DOCUMENT RESUME ED 423 564 CS 509 908 TITLE Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (81st, Baltimore, Maryland, August 5-8, 1998) .History. INSTITUTION Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication. PUB DATE 1998-08-00 NOTE 528p.; For other sections of these Proceedings, see CS 509 905-922. PUB TYPE Collected Works Proceedings (021) Reports Research (143) EDRS PRICE MF02/PC22 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS Blacks; Book Reviews; *Civil Rights; Females; Freedom of Information; Higher Education; *Journalism Education; *Journalism History; *Labor Standards; *Newspapers; Television; Vietnam War; Work Environment IDENTIFIERS Journalists; *Media Coverage; National Broadcasting Company; National Public Radio; Spanish American War; World Series ABSTRACT The History section of the Proceedings contains the following 18 papers: "Pioneers in the State Freedom of Information Movement" (Jeanni Atkins and James A. Lumpp); "'Censorship Liberally Administered': Press, U.S. Military Relations in the Spanish-American War" (Randall S. Sumpter); "Two Tales of One City: How Cultural Perspective Influenced the Reporting of a Pre-Civil Rights Story in Dallas" (Camille R. Kraeplin); "'At Our House': A Case Study of Grace B. Freeman, Syndicated Columnist, 1954-1964" (Marilyn S. Sarow); "Journalism behind Barbed Wire: Two Arkansas Relocation Center Newspapers" (Edward Jay Friedlander); "Paving the Road to Hell: National Public Radio in the Lee Frischknecht Years" (Michael P. McCauley); "Hitting from the Left: The Daily Worker's Assault on Baseball's Color Line" (Chris Lamb and Kelly Rusinack); "The Lone Ranger Rides Again: Black Press Editorial Stands on the Vietnam War during the Johnson Administration" (William J. Leonhirth); "'Those Who Toil and Spin': Female Textile Operatives' Publications in New England and the Response to Working Conditions, 1840-1850" (Mary M. Lamonica); "Standing for the Rights of the Black Worker--But Not at Home. The Labor Policies of the 'Chicago Defender'" (Jon Bekken); "The Journalistic Function of Book Reviews: How Faludi's 'Backlash' Made News" (Priscilla Coit Murphy); "The Icons of Despair: A Comparison of World Series Coverage in Newspapers before and during the Depression" (John Carvalho); "Women's Historical Contribution to Journalism Education as Seen in Emery's 'The Press and America'" (Kristine L. Nowak); "Pioneering for Women Journalists" Sallie Joy White, 1870-1909" (Elizabeth V. Burt); "Wrestling with Corporate Identity: Television and the National Broadcasting Company" (Chad Dell); "Bridge to the Modern Era: 'Free Press' on the Wage Workers' Frontier" (David J. Vergobbi); "'The Feminine Mystique' and Mass Media: Implications for the Second Wave" (Patricia Bradley); and "The Chicago Television 'Holy War' of 1956-57" (Bob Pondillo) . (RS) PROCEEDINGS OF THE ANNUAL MEETING OF THE ASSOCIATION FOR EDUCATION IN JOURNALISM AND MASS COMMUNICATION .(81st, Baltimore, MD, August 5-8, 1998). HISTORY. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE AND Othce ot Educational Research and Improvement DISSEMINATE THIS MATERIAL HAS EDUç.ATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION BEEN GRANTED BY CENTER (ERIC) his document has been reproduced as received from the person or organization J.frIc aa,u originatmg 0 Minor changes nave been made 10imprOve reproduct(on quaIrty TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES Points of mew or opinions stated in this docu INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) ment do Kg neCessaray representoff(c(ai OE RI posamn or pohcy 1 0.0 COPYAVAILABLE c-4 BEST PIONEERS IN THE STATE FREEDOM OF LNFORMATION MOVEMENT Jeanni Atkins, Ph.D. James A. Lumpp, Ph.D. Department of Journalism University of Mississippi University, MS 38677 (601) 232-7146 FAX: 232-7765 [email protected] [email protected] Submitted to History1 Division Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication Baltimore, Maryland August 5-8, 1998 3 Pioneers in the State Freedom of Information Movement Pioneers In The State Freedom Of Information Movement Post World War 11 Climate The conviction that the free flow of information is the foundation of all other freedoms and must be solidly grounded in law took root in the ashes of World War Ill when the forces of oppression threatened to stifle the voices of freedom across the face of Europe. The irrationality of the War not only shattered lives but also left cracks in the Enlightenment belief in the rationality of man. Carl L. Becker noted in 1945 in Freedom and Responsibility in the American Way of Life the climate of disillusionment with human reason as an "infallible instrument for recordingtruth" and the realization that "men themselves are less amenable to rational persuasion" than had been thought prior to the War. The War had shaken that belief but had not disproved the basic proposition, as Becker put it, "that only through freedom of the mind can a reasonably just society everbe created."(1) Among men of thought who grappled with how to prevent another such full-scale effort to annihilate freedom of expression and civil liberties were the true believers who were convinced that a just society must be rootedin a clear global commitment to a free flow of information. The essential first step was to give freedom of information a central place in post-war United Nations discussions. The United Nations was chartered in 1945 to promote international cooperation "and assist in the realizationof human rights and fundamental freedoms of all without distinction as to race, sex, language, or religions."(2) Planning began the next year for an International Conference on Freedom of Information, to be held two years later, March 23-April 21, 1948. (3) This FoI conference 4 Pioneers in the State Freedom of Information Movement spawned a decade of debate. Eleven years afterwards on December 7, 1959, Article I of the Declaration of Human Rights was adopted: "Each contracting state undertakes to respect and protect the right of every person to have at his disposal diverse sources of information."(4) After the War, public officials continued to build walls of secrecy -- higher each year -- which threatened the free flow of information in the United States. The web of secrecy had been spun all across the country, and journalists began to realize organized action was necessary to counter the trend of denials of access to government meetings and records. Purpose of The Study Thus began a protracted struggle to dismantle the wall of government secrecy with federal and state access laws. Much scholarly research has focused on the Federal Freedom of Information Act, and numerous articles have studied access laws in one state. But there is a dearth of information on the origins of the state FoI movement. This paper provides an overview of those origins, describes the nationwide mobilization effort which involved forming committees, conducting research and establishing a national FoI clearninghouse. Pioneers who worked to enact access laws in their state are identified; the difficulties confronted are described, including the problem of convincing journalists and legislators of the need for legislation.The period of study selected covers the post- war climate in the '40s precipitating concerns about suppression of information and the intense state activity during the '50s which began to dissipate by the mid '60s. Pioneers in the State Freedom of Information Movement Problems with legislation enacted in the '50s and '60s, which precipitated a second stage of the state FoI movement around 1967 of revising existing laws and replacing them with new legislation to plug loopholes, will be discussed. How the movement changed in the 1970s in terms of organization and education efforts and influx of other groups will be explained. The paper concludes with a discussion of the philosophy which has driven the FoI movement. Assessing the Problem and Mobilization As plans for an international FoI conference got underway, journalism organizations began establishing committees to monitor secrecy problems and seek solutions.(5) Sigma Delta Chi (SDX), the American Society of Newspaper Editors (ASNE), the Associated Press Managing Editors Association (APME) and the National Editorial Association (NEA) began discussing how they might prevent the flow of government information from being reduced to a trickle. (5) By 1947, Harvard University legal scholar Zechariah Chafee noted as significant "the enormous recent expansion of the subjects which officials are seeking to hide from publication until they give the signal."(6) Unfortunately, the signals were becoming dimmer as the monitoring of denials of access to information began to reveal. (7) Edwin D. Canham, The Christian Science Monitor editor and president of ASNE in 1948, returned from the international FoI conference and appointed Basil L. Walters, Chicago News, as FoI Committee chairman. Walters reported on international problems in 1949 but also on access skirmishes in this country; then in 1950, his report focused almost entirely 3 Pioneers in the State Freedom of Information Movement on the dangers on the home front. A 1950 ASNE national study of access problems, in fact, "found disquieting conditions" from the federal down to the local level. (8) James S. Pope, Executive Editor of The Louisville Times and Courier-Journal, took over as ASNE FoI chairman. He asked the Board of Directors to acquire expert help and found it in the brilliant mind of a retired lawyer who became a champion of access and foe of secrecy.