New York Times Editor To Speak April 27

12:00PM / Wednesday, April 04, 2007

New York Times Executive Editor Bill Keller [photo courtesy of the Literacy Network]

Great Barrington - Bill Keller, executive editor of The New York Times, will talk about the contemporary role of newspapers, and journalism in general, in the second event of a speaker series sponsored by the Literacy Network of South Berkshire.

Keller’s talk in the “No Limit to Literacy” series is at 7 p.m. on Fri., April 27, in the auditorium of Monument Mountain Regional High School on Route 7 in Great Barrington.

This talk, and others in the series, will raise funds for the Literacy Network, which provides tutors for adults in the southern Berkshires.

Keller

Keller has been the top news department editor at The New York Times since July 2003. Previously, he was the Times’ Moscow bureau chief, winning a Pulitzer Price for his coverage in 1989, the year the Berlin Wall was taken down. He also headed the newspaper’s South Africa bureau in the mid-1990s and subsequently served as foreign editor, managing editor, and columnist of the Times.

During his more than 3 years as executive editor, Keller has dealt with some of the most controversial and difficult issues to face the news media in decades. These have included questions about coverage of the Bush administration’s rationale for the war in Iraq; the CIA leak case; and revelations about the administration’s secret use of domestic wiretapping and other law enforcement techniques as part of the “global war on terror.”

The Times has been at the forefront in covering all these matters, and its coverage has been widely praised and criticized.

In addition, The New York Times and all mainstream news organizations are facing tough competition for readers from other news sources, notably the Internet. Keller’s challenge has been to maintain the journalistic quality for which The New York Times is famous, while at the same time attracting new readers.

Keller will discuss these matters, and answer questions from the audience, in his talk for the Literacy Network.

Tickets at the door are $25 for adults and $8 for students. Advance tickets are $20, or $5 for students; call the Literacy Network at (413) 243-0471. Proceeds will support the Literacy Network’s programs. A reception will follow Keller’s talk.

Founded in 1991, the Literacy Network, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, provides adult education services to about 100 South County residents. LitNet’s volunteer tutors provide free, confidential, one-on-one tutoring to adults learning to read, preparing for their GED or US Citizenship tests, or learning English. LitNet is funded entirely by local contributions

For more information, please visit is www.litnetsb.org.