Gregg Ramshaw, Julie Pedretti
Join us for lunch Wednesday, March 20, at Seasons 52 in North Naples, with guest speaker Gregg Ramshaw providing insights into reporting during the Watergate Hearings and Nixon impeachment. Check-in opens at 11:30, lunch will be served around noon, and the event will end at 1:15 p.m.
As a young reporter in June 1973, Gregg Ramshaw was covering the final days of the Illinois State legislative session; a week later, he was on a plane to Washington, D.C., to become the one-person Washington Bureau for Chicago Today newspaper. It was the evening paper owned and published by the Chicago Tribune and had the fifth largest afternoon circulation in the nation.
Gregg admits, even regrets, he was neither Woodward nor Bernstein and quickly learned how difficult it was to find sources and scoops after he parachuted into the dynamic and unfamiliar environment of the Watergate hearings and the subsequent deliberations by the House Judiciary Committee over the impeachment of President Richard Nixon. Gregg will share some perspectives on mainstream media coverage then and the changes he has seen over his career. Join us for memories and recollections of the world of reporting five decades ago.
Press Club President Julie Pedretti will help facilitate the program and conversation. You are invited to bring your own thoughts or — depending on your age — questions about the Watergate era to share with your Press Club colleagues and guests.
This program demonstrates once again the important role the media play and continue to play to seek the truth and enlighten citizens in the U.S. and around the world with facts about government, business and individuals.
About Our Speaker
For 21 years, Gregg Ramshaw served as managing producer for video production and then news editor of The MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour on PBS. He began his career as a newspaper reporter in Chicago in 1968, covering the anti-war riots during the Democratic Convention that year. He wrote features, worked on an investigative team, and covered politics and the state legislature. After a year in the Washington Bureau of Chicago Today, the paper folded. Gregg was absorbed into the Chicago Tribune’s bureau for a time before launching a television news career at ABC News and the Public Broadcasting Service. He has bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Journalism from Northwestern University. Gregg has served on the Press Club of Southwest Florida Board of Governors for six years.
How to RSVP
Space is limited, so we encourage you to purchase your ticket today ($45 for members; $55 for guests) online via Eventbrite by clicking here. Note that Eventbrite defaults to payment by PayPal, but if you prefer to pay via credit/debit card, click on the PayPal payment link, and you will be taken to a page giving you the credit/debit payment option. If electronic payment is not possible for you, you can pay at the door by sending an email to RSVP@pressclubswfl.org letting us know to reserve a seat for you. Use this email address to let us know if you have special dietary needs (gluten free, vegetarian, etc.)
Save the Dates
Be sure to save the following dates for upcoming luncheon programs:
Wednesday, April 10: One Woman’s Journey to Creating a Successful Career in TV News. Speaker will be Natalie Jacobson, former news anchor in Boston for 35 years and author of “Every Life a Story,” published in 2022.
Friday, May 3: Hurricane Preparation and Disaster/Crisis Management & Response. Speakers to be announced.
Please watch your inbox for further details about the April 10 and May 3 events.