Gene Policinski, a native Hoosier and a founding editor of USA Today, is vice president of the First Amendment Center of the Freedom Forum. He answered by e-mail questions about 1 for All, a nationwide effort to promote understanding of the First Amendment.
1Why does the First Amendment need an informational campaign?
The annual State of the First Amendment survey shows that just one in 25 Americans can even name the five freedoms in the First Amendment. And a surprising number of us don’t know how these freedoms enrich our lives every day because we can express ourselves freely and have the freedom to worship or not as we choose. We know schools face significant challenges in providing time and resources to educate Americans about the First Amendment. The campaign aims to build understanding and support for the freedoms and to offer educators resources and support for increased focus on the First Amendment.
2Are any people or groups other than journalists and newspapers participating?
1 for All is a coalition of many professions, from musicians and writers to librarians to celebrities to religious groups, as well as journalists and news organizations. The five freedoms reach across many aspects of our lives, and so does support for the campaign. And as the campaign goes on, we hope to enlist Americans in great numbers who are willing to stand up for the First Amendment and to explore the often-complex issues as we apply those freedoms in modern life.
3Watching cable TV, it seems speech has never been more free. Is the First Amendment under a threat?
In some cases, conversational speech may be less restrained than years ago – cable TV is a good example. But well-meaning people, whether they intend it or not, threaten the First Amendment regularly when they propose limits or bans on various kinds of free expression – or restrictions on religious freedom, particularly for non-traditional faiths. We need to be exposed to ideas that we don’t like or even find repugnant, if only to motivate us to speak out against those particular ideas.
4Why do blogs and social media sites like Twitter deserve First Amendment protection?
New media sites and methods are just new technology relaying the same kinds of content we’ve had all along. When Twitter or blogs provide news and information – necessary to our society to function – they deserve protection just as if that news and information were being relayed via newsprint, broadcast radio or television news programs or other means. It’s the ideas being conveyed, not the mechanism, that should be the focus.
5You began your career in Marion. What do you miss about Indiana?
I’m a native Hoosier, a Ball State University graduate, and spent about the first 10 years of my journalism career there – so I miss many things about my home state, the people who live there – particularly their common-sense and open approach to daily life. One thing I don’t miss: the long, tough winters in northern Indiana!
