We’re joined on the Starline by an award winning journalist and author. He’s been a political columnist, investigative reporter and foreign correspondent. In his latest book “Won’t Lose this Dream” he looks at Georgia State University and their unique model of operation.
Welcome Andrew Gumbel.
Let’s go Beyond the Mic. You’ve written about Amanda Knox, Dirty Elections and the Oklahoma City bombing. Why was this story so important for you to cover?
Did it surprise you when you discovered a school that actually wanted to help them to success; rather than make money?
Grades have soared; graduation had to be moved because more students are succeeding. How has the Georgia State model differed than others?
In your time, as a reporter, you’ve covered the fall of the Berlin Wall, the region after the 1st Gulf War and conflicts in Serbia and Bosnia. How did those events shape the way you cover stories like Georgia State?
You said earlier this year “Writers and artists are not politicians. They don’t answer to the public except insofar as they seek to engage with the world and illuminate something we might not otherwise see for ourselves. Not all those efforts succeed, and of course it’s fine to talk about that. But if we demonize the failures, or perceived failures, to the point where we question whether authors should be writing at all, then we demonize the enterprise itself and we all lose.”
As an author, what do you feel your obligations are to your readers?
The Book is “Won’t Lose this Dream,” the author Andrew Gumbel. Thank you for taking the time to talk with me today.
And that my friends is a Beyond the Mic – Short Cut.
Read this book now.
