An inspiring encounter with THE newspaper man

Former editor and columnist of the New York Post, Pete Hamill, recently presented himself to NYU’s “Reporting Downtown” beat class. The class just finished reading one of his memoirs, “Downtown: My Manhattan.” Simply put, Hamill was there to inspire.

At 74-years old, Hamill still may be the most interesting man in the world. Not only does he look like the guy from those Dos Equis beer commercials; he also shares his aura…the world traveler, newspaperman and author who has accomplished more as a writer than the Pope has as a Christian.

During his 90-minute visit on Oct. 13, he took questions from the 15 undergraduate journalism majors in the class that covered everything from sports and political writing to his thoughts on marriage. In terms of advice, Hamill left nothing out the door. He encouraged the students to never have an agenda before writing. “The worst thing you can do as a journalist is have an ideology,” Hamill said as he mentioned how he approached covering the Vietnam War.

Hamill also noted the importance of truth and morality when it came to reporting, urging the class to never hurt anyone that can’t hurt you back. And, that with great reporting “ the facts always come first.”

When it came to love, Hamill had advice too: “You fall in love with the people you meet; you don’t pursue them like quarry.” As an example, he explained that he met his second wife, a Japanese journalist, in Tokyo while she was interviewing him. They have now been married for 25 years.

“She knows that when I am looking out the window that I am working, “ said Hamill as he explained the benefits of being married to someone who understands what writers are like.

Hamill has also written novels and a memoir with vivid sex scenes. In preparation for his visit, the class had read an excerpt from “Loving Women.” When questions about this fictional work arose during his visit, Hamill said that he writes about sex because “writers like Jane Austin never took you into the bathroom. As for “Loving Women,’ it was “ a work of the imagination” Hamill said with a wink, refusing to admit whether the love scenes were actually about himself.

But in discussing fiction, Hamill admitted that every writer’s work could be entitled, “ Guilty with An Explanation.”

When writing columns, Hamill says he sticks with the facts and goes to the scene.

When writing about himself, which Hamill loves to do, he says the biggest challenge is to “ not give yourself the best lines.”

In addition to authoring more than 20 books, Hamill has also written for many newspapers and magazines. But he feels like he is not done yet. “ I try to live my life without finishing,” Hamill said.

In the late spring, Hamill has a new book coming out. It’s features a crime and a mystery that take place during this latest recession.But his approach to writing about this difficult financial period will not be filled with business and economics. “If I had to write about Goldman Sachs I would cut my wrist," Hamill said.