On Thursday, January 24th at 7 p.m. Cleveland’s own “Minister of Culture” Michael Heaton will be at the Hudson Library & Historical Society to read excerpts and discuss his newest book, Truth and Justice for Fun & Profit. This program will be held in the Flood Family Meeting Room and books will be available for purchase after the program.

        Michael Heaton is best known to Northeast Ohio newspaper readers as a Plain Dealer culture writer. His new book highlights some of his best feature-length articles and shows a wide variety of serious reporting during the last twenty-five years. Heaton was previously a critic and columnist for the San Francisco Examiner and a reporter for People Magazine. He is a graduate of Kent State University and has received numerous journalism awards, including the Ohio Academy of Trial Lawyers Outstanding Journalism Award (1997) and the Ohio AP Best Feature Reporting Award (2003). He is the son of legendary Plain Dealer sportswriter Chuck Heaton, and lives in Bay Village.

        The idea for this book was prompted by an anniversary that didn’t happen. “This is my twentieth year at the Plain Dealer,” Heaton said.  “Last Year, when the staff was offered buyouts, I had to search my soul. I started investigating other employment opportunities but I realized I love doing this and there’s nothing like it and I never want to stop doing it.”

Journalism has taken Heaton to exciting and scary places, from war torn El Salvador to the bedside of friend dying from cancer. Heaton believes that long form reporting like the features stories collected in this book provides and opportunity for constant discovery. He also feels that “everyone has a story to tell, and this single fact keeps newspapers and magazines in business today.” All of stories have a northeast Ohio connection.

This library program is free and open to the public.