Freedman, Eric 1949-

views updated

FREEDMAN, Eric 1949-

PERSONAL: Born November 6, 1949, in Brookline, MA; son of Morris (a roofer) and Charlotte (a teacher; maiden name, Nadler) Freedman; married Mary Ann Sipher (a certified public accountant), May 24, 1974; children: Ian Sipher, Cara Sipher. Education: Cornell University, B.A., 1971; New York University, J.D., 1975; also attended State University of New York—Albany and Lansing Community College. Hobbies and other interests: Bicycling, traveling.


ADDRESSES: Home and offıce—2698 Linden Dr., P.O. Box 776, East Lansing, MI 48823. E-mail— [email protected].


CAREER: Aide to U.S. Representative Charles Rangel in Washington, DC, and New York, NY, 1971-76; Knickerbocker News, Albany, NY, reporter, 1976-84; Detroit News, Detroit, MI, reporter with Capitol Bureau, Lansing, MI, 1984-95; Michigan State University, East Lansing, visiting assistant professor of journalism, 1996—. Member of the Michigan State Bar and New York State Bar. Colorado State University, journalist in residence, 1983; University of World Languages, Tashkent, Uzbekistan, guest lecturer, 2001-02. New York Law Journal, Albany correspondent, 1977-84.


MEMBER: Investigative Reporters and Editors, Outdoor Writers Association of America, American Society of Writers on Legal Subjects, National Association of Agricultural Journalists, New York State Bar Association, Ingham County Bar Association, Lansing Area Folksong Society (member of board of directors).

AWARDS, HONORS: Pulitzer Prize for journalism, beat reporting category, 1994, for a series of articles on spending abuse in the Michigan legislature published in Detroit News; O'Leary Award, Department of Communication Studies, University of Michigan, 1994; Fulbright fellowship for Uzbekistan, 2001-02; Merit Citation, American Judicature Society; journalism awards from Associated Press, State Bar of Michigan, New York State Bar Association, and Evening News Association.


WRITINGS:

On the Water, Michigan: Your Comprehensive Guide to Water Recreation in the Great Lake State, Huron-Superior-Michigan Press (East Lansing, MI), 1992.

Pioneering Michigan, Altwerger & Mandel Publishing (Franklin, MI), 1992.

Michigan Free: A Comprehensive Guide to Free Travel, Recreation, and Entertainment Opportunities, University of Michigan Press (Ann Arbor, MI), 1993.

Great Lakes, Great National Forests: A Recreational Guide to the National Forests of Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York, Thunder Bay Press (Lansing, MI), 1995.

(Editor, with Monroe H. Freedman) Group Defamation and Freedom of Speech: The Relationship between Language and Violence, Greenwood Press (Westport, CT), 1995.

(With Edward Hoffman) What to Study: 101 Fields in a Flash, Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 1997.

Habeas Corpus: Rethinking the Great Writ of Liberty, New York University Press (New York, NY), 2001.

How to Transfer to the College of Your Choice, Ten Speed Press (Berkeley, CA), 2002.


Contributor to periodicals, including PC Week, Michigan Natural Resources, American Banker, American Medical News, Great Lakes Quarterly, and Treasure Diver. Coeditor, Michigan Folk Notes, beginning 1989.


SIDELIGHTS: Eric Freedman once told CA: "Writing about travel and history doesn't require exotic destinations, but it does require an ability to observe, research, interview, and ask questions in the writer's own neighborhood, community, or region. In fact, places and events that are ordinary and familiar to the writer may fascinate readers elsewhere, because adventure and intrigue are as much in the mind as in a physical place."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Community College Week, August 19, 2002, Deborah Straw, review of How to Transfer to the College of Your Choice, p. 22.*

About this article

Freedman, Eric 1949-

Updated About encyclopedia.com content Print Article