From Dr. Seuss to Truman Capote:

Inside the Life of Publishing’s Greatest Showman

Two people sit in chairs on a stage during a presentation, with a speaker holding a microphone and gesturing to the side.
Book cover: Bennett Cerf with pipe, title

Bennett Cerf shaped American literary culture, championing writers from Dr. Seuss to Truman Capote. William Faulkner to Ayn Rand, turning a scrappy upstart into one of the world’s most storied publishing houses.


Author Gayle Feldman has brought his remarkable life and legacy to the page in Nothing Random Bennett Cerf and the Publishing House He Built, a biography as compelling Cerf himself.


At the March 18 Silurian luncheon, Feldman detailed Cerf's unique talents and abilities in conversation with Kai Bird, the Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer of American Prometheus, a biography of J. Robert Oppenheimer.

Silurians Excellence in Journalism contest is underway.

Get rewarded for your best work of 2025: competition focuses on breaking news, feature stories, investigative projects and photography published in traditional media or online in the tri-state region.

[CLICK] to submit your entry to the Silurians Submittable Site
A gold medal engraved

News Media News

People walk past the CBS Broadcast Center entrance under scaffolding on a winter day.

CBS News lays off 6% of staff, shutters radio division, kickstarting Bari Weiss-led overhaul


Bari Weiss and Tom Cibrowski say " some parts of our newsroom must get smaller to make room for the things we must build to remain competitive,”

Read CNN Story
A man in a suit and purple tie looks forward during a meeting, with another person sitting slightly behind him.

FCC chair threatens to pull licenses of broadcasters airing 'distortions' about the Iran war

Brendan Carr didn't target specific networks. Threat came after a Trump post criticizing The NY Times and Wall Street Journal.

Read Business Insider Story
A digital collage features a large portrait of Jeff Bezos, overlaid on a red, white, and black background with news text.

How Jeff Bezos Upended The Washington Post


The billionaire newspaper owner, dissatisfied by years of losses, wants the newsroom to double productivity with half its budget.

Read NY Times Story [paywall]
FAKE AI Generated photos_Soldiers in camouflage uniforms kneel outdoors under an Iranian flag, near a portrait of an official.

Fake explosions, missiles & troops: AI videos/ images of Iran war spread widely on social media


It’s now possible to create very believable videos and images hard to detect to the untrained or naked eye.

Read CNN Story

Axel Springer buys UK's Telegraph for $766 million, ending ownership limbo


Axel Springer says it will preserve the paper's legacy and reaffirmed ​commitment to "high-quality, independent journalism" and media plurality in Britain.

Read Reuters Story

Opinion: What does the Paramount-WBD merger mean for CNN?


Brian Stelter: "CNN employees and viewers have serious concerns about whether Paramount CEO Ellison will uphold the news network’s editorial independence..."

Read Brian Stelter's on CNN

CBS News lays off 6% of staff, shutters radio division, kickstarting Bari Weiss-led overhaul


Bari Weiss and Tom Cibrowski say " some parts of our newsroom must get smaller to make room for the things we must build to remain competitive,”

Read CNN Story

FCC chair threatens to pull licenses of broadcasters airing 'distortions' about the Iran war

Brendan Carr didn't target specific networks. Threat came after a Trump post criticizing The NY Times and Wall Street Journal.

Read Business Insider Story

How Jeff Bezos Upended The Washington Post


The billionaire newspaper owner, dissatisfied by years of losses, wants the newsroom to double productivity with half its budget.

Read NY Times Story [paywall]

Journalism and AI

Love it or fear it, Artificial Intelligence is rapidly being integrated in newsrooms around the world. Here you will find links to articles, clips and videos that will be updated from time to time to help better understand this accelerating trend.

[CLICK] Journalism & AI Archive

"I tested ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude on the Iran war — and one AI fed me fake news."

Click for Tom's Guide Review

To stress-test three of the leading models — Claude, ChatGPT and Gemini —  Tom's Guide designed seven prompts centered on a rapidly evolving, high-stakes scenario: the March 2026 US-Israeli strikes on Iran.

Recent Guests/Speakers

Neal Shapiro

Neal Shapiro: Like the Boxer, Public Media is  Staggared  but  Still Standing
Neal Shapiro

E. Jean Carroll

E. Jean Carroll vs. Trump: Nerve, Not Bravery
E. Jean Carroll

Sam Tanenhaus

William F. Buckley: Conservative, Controversial, Curious
Sam Tanenhaus

Neal Shapiro

Neal Shapiro: Like the Boxer, Public Media is  Staggared  but  Still Standing
Neal Shapiro

E. Jean Carroll

E. Jean Carroll vs. Trump: Nerve, Not Bravery
E. Jean Carroll
[More] Silurians Speaker/Event Videos

About Silurians, by Silurians

The Irrefutable power of Community Reporting

Group of people posing outdoors with a building in the background. Many are wearing suits and smiling. Sunny day.

By Adam Stone

 On July 12, 2025, The New York Times published a front-page story “UnitedHealth’s Campaign to Quiet Critics,” which included an account of the insurer’s apparent attempt to chill my Westchester County-based investigative reporting....This mega-corporation wanted to silence my local watchdog news outlet—emphasis on local.

[MORE]

Reporter’s Tenacity Unravels – and Helps Chronicle – Her Family’s Wartime Secrets

Book cover

By Karen A. Frenkel

My training is as a science writer and technology journalist and producer.... I transitioned to narrative nonfiction with the Family Treasures Lost and Found project, which includes my recently published memoir and tie-in documentary. .Both chronicle my investigative quest to fill gaps in the survival stories of my Polish Jewish parents and sole surviving grandfather.

[MORE]

This Optimistic ʻSilurian Newbieʼ Is Grooming The Next Generation of Journalists

Woman presenting in a classroom with a projection screen. Students listen. Screen shows a woman and text.

By Cathi Steele

I’m a Silurian newcomer, relatively speaking, as I was accepted into this esteemed press club in July 2025. Like you, I’m concerned about—and sometimes downright distraught over—the perilous climate in which journalists and media find themselves.

And yet, I see a future of possibilities.

[MORE]
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Your first career was just the lede. Now we want the rest of the story. Whether you’re publishing a book, article, Substack,  stepping back into the classroom, or taking on new challenges, share your recent endeavors with your fellow Silurians.

Maralyn Matlick

Maralyn Matlick

Maralyn Matlick has written a memoir about growing up in a blue-collar section of southeast Brooklyn in the days before the internet brought the world into the palms of our hands. The book, Venus and the Crescent Moon: Blue Collar Memories, is available on Amazon. Kindle version arriving soon.
Book Page
Kenneth Jones

Kenneth Jones

Kenneth Jones, a theater reporter/critic for The Detroit News before moving to Playbill.com, shifted to playwriting in the 1990s. He has two plays published by Concord Theatricals/Dramatists Play Service: the social justice drama "Alabama Story" (85+ productions) and the comedy "Hollywood, Nebraska."
My website
Claudia Dreifus

Claudia Dreifus

Claudia Dreifus' personal essay, centered on her decision to take dual citizenship with the Federal Republic of Germany, appears in the January 12-23 edition of NEW YORK MAGAZINE.
Article/Post
Maralyn Matlick

Maralyn Matlick

Maralyn Matlick has written a memoir about growing up in a blue-collar section of southeast Brooklyn in the days before the internet brought the world into the palms of our hands. The book, Venus and the Crescent Moon: Blue Collar Memories, is available on Amazon. Kindle version arriving soon.
Book Page
CLICK HERE and fill out the Silurians Press Club Brag Sheet

Silurians Scholarship Program

Prepare To Be Inspired

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Kennedy Sessions, Dennis Duggan Award

Sessions, 26, specializes in Local Accountability Reporting and Data Journalism at the CUNY Newmark J-school..

See Sessions Acceptance
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Marina Samuels, 2025 Local Reporting Scholarship

Samuel, 24, CUNY Newmark J-school. "Work that we do should...reflect the struggles, amplify the voices of the community.

See Samuels Acceptance
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Anna Oakes, Columbia Journalism School

"The importance of reporting with sensativity, thoroughness and persistence."

Anna Oaks Acceptance
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Garrett Owen

“Adherence to the hard truths and standards of integrity must always be followed and respected. We get to do that; We have the honor and privilege to do that. It’s a good kind of pressure.”

Garrett Own's Acceptance

Silurians Scholarship Program

Prepare To Be Inspired

Woman speaking at a podium, wearing glasses and a blazer, in front of abstract art on a wall.

Kennedy Sessions, 2025 Dennis Duggan Award Recipient

Sessions, 26, specializes in Local Accountability Reporting and Data Journalism at the CUNY Newmark J-school.. Interested in covering how elected officials' decisions and policies impact lives of constituents.

See Sessions Acceptance
Woman speaking at a lectern with artwork in background. She smiles with a nametag on, in a gallery setting.

Marina Samuels, 2025 Local Reporting Scholarship

Samuel, 24, specializes in Local Accountability Reporting and Data Journalism at the CUNY Newmark J-School, . "Work that we do should...reflect the struggles, amplify the voices of the community, and fights for its needs.

See Samuels Acceptance
Woman with curly brown hair smiles, wearing a dark top, indoors.

Anna Oakes, Columbia Graduate School of Journalism

Anna Oakes spent the last two years reporting on immigration, social movements, and healthcare.Will work as a summer fellow in local accountability journalism at The City. 

Read More About Anna Oaks

The Silurian Archives

Silurians YouTube channel — 120+ videos of speakers and events.

Click for the Silurians YouTube Channel

The Silurians News newspaper archive, dating back to 2009

Silurian News front page: articles with photos of Molly Jong-Fast, Jaza Zeker, and David Margolick.
CLICK for the Silurians News Archive

[MORE] articles and posts by, and about, Silurians

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CLICK for [MORE] articles and posts

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