News from
PRINCETON UNIVERSITY
Office of Communications
Stanhope Hall
Princeton, New Jersey 08544-5264Contact: Patricia Coen 609/258-5764
Date: November 16, 1998
Former Presidential Press Secretary and L.A. Bureau Chief of The New York Times to Speak on the Press, Politics, and the Presidency at Princeton
Princeton, N.J. -- "A Conversation with Dee Dee Myers and Todd Purdum '82 about the Press, Politics, and the Clinton Presidency," will be held at Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs on Thursday, December 3 at 4:30 p.m. in Dodds Auditorium, Robertson Hall.
Myers, who is married to Purdum, was the White House press secretary from 1993-1994; she was the youngest person and only woman ever to hold the job. She witnessed the signing of the Middle East peace accords, the passage of the President's first budget, the decision to send U.S. forces into Haiti, and the battle to reform health care. She was also part of President Clinton's official delegation on trips to 25 countries, including Russia for the signing of historic de-nuclearization agreements. When asked how she dealt with a sometimes combative press corps, her response was "Never take it personally, and never lose your sense of humor."
After leaving the White House, Myers appeared on the CNBC political talk show "Equal Time" for two years. She is currently a contributing editor to Vanity Fair, and a contributor to NBC's "Today Show."
Todd Purdum, who graduated from Princeton with a bachelor's degree in history in 1982, has been the Los Angeles bureau chief of The New York Times since March, 1997. Before that, he was a White House correspondent, covering the second half of President Clinton's first term and his re-election campaign. He was previously New York City Hall bureau chief for the Times, and then served as its chief metropolitan political correspondent, covering statewide politics and the New York regional Congressional delegation in Washington.
He has been an adjunct professor at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and has won various statewide awards for his coverage of New York City government and politics. In 1997 he received the Aldo Beckman Memorial Award of the White House Correspondents' Association for "valuable insight into the paradoxes and ambiguities of our 42nd president."
The conversation with Myers and Purdum is sponsored by the Woodrow Wilson School, Princeton University's Humanities Council, and the University's Public Lecture Series.