From Dr. Seuss to Truman Capote:
Inside the Life of Publishing’s Greatest Showman
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.
Join us on March 18, for a fascinating luncheon with Feldman in conversation with Kai Bird, the Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer of American Prometheus, a biography of J. Robert Oppenheimer. Two master storytellers, one unforgettable afternoon. Reserve your seat today.
Public Media Is Staggering, But Not Down for the Count
Like the bruised boxer in the iconic song, Neal Shapiro says public media has suffered body blows at the hands of the Trump administration but is still standing.
The outgoing CEO of the WNET Group did not eulogize public media; he diagnosed its challenges. Shapiro laid out what the Trump administration’s elimination of $500 million in annual federal funding has actually meant in conversation with former Silurians president Betsy Ashton at the Siluirans Press Club's Feb. 18 luncheon.
"We are like a boxer, I’d say,” he said. "We’re staggering. We’re not down for the count, but there has been damage.”
For a room full of veteran journalists, many old enough to know Paul Simon’s “The Boxer” by heart, the metaphor needed no translation. They appreciated exactly where public media stood in the song.
The cuts—$350 million for public television, $150 million for public radio—hit WNET alone for $12 million to $14 million. “American Masters and American Experience are on hiatus and may never come back,” he said. The room absorbed this punch with an audible murmur.
"I tested
ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude
on the Iran war — and one AI fed me fake news."
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.
News Media News
About Silurians, by Silurians
The Irrefutable power of Community Reporting
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.
Reporter’s Tenacity Unravels – and Helps Chronicle – Her Family’s Wartime Secrets
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.
This Optimistic ʻSilurian Newbieʼ Is Grooming The Next Generation of Journalists
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.
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.
Journalism and AI
Love it or fear it, Artificial Intelligence is rapidly being integrated in newsrooms around the world in a variety of ways, even as the technology upends and challenges online news business models. 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.
The Silurian Archives
Silurians YouTube channel — 120+ videos of speakers and events.
