Peter C. Newman Coming to U of G

September 24, 2008 - News Release

Peter C. Newman, one of Canada's most influential political authors and journalists, will be at the University of Guelph Sept. 30. He will give a public talk on "When Politicians Say They Are Lying, Does Anyone Believe Them?" at 6 p.m. in Rozanski Hall, Room 103.

He will also discuss the pending federal election and take questions from the audience. The event, sponsored by the student-run Political Science Society, is free and open to the University community and general public.

Newman has been writing about Canadian politics for more than half a century. He's credited with changing the way journalists cover politics in Canada, using "insider knowledge" to focus on how and why political leaders govern.

The winner of numerous journalism and literary awards, his career includes being editor- in-chief of the Toronto Star and editor of Maclean's, which he transformed from a general- interest publication into a weekly news magazine.

Newman's 25 books on Canadian politics, business and history have sold more than two million copies. He has written about every prime minister from Louis St. Laurent to Paul Martin. His 2005 book, The Secret Mulroney Tapes: Unguarded Confessions of a Prime Minister, is one of the most controversial books ever published in Canada.

He also wrote a history of the Hudson's Bay Company and a 1,000-page autobiography, Here Be Dragons, which is an insider's history of the last 60 years of Canadian business and politics. His biography of Izzy Asper, the Can-West Global media mogul, will be published in November.

Newman, who immigrated to Canada from Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia in 1940, holds seven honorary degrees. In 1990, he was promoted from an Officer to a Companion of the Order of Canada.

For media questions, contact Communications and Public Affairs: Lori Bona Hunt, 519-824-4120, Ext. 53338/l.hunt@exec.uoguelph.ca, or Deirdre Healey, Ext. 56982/d.healey@exec.uoguelph.ca.

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