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NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
[DATE]
[Insert your information here:
Local Project Director, Title and Organization
Phone Number and Email
Website]
Presentation Explores The Appeal to Reason
[Community Name] – [Organization Name] in [Community Name] will host “The
Appeal to Reason and its Influence on America,” a presentation and discussion by
Randy Roberts on [Date] at [Time] at [Location and Address of Presentation].
Members of the community are invited to attend the free program. Contact the
[Host Organization Name] at [Phone Number] for more information. The program is
made possible by the Kansas Humanities Council.
[List any details about local event here]
From 1896 until World War I, the “Appeal to Reason,” a socialist weekly published in
Girard, Kansas, was one of the nation’s most influential newspapers. The history of
the newspaper as an agent for political and social change will be discussed in this
presentation. Roberts will discuss “The Appeal’s” role in the rise of investigative
journalism, its impact upon social and legislative policy, including the passage of the
nation’s first pure food and drug legislation, and its legacy in American history.
Roberts is the curator of Special Collections and university archivist at Pittsburg State
University, where he is also an adjunct professor of history, teaching courses in
Kansas history. His recent books include “Pittsburg and Pittsburg State University: A
Photographic History of the First 100 Years.”
“From John Brown to Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka and population to
socialism, Kansas has played a significant role in shaping modern America,” Roberts
stated. “’The Appeal to Reason’ weekly publication was one of the nation’s most
influential newspapers. By 1912, it had nearly one million subscribers.”
“The Appeal to Reason and its Influence on America” is part of the Kansas
Humanities Council’s Speakers Bureau featuring presentations and discussions about
Kansas and what it means to be a Kansan over time and across generations.
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Page 2 – Presentation Explores The Appeal to Reason
The Kansas Humanities Council conducts and supports community-based humanities
programs, serves as a financial resource through an active grant-making program,
and encourages Kansans to participate in their communities. For more information
about KHC programs contact the Kansas Humanities Council at 785/357-0359 or visit
online at www.kansashumanities.org.
For more information about “The Appeal to Reason and its Influence on America” in
[Community] contact the [Host Organization] at [Phone Number] or visit [Website].
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