The OPC Freedom of the Press Committee is looking for a spring intern to assist with documenting and publicizing attacks on the press worldwide in articles for the web site, letters to foreign governments and through social media. The intern will be invited to attend the annual awards ceremony on April 25, 2012, and paid $500. Read more...

A year into the Arab Spring, the journalists, bloggers and Tweeters who risked so much to speak freely have won only partial victories.  The media in Tunisia and Libya are enjoying a break to freedom, but in Egypt journalists are being persecuted harshly and in countries where old regimes remain in power, the formal and informal press continue to be cruelly suppressed. Read more...

OPC member Rebecca Fannin spoke at an OPC luncheon on November 29 to discuss her book, Startup Asia: Top Strategies for Cashing in on Asia’s Innovation Boom. About 22 people gathered around the table, many of whom also have a deep understanding of the region and the emerging markets, although a few, including Fannin, noted that where there is great reward in startups, there is also a great amount of risk. Read more...

Of all the bon mots from Andy Rooney, few had more resonance for his fellow members of the OPC than this line from his last "60 Minutes" appearance. "A writer's job is to tell the truth." Read more...

Tracy Wood, long my friend, suggested I describe the life of a correspondent in Saigon before most of the Viet Hacks arrived. So here goes. Ernie Hoberecht, then the UP vice president for Asia, sent me to Saigon in 1956, not because of any news requirement but because President Ngo Dinh Diem’s government agreed to sign a contract with UP for delivery of our radio Teletype news to Vietnam Press, the nation’s official news agency, if UP replaced its French correspondent with an American. I was that American, the French correspondent returned to Paris and I was UP’s bureau manager for two years, 1956-1958. Read more...

Albert E. Kaff, 91, died of a heart attack at St. Vincent's Hospital in Bridgeport, Connecticut, at 12:15 p.m. on Tuesday, October 25. He had been an OPC member since 1962 and was a longtime foreign correspondent and vice president of UPI and a contributor to the publications at the OPC, notably the "People" and "New Books" columnist for the monthly newsletter, the Bulletin and wrote weekly for the website. There will be no memorial, showing or service. Gifts should be made to the Salvation Army. Please log into the website and share your reflections about Al. Read more...