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RAPID CITY, S.D. (Feb. 12, 2013) – Veteran war correspondent, book author and Peabody Award winner Reese Erlich will visit the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology to speak to the Rapid City community about his decades of experiences in the Middle East.
Erlich’s local stop is part of a national speaking tour. Specifically, he will share his travels to the mineral rich areas of the Middle East and discuss why mining professionals must understand the politics and conflicts in the region.
He will speak at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 27, in the Christensen Hall of Fame room, which is located in the King Center at the south end of campus, 501 E. Saint Joseph St. Admission is free and open to the public.
Erlich, whose history in journalism goes back 45 years, works as a full-time print and broadcast freelance journalist. He has reported from Iraq four times and has made numerous trips to Syria on assignment for National Public Radio, CBC (Canada) Radio, the Daily Beast, Global Post and others. He contributes regularly for NPR, CBC, ABC (Australia), Radio Deutsche Welle and Market Place Radio. His articles appear in the Global Post and Christian Science Monitor. His television documentaries have aired on PBS stations nationwide.
In addition to discussing the region’s resources and mining, Erlich will also talk about the significance of the Iraq War, what lies ahead for that region and his experiences covering the Arab Spring in Syria, Egypt, Libya and nearby countries.
In 2003 he co-authored “Target Iraq: What the News Media Didn’t Tell You.” He has published three other books and is the recipient of numerous awards, including a shared Peabody Award in 2006 as a segment producer for “Crossing East,” a radio documentary on the history of Asians in the U.S. In 2004 Erlich’s radio special “Children of War: Fighting, Dying, Surviving” won a Clarion Award.