11 minute read
A Perfect Union
MTSU’s Free Speech Center and John Seigenthaler Chair of Excellence in First Amendment Studies place the University at the forefront of America’s primary freedom
by John Glennon
Ken Paulson produced his first newspaper at the age of 7, drawing the stories in crayon and hand-delivering copies through his suburban Chicago neighborhood.
A child of the 1960s, Paulson later witnessed much of the country battle an unpopular war, fight for civil rights, and demand equality for women—using the guaranteed freedoms of the Constitution’s First Amendment as a multi-tooled weapon.
“Growing up as I did, the First Amendment was not a dusty document,” Paulson said. “It was the way to make things better and more just, and I’ve never lost that sense.”
So it’s only fitting that Paulson, who has an extensive background in both journalism and law, now serves as director of MTSU’s Free Speech Center, as well as dean emeritus of the school’s College of Media and Entertainment.
Paulson and the Free Speech Center are half of a one-two punch that is putting MTSU at the nation’s forefront when it comes to exploring the role of the First Amendment, which protects an individual’s rights to speech, religion, press, assembly, and petitioning the government.
The other half is represented by Deborah Fisher, who since 2016 has served as director of MTSU’s John Seigenthaler Chair of Excellence in First Amendment Studies.
The position is a natural fit for Fisher, who spent more than 25 years as a newspaper reporter and editor, including a decade at The Tennessean in Nashville.
The Seigenthaler Chair was founded in 1986 to honor John Seigenthaler, the longtime president, editor, and publisher of The Tennessean and the first chair of the Freedom Forum’s First Amendment Center on the Vanderbilt University campus.
It supports a variety of activities related to the First Amendment, free speech, free press rights, and other topics of concern for contemporary journalism.
Over the years, those activities have included distinguished visiting professors and visiting lecturers at MTSU, research related to free expression, seminars and meetings dedicated to expressive freedom, and hands-on training for student journalists through the Seigenthaler News Service.
As the latest director of the Seigenthaler Chair, Fisher guided the first online posting of the First Amendment Encyclopedia, a database of 1,500 articles that has become hands-down the most comprehensive First Amendment encyclopedia available to the public. It includes essays and entries covering court decisions and doctrines, people, laws, events, issues, and organizations.
Started with the hope of one day reaching 5,000 website visitors per day, the First Amendment Encyclopedia is now averaging 20,000 daily hits. Fisher said the number of users has nearly doubled in each of the past two years, in part because there is really nothing else like it on the web.
The site even features a journalist hotline, so reporters from across the country can call MTSU’s specialists, seeking their views on First Amendment issues. In 2020, MTSU’s expert commentaries appeared in nearly 180 different news organizations, another example of the school’s nationwide recognition for its breadth of knowledge on all First Amendment topics.
“There are other things out there that summarize court cases, but there’s nothing out there that has so many articles,” Fisher said. “The larger point is that when they cite the First Amendment Encyclopedia, they’re citing a resource that was created, maintained, and is updated by MTSU and the Seigenthaler Chair.”
Added Paulson: “We’re literally reaching millions of people with information about the First Amendment. . . . The reach has been satisfying and has come at a time when there is probably more hunger for information about these issues than ever before.”
A Public Awakening
One of Paulson’s primary goals at the Free Speech Center is simply education, raising understanding of the First Amendment through awareness and engagement.
The amendment, after all, is nearly as old as the United States itself.
Paulson notes that for many years, this country permitted slavery and treated women as second-class citizens, refusing to give either group the right to participate fully in society. But it was the five freedoms of the First Amendment that allowed people to speak out and demand change.
“The line from American history in which we talk about forming a more perfect union is an apt one,” said Paulson, former president and CEO of the the First Amendment Center in Nashville, as well as editor and senior vice president of USA Today from 2004 to 2009.
“In our founding documents, we recognized the need for our nation to assess its problems and improve them, and that’s what’s happened. It’s not coincidence that the strongest and most dynamic, most creative, and most ambitious nation in the history of the planet is also the most free.”
But are today’s youth and college students as educated regarding the First Amendment—and the power it carries— as were their predecessors decades ago?
Paulson is sympathetic to current grade-school and high school teachers, whose responsibilities are tilted greatly toward state testing. Still, he is disappointed by the absence of time once devoted to current events, not to mention the lack of investment in civics and civic engagement.
“Our students don’t know the basic functions of government, and they don’t understand how the Constitution works,” Paulson said. “Little wonder that they grew up to be citizens who are taken in by misinformation and conspiracy theories. That’s the heart of our mission, to give young people in particular the information they need to be better and more aware citizens.”
That explains why one of the pillars of the Free Speech Center is its 1 for All online section, which provides materials, course content, and study guides for teachers— of grades one through 12—who want better resources to teach about the First Amendment.
Kathy Mattea
Photo: David McLister
MY FREE SPEECH. My free speech allows me to sing and write songs from the heart, just as the First Amendment protects freedom of faith, press, petition and assembly. Each of us is different, and your free speech allows you to be the special person you are. Five freedoms of expression. Protect one. Protect them all. Learn more at www.1forall.today.
The 1 for All is a nonpartisan and nonprofit educational tool that is also interactive. Students are encouraged to submit photos, videos, songs, and stories that reflect the value of freedom in America.
“Everyone can recite the pledge of allegiance, but only 2% of Americans can tell you the five freedoms of the First Amendment,” Paulson said. “So we are doing whatever we can to understand the importance of free speech, press, religion, petition, and assembly. . . . That takes so many forms, and it’s all on the website.”
Another major initiative of the Free Speech Center was a national campaign featuring a diverse group of American celebrities—ranging from Kane Brown to Loretta Lynn—with a much-needed message about the value of journalism in the COVID-19 age and in times of social unrest stemming from racial inequalities.
Moving the Conversation
Meanwhile, the Seigenthaler Chair of Excellence in First Amendment Studies also is promoting awareness and understanding of the amendment—as well as supporting quality journalism in the state—but through different means.
Fisher, focusing more on research and academia, has continued the tradition of undertaking programs of great significance for the school. They have included annual MTSU speakingengagements by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists and panel discussions at the University on major issues relevant to the First Amendment.
Even during the pandemic, Fisher coordinated a wide-ranging Zoom panel last September that discussed racial justice protests and the First Amendment. One participant was Ryan Haas, news editor with Oregon Public Broadcasting, who led the team of reporters that broke the news that the federal government had deployed massive forces to Portland, Oregon, to suppress Black Lives Matter protests.
A 2019 discussion panel featured journalists from the South Florida Sun Sentinel who had won the Pulitzer Prize in public service earlier that year for their reporting about the deadly shooting rampage at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in 2018. Sun Sentinel staffers not only presented programs to students but also engaged them in discussion about the ethical decisions and role of the press in reporting what happened.
What lies just ahead? Likely an in-depth look at First Amendment rights as they apply to technology giants like Google, Facebook, and Twitter.
“It takes us to a place where we really haven’t been before,” Fisher said. “Certainly the First Amendment prevents government from passing laws and limiting your ability to freely think and freely speak and freely publish.
“But there’s nothing to prevent a tech giant from doing that. Because they’re not the government, right? . . . But people have gotten really interested in the power of these tech giants to basically control the flow of information in ways we haven’t seen before.”
Fisher believes, however, that the Seigenthaler Chair’s biggest achievement since she’s been director has been the online posting of the First Amendment Encyclopedia, which had existed only in hardback form prior to 2017.
The encyclopedia’s database is regularly updated with article entries on court decisions, legal doctrines, and current events involving the First Amendment. Fisher said she and her staff are beginning to see legal briefs filed in court that quote the encyclopedia on cases pertinent to the First Amendment. That brings recognition and positive publicity to the school.
Most of the traffic to the First Amendment Encyclopedia site, though, comes from academics and students, since activity spikes during the school year and dips in the summer.
The higher-than-expected numbers mean the site is more than fulfilling its intended purpose.
Ann Patchett
MY FREE PRESS. Freedom of press protects my right to read and engage with diverse viewpoints just as freedom of speech protects my ability to write and express myself through books without restraints. The First Amendment allows us to be who we are, freely. Freedom of speech, press, petition, and assembly. Five freedoms of expression. Protect one. Protect them all. Learn more at www.1forall.today.
Becca Stevens
MY FREEDOM OF FAITH. Faith is at the core of our Thistle Farms project, bringing hope and help to women in need, just as the other freedoms of the First Amendment empower us to make a difference every day. Each of us is different, and these five freedoms allow you to be the special person you are. Five freedoms of expression. Protect one. Protect them all. Learn more at www.1forall.today.
Billy Ray Cyrus
MY FREE SPEECH. From Some Gave All through Old Town Road, I’ve had the freedom to express myself in music, television and film. But as I wrote and sang on my very first record, “many just don’t understand about the reasons we are free.” The First Amendment gives us five freedoms—speech, press, religion, petition and assembly. “We don’t dare take them for granted.” Learn more at www.1forall.today.
Ruby Amanfu
Photo: Anna Haas
MY FREE SPEECH. My freedom of speech allows me to lift my voice to add to the magnificent chorus of voices who have gone before me, singing of hope, courage, liberty and justice for all. Learn more at www.1forall.today.
Jason Isbell
Photo: Danny Clinch
MY FREE SPEECH. My free speech allows me to sing and say whatever I believe, just as the First Amendment protects freedom of faith, press, petition and assembly. Five freedoms of expression. Protect one. Protect them all. Learn more at www.1forall.today.
Aubrie Sellers
MY FREE PRESS. Freedom of press protects my right to read and engage with diverse viewpoints, not only those I agree with, just as freedom of speech protects my ability to write and express myself through music without restraints. The First Amendment allows us to be who we are, freely. Freedom of speech, press, petition, and assembly. Five freedoms of expression. Protect one. Protect them all. Learn more at www.1forall.today.
Ketch Secor
MY FREE SPEECH. My Free Speech works best when I also endeavor to listen. The First Amendment provides each of us the right to share our opinions, but in order for it to work we need to respect that this right is given equally to ALL Americans, even ones we may disagree with. That makes the First Amendment not only a radical concept—but a revolutionary one! Five freedoms of expression. Protect one. Protect them all. Learn more at www.1forall.today.
Tennessee author Ruta Sepetys
Photo: Kacie Lynn Wheeler
MY FREE PRESS. My freedom of the press allows me to write and publish books about hidden history and those who were affected by it. I’m thankful for the First Amendment and its five freedoms of expression—speech, press, religion, petition and assembly. Protect one. Protect them all. Learn more at 1forall.today.
Marcus Hummon, new member of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame
Photo: Moser Photography
