About the First Amendment Center

About the First Amendment Center

Overview

The eighth-annual Scripps Howard Foundation First Amendment Celebration at the University of Kentucky featured a Pulitzer Prize winner on a book tour; public policy forums on undecided voters in the presidential election campaign, on media bias and on civic literacy; two high school journalism workshops; and continuation of a popular "First Amendment in Action" speaker series.

In 2004-05, the Center forged new relationships with the Kettering Foundation, including its Katherine Fanning Fellowship; the Kentucky Journalism Hall of Fame; the Scripps Howard Center for Civic Engagement at Northern Kentucky University; and the University of Kentucky Discovery Seminar Program. The Center also worked with the Kentucky Secretary of State's Office, the Carnegie Center for Literacy and Learning, Ball State University, Democratic and Republican student organizations, UK's Career Center and Experiential Education, and the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues to bring together faculty, students, civic leaders and citizens. The Center's relationship with the international Advanced Team StoryTelling Workshop for broadcast journalists blossomed into a long-term commitment from the group to the University.

As a result, the Center played a key role on campus in enlightening citizens, especially students, about the importance of the First Amendment to our democratic society, thanks to Scripps Howard funding, combined with financial support from other sources.

2004-2005 Activities

Citizen Kentucky Project
(Professor Buck Ryan)

The Citizen Kentucky Project conducted three public policy forums, organized with freshmen as part of two Discovery Seminar Program classes. The forums provided citizens with the opportunity to exercise their First Amendment rights to free speech and peaceable assembly and included members of the press. The first community forum, "Undecided Voters: You Have the Power!" was held outdoors on the Student Center Patio on Oct. 6, 2004, an experiment that drew nearly 100 participants and some passersby. The deliberative forum focused on the public policy positions of George Bush, John Kerry and Ralph Nader.

The second Citizen Kentucky forum, "Bashing Bias: Does the News Media Piss You Off?," drew an overflow crowd of 50 to a classroom in the newly renovated Main Building (old Administration Building) and featured one of the School of Journalism and Telecommunications' newest faculty members, Al Cross, then the Interim Director of the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues. It focused on media literacy so citizens could see through the many faces of bias (liberal, conservative, lack of diversity, ratings and "boys on the bus") that might crop up in news coverage. One of the freshmen in the class, working an early-morning shift at a local radio station, was part of a hoax that received extensive media coverage earlier in the semester. He played out another hoax, posing as an outraged citizen at the forum and hammered home the point: You can't always believe what you hear in public.

The third Citizen Kentucky forum, "Civic Literacy: The People, the Press & Public Policy," convened outdoors on Sept. 14, 2005, on the Student Center Patio. It drew civic leaders, journalists, students and community residents to campus to focus on three questions: "What is a good citizen?" "How can we graduate more of them?" and "What is journalism's role in civic literacy?" Students estimated that as many as 200 individuals may have tuned into the discussions from two minutes to two hours, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Speakers included Secretary of State Trey Grayson, Kentucky Journalism Hall of Famers, attorney Foster Ockerman, and Ball State University's Warren Watson (formerly of the American Press Institute and now a Knight Foundation chair organizing First Amendment instruction for school principals and other high school journalism projects.)

After the forum, the Citizen Kentucky Project's director received an invitation to Northern Kentucky University for the second annual Kentucky Summit on Civic Literacy organized by the Scripps Center, and he was invited to speak on civic engagement at a service-learning workshop organized by UK's director of career services and experiential education.

NPPA Advance Team Storytelling Workshop
(Professor Yvonne Cappe)

The National Press Photographers Association's Advance Team Storytelling Workshop has received funding through the First Amendment Center for the past three years. Recently, the workshop committed to returning to UK for an additional five years. Since adopting Lexington as its new home, the workshop has grown in numbers and prominence. The workshop is a much sought after opportunity that brings together professionals of nationally and internationally recognized news organizations to teach reporters and photographers to work together as a team in delivering stories that will make a difference. The focus is honing skills in writing, visuals, editing, and ethical and legal decision making. The workshop draws news teams from around the world. In the past, we have had journalists from Mexico, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, and Denmark. Attendance for this workshop is very competitive and brings in the very best. Our students in turn are able to attend, free of cost, and gain valuable insights from these professionals.

"Covering the Capitol"
(Professor Richard Wilson)

Seven students, 5 from the University of Kentucky and 2 from Asbury College, participated in an advanced journalism course taught in Frankfort, Ky. Students in "Covering the Capitol" learned the challenges of covering state government. The course was taught out of the offices of The State Journal, and a number of the students' stories ended up on the front page of that newspaper. Scripps Howard money paid for the instructor's salary as well as two digital cameras and two digital audio recorders for student use.

First Amendment in Action
(Professor Buck Ryan)

In April 2005 the Center worked with the Kentucky Journalism Hall of Fame to conduct a "Meet the Hall of Famers" discussion of the First Amendment in the Maggie Room, home to the Hall of Fame. Students met first with Gene Clabes, former president of the Kentucky Press Association, and later with Bob Schulman, former Louisville Courier-Journal and WHAS journalist, now at the University of Louisville. The session was followed with a ceremony outside for the unveiling UK's newest historical marker honoring the Kentucky Kernel newspaper. Students and guests also heard the story behind the Maggie Room in honor of Hall of Fame inductee Marguerite McLaughlin.

The Center continued the Friday luncheon speaker series entitled "First Amendment in Action." Friday was chosen for the series because it is an off day for the Kentucky Kernel newsroom. The continuing education series opens informally over lunch for students and special guests. Speakers included John Nelson, managing editor of the Danville Advocate-Messenger, who explained his work as president of the Kentucky Press Association in a statewide audit of compliance with the Open Records Act and a lawsuit to open juvenile court records. Other speakers were John Voskuhl, then special projects editor of the Lexington Herald-Leader and now at the Miami Herald; photojournalist Dave LaBelle, who talked about Hurricane Katrina coverage; and a pop culture writer and a professor working with an open-mic radio station in Appalachia on finding young and other missing voices in our democratic society.

As a special event on Oct. 21, 2004, students and faculty members gathered in the Maggie Room to hear Pulitzer Prize winner Jeffrey Marx talk about what the First Amendment means to him. He won the Pulitzer in 1986 as a Herald-Leader reporter and was back in town to discuss his New York Times best seller "Season of Life: A Football Star, a Boy, a Journey to Manhood." In the spring semester, over a 10-day period ending with the Kentucky Derby, journalism students, faculty and staff enjoyed a visit from Fanning Fellow Crosbey Mwanza, director of a journalism center based in Swaziland that provides training to journalists in the South Africa region. He spoke to classes about the differences between journalism in Africa and America (he earned his master's degree at Syracuse University), especially regarding the First Amendment. The Kettering Foundation paid his expenses.

Dow Jones High School Journalism Workshop for Minorities (Dr. Michael Farrell)

Twenty-one high school students from Kentucky, Ohio and North Carolina participated in this ten-day workshop. The students produced an 8-page newspaper focused on the achievements of minorities, and included two opinion pieces on First Amendment issues. Cash prizes were awarded to 8 students for excellence in writing and reporting. We used Scripps Howard money for the writing prizes and other workshop expenses.

Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication
(Dr. Chike Anyaegbunam)

In August 2004, Chike Anyaegbunam received supplementary funding from the First Amendment Center to travel to the 2004 Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication convention in Toronto, Canada, to present his research paper titled "Exploring Polyphony in Community Radio Stations: A Case Study of an Appalachian Community Media Arts Center," which received the Civic Journalism Best Faculty Award.

Advanced High School Journalism Workshop

Five advanced journalism students from Kentucky, Ohio and Florida participated in this week-long workshop focused on Kentucky's horse industry. Students visited and reported on a variety of horse-related venues. Each student also wrote an opinion piece on what the First Amendment means to them, and cash prizes were awarded based on the quality of the piece. The students produced an 8-page newspaper; it can be seen on the school's web site. We used Scripps Howard money for the writing prizes and to underwrite workshop expenses.

Political Communication Research Project
(Dr. James Hertog)

The funding for this project was used primarily to support travel for Dr. Hertog to attend minor party meetings and make transcriptions of in-depth interviews he conducted with party members, officials and candidates for public office. The interviews with candidates focused on the many difficulties they face in getting known, getting on the ballot, obtaining financial support and garnering press coverage. A special focus on their attempts to gain access to candidate debates also was included.

Non-candidates were asked about media coverage of minor parties, as well, but the focus for party members was on why they chose a minor party over a major party, what they hoped to accomplish, and their experiences with the parties.

Equipment, Supplies and Other Expenses for the Center

To enhance our First Amendment collection, we purchased six DVDs from the "Films for the Humanities & Sciences" collection, including Bill Moyer's special "Free Speech for Sale," a Fred Friendly seminar on "Disconnected: Politics, the Press and the Public," and an ABC-TV program on "Watch What You Say: Free Speech in Times of National Crisis." The Center also paid its dues to the Inland Press Association and continued to administer the judging of its annual News Writing Contest, including investigative journalism, which provides classroom materials for explaining the First Amendment in practice.

Other Activities

Carry-over projects included a payment to Video Editing Services for work on the "Religion and Journalism" program for Kentucky Educational Television.

2005-2006 Activities Underway

The Center has already gotten off to a great start this year. We have formed an Advisory Committee that includes college Development Officer Janice Birdwhistell and Professors Buck Ryan, James Hertog, Beth Barnes, Scoobie Ryan, Chike Anyaegbunam, Richard Labunski, Tim Sineath, Al Cross and Roy L. Moore (Executive Director). The committee recently met with John Schenkenfelder, a Vice President with UBS and a donor to the Center, to discuss our mission, vision and strategic plan, including fundraising. We are in the process of revising our mission and vision statements, and the Executive Director is working with Ms. Birdwhistell and University Development on a fundraising plan. The Center moved to a new location on the second floor of the Grehan Journalism Building that includes space for housing our print and audiovisual materials, which are currently being inventoried. As soon as funding is received, we plan to develop both an informational brochure and a comprehensive web site. Professor Richard Labunski is organizing a First Amendment national essay contest for college students for spring 2006. The first-place winner will receive $1000. We are also working with the local and regional media to offer a weekly commentary on First Amendment topics written by members of the Advisory Committee.

Roy L. Moore
First Amendment Center Executive Director