Speaker: Americans must guard free speech

By Laura Edelen

Government secrecy after 9/11 has hurt national security interests, according to the keynote speaker delivering the State of the First Amendment address Tuesday night.

“Secrecy and security are not synonymous,” said Jane Kirtley, director of the Silha Center for the Study of Media Ethics and Law at the School of Journalism and Mass Communications at the University of Minnesota. “They actually undermine one another.”

Kirtley delivered the address in the W.T. Young Library Auditorium Tuesday night as part of the Scripps Howard First Amendment Center’s annual First Amendment Celebration, which will continue Wednesday.

During her speech, Kirtley said U.S. citizens must continue the push to keep their First Amendment rights while under pressure from the government.

People should be able to protest, Kirtley said, and journalists should be able to do their job.

“This government requires an engaged citizenry and getting questions answered,” she said. “How dare we not ask questions?”

Kirtley predicted that the results of the Nov. 4 election will have a profound effect on the government’s relationship with the First Amendment for the next four years. She suggested that every voter pay close attention to what each candidate says in regard to the First Amendment.

She also said she remains optimistic because of a new generation of voters who won’t settle for “business as usual,” and who demand “transparency from those who govern us.”

Although she is optimistic, Kirtley does worry about the judiciary and the rethinking of our rights. Kirtley believes in complete freedom of speech and freedom of the press.

Kirtley was chosen to deliver the State of the First Amendment Address by the director of the First Amendment Center, Mike Farrell.

Farrell, an assistant professor at UK, described Kirtley as “one of the best advocates (of the First Amendment), thoughtful and careful, yet passionate.”

Along with Kirtley’s address, the 2008 James Madison Award was given to Tom Loftus, Frankfort bureau chief for the Louisville Courier-Journal.

Loftus received this year’s award for his preservation of freedom of the press for 30 years, said Judy Clabes, chairwoman of the Scripps Howard Foundation Board of Trustees.

“No one has uncovered more abuse of the public trust than Tom,” Clabes said. “He is the example of the media at work; he is a fair, accurate, responsible, tireless watchdog.”

The First Amendment Celebration will continue with a panel discussion in the W.T. Auditorium at 10 a.m. Wednesday on how new media is impacting First Amendment protections.