January 16, 2008
Bowling
Green, Ky. - Two attorneys known for their work with the media and defense of the First Amendment
have created a scholars program for the School of Journalism and Broadcasting at Western Kentucky University.
Jon Fleischaker and Kim Greene have given $250,000 to create the Fleischaker-Greene Fund for Excellence in First Amendment Issues, which will support the Fleischaker-Greene Scholars Program. The program will give the top students in the School of Journalism the opportunity to take an advanced special topics class once a year and bring nationally-recognized speakers in journalism and First Amendment issues to WKU.
“We have been fortunate in our professional lives to have worked with and represented numerous media organizations and individual members of the media,” Fleischaker said. “That has enabled us to live and practice our deeply held belief that a vital and independent news media lies at the core of a free and strong democracy.”
Fleischaker and Greene are attorneys with the Louisville office of the law firm Dinsmore & Shohl LLP. Fleischaker specializes in media law and First Amendment cases and has more than 30 years of experience representing newspapers and broadcasters. He is chair of the firm’s Media Law Practice Group and is the managing partner for the Louisville office. He is the only non-journalist to be inducted into the Kentucky Journalism Hall of Fame. He is a graduate of Swarthmore College and the University of Pennsylvania Law School.
Greene, who retired from practicing law in 2004, worked with numerous media organizations in her 24 year career, including the Courier-Journal, Landmark Community Newspapers and the Kentucky Press Association. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Duke University, a master’s degree from Queens College at City University of New York and her law degree from the University of Kentucky College of Law.
Greene said they are excited about the initiation of the scholars program and are looking forward to helping it grow.
“We know that there are many students who also passionately believe in the important role that a free press plays in maintaining and improving our democracy and way of life in general,” she said. “Therefore, we could think of no better way to continue and expand upon our work than to help fund, and we hope, work with the Fleischaker-Greene Fund for Excellence in First Amendment Issues. We could also think of no better place to start to build a program than Western Kentucky University’s School of Journalism and Broadcasting, with its history and tradition of excellence in the training of journalists.”
The special topics class, which will be taught at the junior/senior level, will be modeled after a class taught in the fall of 2007 by Sara Shipley Hiles, adjunct professor of journalism. It will include a field trip, a national speaker, a First Amendment module and the development of a Web presentation. Students will hone their reporting, writing and multimedia skills by producing real-life stories, with the opportunity to have their work published on a Web site. Emphasis will be placed on using First Amendment tools, such as open records laws.
Hiles’ class focused on Kentucky’s coal country and included a field trip to eastern Kentucky. The students’ work is available online at http://journalism.wku.edu:81/OJ/.
“Students in the class said our trip to the eastern Kentucky coal fields was an experience they would never forget,” Hiles said. “They came away with profound respect for diversity of opinion and the importance of a free press.”
Hiles said students learn best by doing. “This unique class will give students the opportunity to work on real-life projects. Hands-on learning is fun, and it also takes education to a higher level,” she said. “The Fleischaker-Greene Scholars Program ensures that WKU’s award-winning School of Journalism and Broadcasting will continue to provide life-changing experiences for journalism students, and this fund will make it possible for us to excel even more in the future.”
Pam Johnson, director of WKU’s School of Journalism and Broadcasting, said this program will help promote critical thinking and a focus on honor students within the school. The fund will create permanency in the program, she said.
“The School of Journalism and Broadcasting does not just focus on professional skills. We also focus on journalism law and ethics,” Dr. Johnson said. “The Fleischaker-Greene Scholars will impact the school by providing more resources for us to teach First Amendment issues. I particularly like the focus on First Amendment activism.”
Dr. Johnson added that during the course, the School of Journalism and Broadcasting will sponsor a First Amendment First Forum and present a national award for First Amendment activism.
More WKU news is available at www.wku.edu. If you’d like to receive WKU news via e-mail, send a message to WKUNews@wku.edu.
For more information, contact Pam Johnson, (270) 745-4144.
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