Larry Bensky
Encyclopedia
Larry Bensky is a literary
and political
journalist
with more than forty years experience in both print and broadcast media
, as well as a teacher and long-time political activist. He is well known for his work with Pacifica Radio
station KPFA
-FM in Berkeley, California
, and for the many nationally-broadcast hearings he anchored for the Pacifica network.
A native of New York City
, Bensky graduated from Stuyvesant High School
in 1954 and, with departmental honors, from Yale University
, where he was managing editor
of the Yale Daily News
. He is married and has one daughter.
editor of The Paris Review from 1964 to 1966. He then returned to New York, as an editor of the New York Times Sunday Book Review, and also wrote daily book reviews. But his views on the war in Vietnam
were not well received by editors of the Times, and several of his reviews and features were rejected. In 1968, he moved to the San Francisco Bay Area
to take over as managing editor of the radical, anti-Vietnam War publication, Ramparts
magazine, working closely with editor-in-chief Robert Scheer
.
After leaving Ramparts, Bensky worked for a time at San Francisco radio station KSAN-FM, before joining the staff of KPFA-FM in Berkeley. In 1972, he anchored and produced Pacifica Radio's coverage of the Democratic
and Republican national conventions
, both held in Miami, along with the attendant massive anti-war protests
, dubbed "The Siege of Miami".
Bensky served as station manager for KPFA from 1974-77. After returning to KSAN as a news anchor, reporter, and talk show host, he narrowly missed accompanying Congressman Leo Ryan
to investigate conditions at the Jonestown
colony in Guyana
in 1978. (Ryan and four journalists were shot to death on an airstrip, precipitating the mass murder-suicide of over 900 people.) In the early 1980s, Bensky turned his attention to the revolutions and American interventions
in Nicaragua
and El Salvador
. He produced the PBS documentary, "Nicaragua: These Same Hands" in 1980.
from 1987-1998, Bensky covered numerous national and international events for Pacifica, including the Iran-Contra hearings
in 1987, the confirmation hearings for four Supreme Court
justices, the 1990 elections in Nicaragua
, and numerous demonstrations and protests in Washington
and elsewhere. Most recently, he anchored Pacifica's live coverage of the September 11 Commission hearings, and co-anchored Pacifica's coverage of the 2004 Democratic and Republican conventions, as well as the Presidential debates. He was anchor for Pacifica's extensive coverage of the post 2004 election controversy in Ohio, as well as several Congressional hearings about the misuse of executive power in the Bush administration.
He recently retired as host of a weekly two-hour radio talk show, Sunday Salon, originating at KPFA
in Berkeley. The broadcasts are archived at SundaySalon.org.http://www.sundaysalon.org/archives.asp Among his guests were numerous literary and political luminaries, including the late Senator Paul Wellstone
, Paul Krugman
, Manning Marable
, Bernie Sanders
, Jane Smiley
, Calvin Trillin
, and Gary Shteyngart
.
Bensky has written for The Nation
, magazine, and was a regular contributor to the Los Angeles Times
Sunday Book Review. A long time resident of Berkeley, he was a political writer and columnist
for the East Bay Express
for fifteen years.
He has also appeared as a guest journalist on C-Span
, CNN
, The Today Show, and The MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour, as well as on San Francisco KQED-FM
's "Forum" and KQED-TV's "This Week in Northern California." In addition, he was founding managing editor (1999-2000) of the web site Mediachannel.org.http://www.mediachannel.org/
Bensky won the prestigious George Polk award for his coverage of Iran-Contra, and has won five Gold Reel awards from the National Federation of Community Broadcasters
. He has won a career achievement award from the Society of Professional Journalists
, and the Golden Gadfly award from Media Alliance
.
classes at Stanford and courses in mass communication
, journalism, broadcasting, and political science
at California State University (CSU), East Bay
in Hayward, California
. He currently teaches media criticism and analysis
at Berkeley City College
and political science at CSU, East Bay.
Bensky has been a political activist since the 1960s, working with nuclear disarmament
and anti-war
groups in New York
, Paris
, and San Francisco during the Vietnam War
. In 1968, he signed the “Writers and Editors War Tax Protest” pledge, vowing to refuse tax payments in protest against the Vietnam War. He co-designed and wrote numerous successful direct mail
appeals for Modern progressive organizations, including Greenpeace
, the Sierra Club
, and the United Farm Workers
. He is a devout pacifist
and an outspoken opponent of capital punishment
.
, French language and literature. He is producer and host
of "Radio Proust," a web site which he's developing as a fellow of the Bard College Center. He has also developed and is teaching classes about Proust
for the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute
at the University of California, Berkeley
.
Literature
Literature is the art of written works, and is not bound to published sources...
and political
Politics
Politics is a process by which groups of people make collective decisions. The term is generally applied to the art or science of running governmental or state affairs, including behavior within civil governments, but also applies to institutions, fields, and special interest groups such as the...
journalist
Journalism
Journalism is the practice of investigation and reporting of events, issues and trends to a broad audience in a timely fashion. Though there are many variations of journalism, the ideal is to inform the intended audience. Along with covering organizations and institutions such as government and...
with more than forty years experience in both print and broadcast media
Broadcasting
Broadcasting is the distribution of audio and video content to a dispersed audience via any audio visual medium. Receiving parties may include the general public or a relatively large subset of thereof...
, as well as a teacher and long-time political activist. He is well known for his work with Pacifica Radio
Pacifica Radio
Pacifica Radio is the oldest public radio network in the United States. It is a group of five independently operated, non-commercial, listener-supported radio stations that is known for its progressive/liberal political orientation. It is also a program service supplying over 100 affiliated...
station KPFA
KPFA
KPFA is a listener-funded progressive talk radio and music radio station located in Berkeley, California, broadcasting to the San Francisco Bay Area. KPFA airs public news, public affairs, talk, and music programming. The station signed on-the-air April 15 1949, as the first Pacifica Station...
-FM in Berkeley, California
Berkeley, California
Berkeley is a city on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California, United States. Its neighbors to the south are the cities of Oakland and Emeryville. To the north is the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington...
, and for the many nationally-broadcast hearings he anchored for the Pacifica network.
A native of New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, Bensky graduated from Stuyvesant High School
Stuyvesant High School
Stuyvesant High School , commonly referred to as Stuy , is a New York City public high school that specializes in mathematics and science. The school opened in 1904 on Manhattan's East Side and moved to a new building in Battery Park City in 1992. Stuyvesant is noted for its strong academic...
in 1954 and, with departmental honors, from Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
, where he was managing editor
Managing editor
A managing editor is a senior member of a publication's management team.In the United States, a managing editor oversees and coordinates the publication's editorial activities...
of the Yale Daily News
Yale Daily News
The Yale Daily News is an independent student newspaper published by Yale University students in New Haven, Connecticut since January 28, 1878...
. He is married and has one daughter.
Career as journalist
Prior to his broadcasting career (and continuing throughout), Bensky worked as a print journalist and editor. He worked at the Minneapolis Star-Tribune after college, while attending graduate school at the University of Minnesota. He then worked as an editor at Random House, before moving to France, where he was ParisParis
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
editor of The Paris Review from 1964 to 1966. He then returned to New York, as an editor of the New York Times Sunday Book Review, and also wrote daily book reviews. But his views on the war in Vietnam
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
were not well received by editors of the Times, and several of his reviews and features were rejected. In 1968, he moved to the San Francisco Bay Area
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
to take over as managing editor of the radical, anti-Vietnam War publication, Ramparts
Ramparts (magazine)
Ramparts was an American political and literary magazine, published from 1962 through 1975.-History:Founded by Edward M. Keating as a Catholic literary quarterly, the magazine became closely associated with the New Left after executive editor Warren Hinckle hired Robert Scheer as managing editor...
magazine, working closely with editor-in-chief Robert Scheer
Robert Scheer
Robert Scheer is an American journalist who writes a column for Truthdig which is nationally syndicated by Creators Syndicate in publications such as The Huffington Post and The Nation...
.
After leaving Ramparts, Bensky worked for a time at San Francisco radio station KSAN-FM, before joining the staff of KPFA-FM in Berkeley. In 1972, he anchored and produced Pacifica Radio's coverage of the Democratic
1972 Democratic National Convention
The 1972 Democratic National Convention was the presidential nominating convention of the Democratic Party for the 1972 presidential election. It was held at Miami Beach Convention Center in Miami Beach, Florida on July 10–13, 1972....
and Republican national conventions
1972 Republican National Convention
The 1972 National Convention of the Republican Party of the United States was held from August 21 to August 23, 1972 at the Miami Beach Convention Center in Miami Beach, Florida. It nominated the incumbents Richard M. Nixon of California for President and Spiro T. Agnew of Maryland for Vice...
, both held in Miami, along with the attendant massive anti-war protests
Opposition to the Vietnam War
The movement against US involvment in the in Vietnam War began in the United States with demonstrations in 1964 and grew in strength in later years. The US became polarized between those who advocated continued involvement in Vietnam, and those who wanted peace. Peace movements consisted largely of...
, dubbed "The Siege of Miami".
Bensky served as station manager for KPFA from 1974-77. After returning to KSAN as a news anchor, reporter, and talk show host, he narrowly missed accompanying Congressman Leo Ryan
Leo Ryan
Leo Joseph Ryan, Jr. was an American politician of the Democratic Party. He served as a U.S. Representative from California's 11th congressional district from 1973 until he was murdered in Guyana by members of the Peoples Temple shortly before the Jonestown Massacre in 1978.After the Watts Riots...
to investigate conditions at the Jonestown
Jonestown
Jonestown was the informal name for the Peoples Temple Agricultural Project, an intentional community in northwestern Guyana formed by the Peoples Temple led by Jim Jones. It became internationally notorious when, on November 18, 1978, 918 people died in the settlement as well as in a nearby...
colony in Guyana
Guyana
Guyana , officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, previously the colony of British Guiana, is a sovereign state on the northern coast of South America that is culturally part of the Anglophone Caribbean. Guyana was a former colony of the Dutch and of the British...
in 1978. (Ryan and four journalists were shot to death on an airstrip, precipitating the mass murder-suicide of over 900 people.) In the early 1980s, Bensky turned his attention to the revolutions and American interventions
Central American Crisis
The Central American crisis refers to events in the late 1970s when major civil wars erupted in various countries in Central America resulting in the region becoming one of the world's foreign policy hot spots in the 1980s...
in Nicaragua
Nicaragua
Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...
and El Salvador
El Salvador
El Salvador or simply Salvador is the smallest and the most densely populated country in Central America. The country's capital city and largest city is San Salvador; Santa Ana and San Miguel are also important cultural and commercial centers in the country and in all of Central America...
. He produced the PBS documentary, "Nicaragua: These Same Hands" in 1980.
National affairs correspondent
Perhaps best known as national affairs correspondent for Pacifica RadioPacifica Radio
Pacifica Radio is the oldest public radio network in the United States. It is a group of five independently operated, non-commercial, listener-supported radio stations that is known for its progressive/liberal political orientation. It is also a program service supplying over 100 affiliated...
from 1987-1998, Bensky covered numerous national and international events for Pacifica, including the Iran-Contra hearings
Iran-Contra Affair
The Iran–Contra affair , also referred to as Irangate, Contragate or Iran-Contra-Gate, was a political scandal in the United States that came to light in November 1986. During the Reagan administration, senior Reagan administration officials and President Reagan secretly facilitated the sale of...
in 1987, the confirmation hearings for four Supreme Court
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
justices, the 1990 elections in Nicaragua
Nicaragua
Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...
, and numerous demonstrations and protests in Washington
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
and elsewhere. Most recently, he anchored Pacifica's live coverage of the September 11 Commission hearings, and co-anchored Pacifica's coverage of the 2004 Democratic and Republican conventions, as well as the Presidential debates. He was anchor for Pacifica's extensive coverage of the post 2004 election controversy in Ohio, as well as several Congressional hearings about the misuse of executive power in the Bush administration.
He recently retired as host of a weekly two-hour radio talk show, Sunday Salon, originating at KPFA
KPFA
KPFA is a listener-funded progressive talk radio and music radio station located in Berkeley, California, broadcasting to the San Francisco Bay Area. KPFA airs public news, public affairs, talk, and music programming. The station signed on-the-air April 15 1949, as the first Pacifica Station...
in Berkeley. The broadcasts are archived at SundaySalon.org.http://www.sundaysalon.org/archives.asp Among his guests were numerous literary and political luminaries, including the late Senator Paul Wellstone
Paul Wellstone
Paul David Wellstone was a two-term U.S. Senator from the state of Minnesota and member of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, which is affiliated with the national Democratic Party. Before being elected to the Senate in 1990, he was a professor of political science at Carleton College...
, Paul Krugman
Paul Krugman
Paul Robin Krugman is an American economist, professor of Economics and International Affairs at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University, Centenary Professor at the London School of Economics, and an op-ed columnist for The New York Times...
, Manning Marable
Manning Marable
William Manning Marable was an American professor of public affairs, history and African-American Studies at Columbia University. Marable founded and directed the Institute for Research in African-American Studies. Marable authored several texts and was active in progressive political causes...
, Bernie Sanders
Bernie Sanders
Bernard "Bernie" Sanders is the junior United States Senator from Vermont. He previously represented Vermont's at-large district in the United States House of Representatives...
, Jane Smiley
Jane Smiley
Jane Smiley is a Pulitzer Prize-winning American novelist.-Biography:Born in Los Angeles, California, Smiley grew up in Webster Groves, Missouri, a suburb of St. Louis, and graduated from John Burroughs School. She obtained an A.B. at Vassar College, then earned an M.F.A. and Ph.D. from the...
, Calvin Trillin
Calvin Trillin
Calvin Marshall Trillin is an American journalist, humorist, food writer, poet, memoirist and novelist.-Biography:Trillin attended public schools in Kansas City and went on to Yale University, where he served as chairman of the Yale Daily News and was a member of Scroll and Key before graduating...
, and Gary Shteyngart
Gary Shteyngart
Gary Shteyngart is an American writer born in Leningrad, USSR. Much of his work is satirical and relies on the invention of elaborately fictitious yet somehow familiar places and times.-Life:...
.
Bensky has written for The Nation
The Nation
The Nation is the oldest continuously published weekly magazine in the United States. The periodical, devoted to politics and culture, is self-described as "the flagship of the left." Founded on July 6, 1865, It is published by The Nation Company, L.P., at 33 Irving Place, New York City.The Nation...
, magazine, and was a regular contributor to the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
Sunday Book Review. A long time resident of Berkeley, he was a political writer and columnist
Columnist
A columnist is a journalist who writes for publication in a series, creating an article that usually offers commentary and opinions. Columns appear in newspapers, magazines and other publications, including blogs....
for the East Bay Express
East Bay Express
The East Bay Express is an Oakland-based weekly newspaper serving the Berkeley, Oakland, and East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area...
for fifteen years.
He has also appeared as a guest journalist on C-Span
C-SPAN
C-SPAN , an acronym for Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network, is an American cable television network that offers coverage of federal government proceedings and other public affairs programming via its three television channels , one radio station and a group of websites that provide streaming...
, CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
, The Today Show, and The MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour, as well as on San Francisco KQED-FM
KQED-FM
KQED-FM is an NPR-member radio station owned by Northern California Public Broadcasting in San Francisco, California.KQED-FM was founded by James Day in 1969 as the radio arm of KQED Television. The founding manager was Bernard Mayes who later went on to be Executive Vice-President of KQED TV and...
's "Forum" and KQED-TV's "This Week in Northern California." In addition, he was founding managing editor (1999-2000) of the web site Mediachannel.org.http://www.mediachannel.org/
Bensky won the prestigious George Polk award for his coverage of Iran-Contra, and has won five Gold Reel awards from the National Federation of Community Broadcasters
National Federation of Community Broadcasters
The National Federation of Community Broadcasters is a national membership organization of community-oriented, non-commercial radio stations, producers, and other organizations and individuals committed to community radio in the United States....
. He has won a career achievement award from the Society of Professional Journalists
Society of Professional Journalists
The Society of Professional Journalists , formerly known as Sigma Delta Chi, is one of the oldest organizations representing journalists in the United States. It was established in April 1909 at DePauw University, and its charter was designed by William Meharry Glenn. The ten founding members of...
, and the Golden Gadfly award from Media Alliance
Media Alliance
Media Alliance is a 34 year-old American media resource and advocacy center for media workers, non-profit organizations, and social justice activists. Its mission is excellence, ethics, diversity, and accountability in all aspects of the media in the interests of peace, justice, and social...
.
Educator and activist
In addition to his work as a journalist, Bensky has had a continuing role in the classroom. For twelve years he taught broadcast journalismBroadcast journalism
Broadcast journalism is the field of news and journals which are "broadcast", that is, published by electrical methods, instead of the older methods, such as printed newspapers and posters. Broadcast methods include radio , television , and, especially recently, the Internet generally...
classes at Stanford and courses in mass communication
Mass communication
Mass communication is the term used to describe the academic study of the various means by which individuals and entities relay information through mass media to large segments of the population at the same time...
, journalism, broadcasting, and political science
Political science
Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...
at California State University (CSU), East Bay
California State University, East Bay
California State University, East Bay is a public university located in the eastern region of the San Francisco Bay Area. The university, as part of the 23-campus California State University system, offers over 100 areas of study...
in Hayward, California
Hayward, California
Hayward is a city located in the East Bay in Alameda County, California. With a population of 144,186, Hayward is the sixth largest city in the San Francisco Bay Area and the third largest in Alameda County. Hayward was ranked as the 37th most populous municipality in California. It is included in...
. He currently teaches media criticism and analysis
Media studies
Media studies is an academic discipline and field of study that deals with the content, history and effects of various media; in particular, the 'mass media'. Media studies may draw on traditions from both the social sciences and the humanities, but mostly from its core disciplines of mass...
at Berkeley City College
Berkeley City College
Berkeley City College , formerly Vista Community College, one of the California Community Colleges, is part of the Peralta Community College District. It is centrally located in downtown Berkeley, two blocks west of the UC Berkeley campus...
and political science at CSU, East Bay.
Bensky has been a political activist since the 1960s, working with nuclear disarmament
Nuclear disarmament
Nuclear disarmament refers to both the act of reducing or eliminating nuclear weapons and to the end state of a nuclear-free world, in which nuclear weapons are completely eliminated....
and anti-war
Anti-war
An anti-war movement is a social movement, usually in opposition to a particular nation's decision to start or carry on an armed conflict, unconditional of a maybe-existing just cause. The term can also refer to pacifism, which is the opposition to all use of military force during conflicts. Many...
groups in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, and San Francisco during the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
. In 1968, he signed the “Writers and Editors War Tax Protest” pledge, vowing to refuse tax payments in protest against the Vietnam War. He co-designed and wrote numerous successful direct mail
Direct mail
Advertising mail, also known as direct mail, junk mail, or admail, is the delivery of advertising material to recipients of postal mail. The delivery of advertising mail forms a large and growing service for many postal services, and direct-mail marketing forms a significant portion of the direct...
appeals for Modern progressive organizations, including Greenpeace
Greenpeace
Greenpeace is a non-governmental environmental organization with offices in over forty countries and with an international coordinating body in Amsterdam, The Netherlands...
, the Sierra Club
Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is the oldest, largest, and most influential grassroots environmental organization in the United States. It was founded on May 28, 1892, in San Francisco, California, by the conservationist and preservationist John Muir, who became its first president...
, and the United Farm Workers
United Farm Workers
The United Farm Workers of America is a labor union created from the merging of two groups, the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee led by Filipino organizer Larry Itliong, and the National Farm Workers Association led by César Chávez...
. He is a devout pacifist
Pacifism
Pacifism is the opposition to war and violence. The term "pacifism" was coined by the French peace campaignerÉmile Arnaud and adopted by other peace activists at the tenth Universal Peace Congress inGlasgow in 1901.- Definition :...
and an outspoken opponent of capital punishment
Capital punishment
Capital punishment, the death penalty, or execution is the sentence of death upon a person by the state as a punishment for an offence. Crimes that can result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences. The term capital originates from the Latin capitalis, literally...
.
Current activities
Since retiring from regular broadcasting in 2007, Bensky has returned to a lifetime avocationAvocation
An avocation is an activity that one engages in as a hobby outside one's main occupation. There are many examples of people whose professions were the ways that they made their livings, but for whom their activities outside of their workplaces were their true passions in life...
, French language and literature. He is producer and host
of "Radio Proust," a web site which he's developing as a fellow of the Bard College Center. He has also developed and is teaching classes about Proust
Marcel Proust
Valentin Louis Georges Eugène Marcel Proust was a French novelist, critic, and essayist best known for his monumental À la recherche du temps perdu...
for the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute
Osher Lifelong Learning Institutes
Osher Lifelong Learning Institutes offer noncredit courses with no assignments or grades to “seasoned” adults over age 50. Since 2001 philanthropist Bernard Osher has made grants from his foundation to launch OLLI programs at over 120 universities and colleges in 49 states and the District of...
at the University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
.