OVERSEAS PRESS CLUB OF AMERICA, INC.

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP88-01315R000400150027-6
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 3
• Document Creation Date: December 16, 2016
• Document Release Date: October 27, 2004
• Sequence Number: 27
• Publication Date: January 15, 1974
• Content Type: MF

Approved For Release 2005/01/12 : CIA-RDP88-01315R000400150027 0 J6
Cti~ 7 NQ
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15 January 1974
MEMORANDUM FOR: Director of Central Intelligence
SUBJECT Overseas Press Club of America, Inc.
Mr. Lawrence Stessin, program chairman of the
Overseas Press Club, has replied by phone to my letter
of 7 January. He made the following points:
Their "Shop Talk" sessions are held twice a month
from March through June. People in the news and/or
fellow professionals appear. Harrison Salisbury recently
told how the Times' op-ed page started and functions.
The Times' Mrs. Curtis will talk soon about the problems
of women reporters.
About 150-200 people usually show up. I imagine
foreigners are also present as guests. The speaker talks
for about 20-25 minutes, very informally. Q &A follows.
The thing lasts about 1-1/2 - 2 hours.
Mr. Stessin said he thought the forum would give you
an opportunity to tell all the things that CIA does as
the clearing house and focus of information available to
the U.S. Government as well as discuss CIA-and-press
relations. He said most newspapermen, as do most citizens,
have the James Bond idea of CIA.
He said although the "Shop Talk" sessions have never
'produced news stories, as they are not off-the-record,
there is no guarantee that they would not.
He said the sessions were very lively; journalism
students from Columbia spice up the atmosphere (?).
Mr. Stessin said that questions posed by the OPC
crowd were not likely to be any deeper than those put to
a speaker at any Rotary meeting. I am not convinced that
it is all that tame, myself.
Approved For Release 2005/01/12 : CIA-RDP88-01315R000400150027-6
 Approved For Release 2005/01/12 : CIA-RDP88-01315R000400150027-6
I told Stessin you were inclined to be more and
more responsive to the press and had been so here on a
background basis. I added that I doubted very much that
you would want to wet your feet in public speaking in
the "Shop Talk" forum. I said that once you appeared
somewhere publicly, I would raise the question with you
again and it is possible you might decide to accept
their kind invitation at a later date.
-)1
Angus MacLean Thuermer
Assistant to the Director
Approved For Release 2005/01/12 : CIA-RDP88-01315R000400150027-6
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Angus MacLean Thuermer
115 Jan.
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FORM NO. 7'7 Use previous editions (40)