There are times when the best stories a journalist tells are the personal ones, especially when autobiography illustrates the importance of principles and the courage to stand up for them.

Daniel W. Kops '39, former editor-in-chief of The Cornell Daily Sun, has published the memoir, "Pigs or People," in which he describes his career in broadcast journalism and his steadfast belief that principled journalists can bring about positive social change. He gives plenty of examples where he used the power of the press for good purposes. The book's title, for example, refers to an editorial campaign that urged officials in New Haven, Conn., to build much-needed moderate-priced housing on local farmland.

The world was at the brink of war when Kops graduated from Cornell. He'd started college planning on premed, but then got hooked into journalism at the Sun and ended up pursuing history, sociology and economics while serving his "demanding mistress," as he calls the student newspaper.

Kops credits his Sun experience with getting him his first job at the Houston Press. He was soon lured to Washington, D.C., by W.M. Kiplinger, father of his classmate Austin. He was in Washington when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor and vividly describes the city's transformation for war.

Kops enlisted in the Air Corps, rising to the rank of major. After the war he moved from print journalism to radio. He began by acquiring a major interest in WAVZ in New Haven, which he and his partners turned into a "newspaper of the air," complete with radio editorials. He later went on to serve on the board of the National Association of Broadcasters and received numerous awards for journalism and service. "Pigs or People" is full of anecdotes about such distinguished Cornellians as Hu Shih and Jerome Holland, U.S. presidents and nefarious public officials as well as a tribute to his wife of 60 years, Nancy.

Passionate about the role of the press in a free society, Kops in 1990 established the Daniel W. Kops Freedom of the Press Fellowship Program, which every year brings a distinguished speaker to campus through the American studies department. Past speakers include Tom Wicker and Gail Collins of The New York Times, the American Civil Liberty Union's Nadine Strossen, Nat Hentoff and, in 2005, Jonathan Adelstein, commissioner of the Federal Communications Commission. New York Times columnist Frank Rich will be the Kops speaker in the fall.

Kops, who will turn 90 in August, speaks with youthful fervor about his country and his profession.

"This particular period of time has been characterized by greed," he said in an interview. "There are threats to the conduct of the country based on greed. We have practically lost a generation in the middle class, and many people live in poverty."

Also of great concern are threats to journalists who are willing to go to jail to protect the integrity of their sources. "That is a great concern for every state of the country and the nation itself," Kops said.

Despite corporatization and legal threats, Kops believes every journalist can make a difference by showing personal courage and recognizing "the importance of insisting on the truth without embellishment."

And he sees a better future for the country and the press. "I think there will be more agonizing in the coming months, but I expect light to break," he said. "The journalists of the country are going to reach out in an arms-linking way in the next six months. We'll see the light of the truth by people in the press who have the guts to do something about it."