A reenactment and discussion of the Pentagon Papers saga, to benefit CJR

CJR is putting on a play about the Pentagon Papers saga this month as a fundraiser. I received this e-mail, and since I don’t see details online anywhere I’m posting it here so others can see and share:

mike hoyt <mh151@columbia.edu>     Wed, Mar 3, 2010 at 1:37 PM
To: XXXXXX

Dear reader,

If you will be in the New York area on March 16, we hope you can join us for this fundraiser—an excellent play and a stellar panel about a seminal journalism event:

TOP SECRET: The Battle for the Pentagon Papers

Please join the Columbia Journalism Review (CJR) for this benefit performance of a riveting historical play that recalls one of journalism’s most important chapters. A talkback will follow with:

Daniel Ellsberg, who leaked the top-secret Pentagon Papers to The New York Times, and set the stage for a historic showdown between the press and the Nixon administration over First Amendment rights.

Leslie Gelb, who was director of the Defense Department project that produced the Pentagon Papers, and who later served in a variety of posts in government and at The New York Times.

James Goodale, who as Vice President and General Counsel for The New York Times disagreed with outside counsel and defended the paper’s right to publish the papers.

Nicholas Lemann, Dean of the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism, formerly Washington correspondent for The New Yorker.

Moderated by Victor Navasky, Chairman, CJR, and Delacorte Professor of Journalism at Columbia Journalism School.

The play is co-authored by the late Leroy Aarons, a former editor and national correspondent for The Washington Post and the founder of the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association, and Geoffrey Cowan, Dean Emeritus and University Professor at the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, USC, and Honorary Vice Chair of CJR’s Circle of supporters.

A fascinating evening—and a great way to support CJR, the country’s leading media monitor.

TUESDAY, MARCH 16, 2010 – 7pm

New York Theater Workshop, 79 East 4th Street

TIckets: $65 ($30 tax-deductible); students: $20 (no tax-deductible portion)

Tickets are limited. Please email Sara Germano at sg2827@columbia.edu with “Top Secret” in the subject line to reserve your seat. Please indicate the number of tickets you are requesting, and we will follow up with you. Tickets must be paid to confirm your reservation; no ticket sales on the evening on the performance. Sorry, no refunds. Please call 212-854-1881 with questions.