Journalist Who Covered Apartheid to Share Experiences at UK

LEXINGTON, Ky. (March 19, 2015) — Benjamin Pogrund, a journalist who was active in South Africa during the apartheid era, will speak about his experiences in a talk on the UK campus at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 25, in the Niles Gallery of the Lucille Little Fine Arts Library.

Pogrund was deputy editor of the Rand Daily Mail, a Johannesburg newspaper.  The Daily Mail was closed in the 1980s due to its anti-apartheid stand.  Pogrund regularly reported on stories involving members of the black, Asian and colored communities in South Africa at a time when many newspapers in the country were only reporting white stories.

Pogrund is the author of biographies of Nelson Mandela and Robert Sobukwe, and of “War of Words: Memoir of a South African Journalist.”  He is the founder of the Center for Social Concern within Yakar: Center for Tradition and Creativity in Israel. 

Pogrund’s lecture is sponsored by the UK School of Journalism and Telecommunications.

"We’re delighted to host Benjamin Pogrund," Beth Barnes, director of the school, said. "A number of students at UK have studied in South Africa through programs offered by our college and the College of Arts and Sciences.  We know students will benefit from hearing Mr. Pogrund’s perspective on the challenges of being a journalist under the restrictions of apartheid.”

Pogrund’s lecture is free and open to the public.

MEDIA CONTACT: Sarah Geegan, (859) 257-5365; sarah.geegan@uky.ediu