keene However, just as one must not rely on The crucial ingredient an heirloom cocktail was magnetic, and (N.H.) Sentinel, Boston Globe, New York one punch in a fight or concentrate on in a Sazerac cocktail it was twice as good to drink it in a fancy Post and The New York Times. PAGE 8 SILURIAN NEWS MARCH 2020

Silurians Contingency Fund is Back in Business. Contributions Welcome. Obituaries BY STEVEN MARCUS and the fund fell into disuse. Now the fund is back in business. Late David Corcoran, a veteran life of a homemaker in Leonia, N.J., early two years ago, Mike Kan- last year, the Internal Revenue Service journalist who spent the bulk of his until 1973, when she joined the The del, my longtime friend and approved the fund’s application for rein- fellow Silurian, approached me statement as a 501 (c) (3) charity. And the career at The Record in North Jersey Record’s entertainment section. withN an offer that I couldn’t refuse, since state Charities Bureau followed suit by and then at The New York Times, died In 1978, she was named entertain- it came in the form of a fait accompli. approving a similar reinstatement applica- on Aug. 4 at his home in Coralles, ment editor of The Trib, a short-lived “I’ve just named you head of the Silurians tion. Full credit for this turn of events goes contingency fund,” he said. “Don’t worry. to Silurian Mike Stafford and attorneys at N.M. The cause of death was leuke- startup newspaper that published only It won’t be a lot of work.” his law firm, Farrell Fritz, who worked mia. He was 72. Corcoran joined The on weekdays. Bourdain moved to Par- Actually, it did turn out to be a lot of tirelessly to provide guidance, prepare Record in 1969 following graduation is in 1980, working as a translator for work, but it was for a worthy cause. the lengthy reinstatement applications and The contingency fund was established in follow up with the IRS and the Charities from Amherst College. He began Agence France-Presse. She returned 1953 to provide financial assistance to New Bureau. by covering Englewood and he was to New York in 1984 and was hired York City journalists and their families who Although the contingency fund is known for his thoughtfulness and by The Times as a copy editor in were in need, and later also provided schol- now active, its coffers are very low. So I arships to outstanding journalism students. encourage my fellow Silurians to make a kindness. Eventually, he was named the Culture and Metro sections. She It was the brainchild of Silurian George E. contribution, now fully deductible, to the editorial page editor, a post he filled also wrote numerous articles for The Sokolsky, a prominent conservative radio fund. Even small donations of $5, $10 or for a decade. Times, as well as for Opera News and commentator and newspaper columnist $20 would make a big difference. who was active from the 1920s through the You can contribute by writing a check In 1988, after 19 years at The Re- other music-related publications. On 1950s. After his death in 1962, the fund was payable to the George E. Sokolsky Si- cord, Corcoran joined The Times. He several occasions until her retirement renamed the George E. Sokolsky Silurian lurian Contingency Fund and sending it started as a copy editor, moving to in 2008, she represented Guild mem- Contingency Fund. to me, at 160 West 96th St., New York, But through a series of mishaps, mis- N.Y. 10025. Or, when you renew your OpEd, graphics and the New Jersey bers in negotiations with Times man- communications and lack of oversight annual membership, you can add an ex- and education desks before being agement. In 1997, Bourdain translated (I won’t bore you with the details), the tra amount and specify that it go to the named head of the Science Times On Stage, Off Stage: A Memoir by fund’s status as a certified charity was contingency fund. revoked by the Internal Revenue Service section. He retired in 2014 and moved French opera singer Regine Crespin, and the New York State Charities Bureau. Steven Marcus, a veteran journalist to Cambridge, Mass., to become as- a close friend. As a result, would-be contributors to the and corporate communications director, is sociate director of the Knight Science In 1999, through an acquaintance fund could no longer claim a tax deduction, President of the Contingency Fund. Journalism Program at MIT, where at The New Yorker, she helped her he launched the Undark podcast and son Anthony submit an essay to the mentored research fellows and sci- magazine about what goes on behind Welcome New Members ence writers. the kitchen doors of restaurants in Corcoran was also a published New York City. Called “Don’t Eat Merry Clark is an experienced news- happily married for decades to Deborah poet, a restaurant critic and a podcast Before Reading This,” it became paper and magazine journalist and editor. Gobble, the former 11 pm producer at She was a newspaper reporter for the WDIV-TV in Detroit, and they have three pioneer. the basis of his best-selling book, Harrisburg Patriot-News. Her New York grown daughters. Now retired, Peter vol- Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in career includes posts as a magazine unteers as a tutor at the Police Athletic the Culinary Underbelly, and ignited writer and editor at New York Magazine. League’s New South Bronx Center She was also a publishing executive at the . his career as one of the best-known Hearst corporation, where she developed Jonathan Richards began doing ed- Gladys Bourdain, a copy travel, food and culture commenta- nationally syndicated newspaper columns itorial cartoons for The Reporter in Santa editor at The New York Times for 24 and newsmagazines. She is now Editorial Fe, New Mexico in 1988. His cartoons tors of modern times. Director of Heloise, Inc., a large lifestyle appeared for many years in the Huffington years, died on Jan. 10 in New York af- brand, and a newspaper columnist. And Post (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ ter suffering deteriorating health for she is a Producer of Screenplay Devel- jonathan-richards) and over the years several years. She was 85. opment and Partner at Kara Productions, have been seen in the Santa Fe New Inc.—a movie company in New York City. Mexican, the Albuquerque Journal, and In addition to being the mother The Silurians Press Club She lectures on journalism in an NYU/ the Oklahoma City Gazette. He was edito- of Anthony Bourdain, the late chef, UCLA summer program. Clark has a rial cartoonist for Theodore Kheel’s Earth Planetarium Post Office journalism degree from the University Summit Times, and for the New York City author, TV host and travel docu- P.O. Box 854 of Texas, where she was editor of The press corps’ Inner Circle in 1990. For a mentarian, Ms. Bourdain had her New York, NY 10024 Daily Texan, and a masters in commu- period in the mid-‘90s he and author and own media career. After marrying nications from Shippensburg University former National Security Council staffer 212.532.0887 in Pennsylvania. She is also a graduate Roger Morris collaborated on a syndicated and raising two sons, Anthony and www.silurians.org of the New York University School for column/cartoon package called Lines Christopher (a banker), she led the Professional Studies. Drawn. In 2004, his work was featured in Bushwhacked, a group show at the Jennifer A. Kingson is currently an George Adams Gallery on W. 57th St in editor and writer at Axios Media. Her New York City. He collaborated with Alan career goes back to stints as a stringer Arkin to illustrate the actor’s children’s Andy FisherThe using Silurians his ancient Press manual Club to mock FEMA. for The New York Times and a reporter book Cosmo (Azro Press, 2005). Richards’ Officers 2020-2021 for the Boston Globe. In 1995, she joined movie reviews appear weekly in the Santa The American Banker, a daily trade Fe New Mexican’s Pasatiempo, the Online President COMMITTEE newspaper and website, as a reporter, Film Critics Society, and on Rotten Toma- DAVID A. ANDELMAN CHAIRPERSONS: working her way up to a senior editor toes. His novels include The Whitmarsh First Vice-President spot. In 2004, she moved to The Times, Chronicles, a three-volume historical novel MICHAEL S. SERRILL Awards: filling various assignment editor roles at set against the background of the Ameri- JACK DEACY the paper’s Business Day, National, Sci- can labor movement; Tularosa and Chero- Second Vice-President ence and Styles desks. She remained at kee Bill, both historical fiction with Western JOSEPH BERGER Constitution and Bylaws: The Times until 2017, when she signed themes; Santa Fe, a novel of greed and ALLAN DODDS FRANK on with Axios, a news website that had growth in the stylish capital of New Mexico. Secretary LINDA AMSTER Awards Dinner: just been launched. At Axios, Kingson is His latest novel is Nick & Jake, published AILEEN JACOBSON managing editor of business, overseeing in 2013 by Skyhorse Press. Treasurer the coverage of markets, banking, real KAREN BEDROSIAN Futures: estate, and other financial topics. She is Raymond Sokolov’s career goes RICHARDSON ALLAN DODDS FRANK at the helm of both the Axios Markets and back to 1965, when he joined Newsweek Axios Edge newsletters. as a correspondent in its Paris bureau. BOARD OF GOVERNORS: Membership: Two years later, he returned to the U.S. BETSY ASHTON SCOTTI WILLISTON Peter Lewine was inspired to pursue as an arts writer for Newsweek. In 1971, JACK DEACY a career in news when, in the Navy, he he was hired by The New York Times as BILL DIEHL Nominating: read Prime Time, a biography of Edward restaurant critic and food writer. He left The ALLAN DODDS FRANK BEN PATRUSKY R. Murrow. His first job was as a desk Times in 1973 and worked as a freelance TONY GUIDA assistant and then News Editor at KCBS writer until 1981, when he was named MYRON KANDEL Silurian News BERNARD KIRSCH MICHAEL S. SERRILL, Editor Newsradio in San Francisco. From there, editor of Book Digest and then founding AILEEN JACOBSON he was an on-air TV news reporter in San editor of the Wall Street Journal’s daily CAROL LAWSON Website: Jose, San Diego, and at the Post-News- Leisure and Arts page, a post he held DAVID MARGOLICK MORT SHEINMAN, Editor week station in Detroit, where he covered until 2002. Now retired, he continues to BEN PATRUSKY the auto industry and politics. Then, it was write about food for national publications. MYRON RUSHETZKY Mr. Sokolov’s books include The Cook’s MORT SHEINMAN Webmaster: on to New York, where Peter worked on FRED HERZOG the ABC News Foreign News assignment Canon: 101 Classic Recipes Everyone SCOTTI WILLISTON Should Know; The Saucier’s Apprentice; desk, and also as an occasional writer Social Media: GOVERNORS EMERITI: and off-air reporter covering Presidential Why We Eat What We Eat and Wayward BILL DIEHL campaigns. He shifted gears and moved Reporter, a biography of A.J. Liebling. For GERALD ESKENAZI to the business side, serving as Associate some 20 years, he wrote A Matter of Taste, GARY PAUL GATES Publisher of trade magazines like Execu- a food-oriented column in Natural History, HERBERT HADAD SILURIAN CONTINGENCY FUND tive Technology, Supermarket News, and the monthly magazine of the American LINDA GOETZ HOLMES BOARD OF TRUSTEES: Convenience Store News. Peter has been Museum of Natural History. Bon appetite. ROBERT D. McFADDEN STEVEN MARCUS, PRESIDENT