Steve Weinberg, noted author and professor of journalism at the University of Missouri, will be the guest speaker at the fourth annual lecture of the Barbara Morgan Harvey Center for the Study of Oil Heritage at Clarion University-Venango Campus. The program, which is free and open to the public, will be held on Thursday, November 20, 2008, in the Robert W. Rhoades Center auditorium at 7 p.m. A dessert reception will follow the program.
Mr. Weinberg's lecture, entitled "Getting Famous, Then Watching Your Back," is especially timely in an age when celebrities and political figures face unprecedented media scrutiny. It is based on his most recent book, Taking on The Trust: The Epic Battle of Ida Tarbell and John D. Rockefeller. According to March, 2008, review in The Wall Street Journal, "...his deeply researched account is scrupulously evenhanded, fair to both the man who was by far the nation's richest tycoon and the woman who was its most famous reporter."
Steve Weinberg graduated from the Missouri School of Journalism in 1970, returning later for a master's degree. He began his writing career in newspapers, moved to magazines so he could write longer features, and then shifted to writing books. Today, Weinberg supplements his book writing with freelance magazine features, newspaper op-ed pieces and book reviews.
His earlier books include A Journalism of Humanity: A Candid History of the World's First Journalism School (2008); The Reporter's Handbook: An Investigator's Guide to Documents and Techniques (1996); Telling the Untold Story: How Investigative Reporters Are Changing the Craft of Biography (1992); Armand Hammer: The Untold Story (1990); and Trade Secrets of Washington Journalists: How to Get the Facts About What's Going On in Washington (1981).
The Harvey Center, located in the Charles L. Suhr Library, was created in memory of Barbara Morgan Harvey by her family, who wished to carry on her love of local history and desire to bring it to life for others. It was dedicated in October, 2005.
For more information, call 814-676-6591, ext. 1215.
