Fair Sherr

Veteran reporter focuses
on social change.

Suzanne Chessler

we've had in our lifetime," says
Sherr, 64, who traveled to Tel Aviv
University last May to discuss
ynn Sherr, correspon-
the same topic for the American
dent for the ABC news
Jewish Congress Commission on
magazine 20/20, is in her
Women's Empowerment.
element today as she addresses
"I always like covering these
the seventh annual Remarkable
issues — everything from how
Women Luncheon at the Ritz
the rules have changed between
Carlton in Dearborn.
the way men and women act
. Sherr keeps women's issues at
together and the opportunities
the center of her interests and
available for women. These are
stands ready to
things I'll always
discuss them in
be concerned
general and per-
about."
sonal terms, as in
Sherr's book
her newly released
recalls the devel-
book, Outside the
opment of her
Box: A Memoir
career after an
(Rodale; $25.95).
early start as a
The visit to
print reporter for
Michigan, which
Conde Nast and
includes a book-
Associated Press
signing session this
and describes
evening at Borders
many exciting
in Birmingham,
Lynn Sherr: "I lament the
assignments,
comes at the begin- fact that so many young
from politics
ning of a national
women don't call them-
to space mis-
tour to promote her selves feminists."
sions. It also tells
autobiography. The
about her Jewish
luncheon, recognizing remarkable
background, the romance that
women in the area and hosted by
led to marrying Larry Hilford
Florine Mark, raises funds for the
and becoming a stepmother and
Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer
grandmother, the loss of her hus-
Institute, University of Michigan
band to lymphoma and her own
Cardiovascular Center and the
battle with colon cancer.
Beaumont Women's Heart Center.
Sherr, who comes back to the
"The area that I now call social
Detroit area for this year's Jewish
change, which used to be the
Book Fair, covered the 1980
women's movement and all the
Republican National Convention in
things that went along with it, is
Detroit. She talked with the Jewish
part of the biggest cultural change News in anticipation of her visits:

Special to the Jewish News

L

JN: What will
you include in
your luncheon
presentation?
LS: I like to talk about
some of the stories
that I've covered, some
of the things that have
happened to me, what
I think is important
and what's changing today.

NNSHERP

JN: What do you
hope people ulti-
mately get out of
the
OX
your book?
LS: I wrote the book for a
number of reasons. It's for
all the young people who
come into my office and
ask how they get my job,
and I tell them about the
need to be passionate and aggres-
sive and have a lot of curiosity.
JN: As you address
I wrote about dealing with my
women's issues, what
cancer and my husband's death
message do you have for
hoping to help others understand
young women?
if they have to go through the
LS: I lament the fact that so many same things.
young women don't call them-
selves feminists and don't want to
JN: What do you get out
embrace that part of our heritage.
of touring?
A lot of us worked very hard to
LS: When I'm on television, it's
get where we are, and I would like
like sending out boats in bottles. I
to see young women appreciate
don't always get instant feedback.
everything that's been done and
When I'm out there, people talk
understand that they didn't get
to me and tell me what's on their
there automatically.
minds. I like that, and I look for-
ward to it.
JN: How did writing your
memoir compare to writ-
JN: Do you think jour-
ing your other books
nalists are getting soft
(America the Beautiful:
and not hammering
The Stirring True Story
away enough at critical
Behind Our Nation's
issues?
Favorite Song; Tall
LS: I think there's a lot of good
Blondes: A Book About
journalism, but I'm troubled that
Giraffes; and Failure Is
the public's attention span is so
Impossible: Susan B.
scattered. I think -the public needs
Anthony in Her Own
to demand more detail and care
Words)?
more, which means not paying
attention to celebrity babies when
LS: Writing the memoir was
there's a war going on — if they
much harder. I spent my whole
want more questions about the
career reporting on other things
war answered.
and, all of a sudden, to turn the
spotlight inward is very scary.
JN: Do you believe that
Parts of it were fun, and parts
journalists are doing
were painful. It [turned out to be]
enough about calling
a very interesting exercise, and I'm attention to the voting
very glad I've done it.
process?

Outside

LS: I am a tiger on the issue of
voting. I believe we ought to have
mandatory voting in this country.
I think people ought to be fined if
they don't vote. I think the voting
machines, the electronics and all
that have got to be worked out, but
it will take some time.

JN: Did your Jewish
background help you get
through tragedies you
experienced, and is reli-
gion an important part of
your life now?
LS: I can't say that it helped me in
a spiritual way, but it did in a cul-
tural and grounding way. I went to
Hebrew school, and that education
and culture are very much a part
of my life.

JN: What gives you plea-
sure away from work?
LS: I love being with my grand-
children. I play tennis, and I'm
a very avid swimmer. I'm pretty
athletic, and I do a lot of outdoor
stuff. E

Lynn Sherr addresses the
seventh annual Remarkable
Women Luncheon noon
Thursday, Sept. 21, at the
Ritz Carlton, 300 Town
Center Dr., Dearborn. $60.
(248) 479-1377. She signs
copies of 'her book at 7
p.m. Thursday, Sept. 21, at
Borders, 34300 Woodward,
Birmingham. (248) 203-
2005. She's scheduled
to appear, sponsored by
Hadassah, at the Jewish
Book Fair, 1 p.m. Tuesday,
Nov. 7, at the Jewish
Community Center in West
Bloomfield. (248) 661-1000.

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