Seigenthaler, Paulson Receive API Lifetime Service Awards

RESTON, Va. - The American Press Institute (API) awarded two Lifetime Service Awards at its fall board meeting Oct. 29. The recipients were John Seigenthaler, the chairman and founder of the Freedom Forum First Amendment Center at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, and Ken Paulson, the editor of USA TODAY. The award is given in recognition of individuals who have significantly supported and promoted the professional advancement and leadership training of newspaper professionals.

In particular, Mr. Seigenthaler and Mr. Paulson were recognized for the 90-minute First Amendment session--complete with a visit to the Newseum--which they developed 10 years ago and continue to provide for API's seminar attendees.

In her remarks prior to the presentation of the awards, API's vice president of programming and personnel, Carol Ann Riordan, said Seigenthaler and Paulson's class "has been THE highest rated session for Reston-based programs for the past 10 years. ... [I]n just 90 minutes, [they] educate, engage, enlighten, and entertain seminar members. In a highly interactive format, they drive home the lessons and blessings of--as well as the threats to--one of our nation's most precious gifts - the First Amendment."

A former president of the American Society of Newspaper Editors, John Seigenthaler served for 43 years as an award-winning journalist for The Tennessean, Nashville's morning newspaper. At his retirement he was editor, publisher and CEO. In 1982, Mr. Seigenthaler became founding editorial director of USA TODAY and served in that position for a decade, retiring from both the Nashville and national newspapers in 1991.

He retired from USA Today and The Tennessean in 1991 to found The First Amendment Center at Vanderbilt University in Nashville.

Mr. Seigenthaler hosts a weekly book-review program, "A Word On Words." He is a senior advisory trustee of the Freedom Forum. He chairs the annual "Profile in Courage Award" selection committee of the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation and co-chaired with Arthur Schlesinger Jr. the Robert F. Kennedy Book Award for the RFK Memorial. He served on the National Commission on Federal Election Reform organized in 2001 by former presidents Carter and Ford. He is a member of the Constitution Project on Liberty and Security, created after the Sept. 11 tragedies in New York and Washington.

Ken Paulson was part of the team of journalists who founded USA TODAY in 1982, and in 2004 became the editor for USA TODAY and USATODAY.com. Before assuming that position he served as the executive director of the First Amendment Center, after having managed newsrooms in Westchester County, N.Y., Green Bay, Wis., Bridgewater, N.J., and at FLORIDA TODAY in Brevard County, Fla.

Mr. Paulson also was host of the Emmy-nominated television program "Speaking Freely," seen in more than 60 PBS markets nationwide over five seasons, and the author of "Freedom Sings," a multimedia stage show celebrating the First Amendment that continues to tour the nation's campuses.

Mr. Paulson is a graduate of the University of Illinois College of Law and the University of Missouri School of Journalism. He has served as an adjunct professor at Vanderbilt University Law School and is a member of both the Illinois and Florida bars.

About the American Press Institute
The American Press Institute is an independent educational center for providing skills-training and leadership development in the news industry, offering seminars and onsite programs for newspaper professionals.

Media Contact:
Vicki Govro
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American Press Institute
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