Russ White, University Relations, (517) 432-0923 or whiterus@msu.edu
10/4/2002
EAST LANSING, Mich. - A panel of four Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists will address the topic "Can the First Amendment Survive the War on Terrorism?" in the 2002 Siebert Lecture on Oct. 9 at Michigan State University.
The lecture, an annual event sponsored by the School of Journalism and the College of Communication Arts and Sciences, will begin at 4 p.m. in Parlor A-B of the MSU Union. The public is invited.
"At a time when government agencies are limiting access to information, it's important that we discuss the implications of their activities," said Stephen Lacy, director of the School of Journalism. "Democracy cannot survive without the free flow of information about government activities, and these journalists and former journalists are experts at understanding information access."
The panelists will be Dick Cooper, research service manager at the Philadelphia Inquirer and co-winner of the 1972 Pulitzer for local news reporting; David Ashenfelter, federal courts reporter at the Detroit Free Press and co-winner of the 1982 Pulitzer Prize for public service; Jim Mitzelfeld, assistant U.S. attorney; and Eric Freedman, visiting assistant professor of journalism at MSU. Mitzelfeld and Freedman won the 1994 Pulitzer for beat reporting while at The Detroit News.
Cooper won a Pulitzer with John Machacek at the Rochester Times-Union for their coverage of the riots at the prison in Attica, N.Y. Ashenfelter won a Pulitzer with Sydney Freedberg at The Detroit News for their stories about the U.S. Navy's cover-up of sailors' deaths at sea. Freedman and Mitzelfeld won their Pulitzer for uncovering spending abuses by the Michigan House Fiscal Agency.
Cooper and Mitzelfeld are alumni of the School of Journalism. Ashenfelter was inducted last spring into the Michigan Journalism Hall of Fame.
The annual Siebert Lecture is named for Frederick Siebert, former director of the School of Journalism and former dean of the College of Communication Arts and Sciences. Previous lecturers include Neal Shine, publisher of the Detroit Free Press; Al Neuharth, president of Gannett Corp.; Lee Bollinger, president of Columbia University; and Jay Harris, publisher of the San Jose Mercury News.
A reception will be held after the lecture in Gold Room B of the MSU Union.