Associated Press CEO Thomas Curley Debates Freedom of Information, April 26

Thomas Curley, president and chief executive officer of the Associated Press, has been asking questions as a journalist since he covered his first story at the age of 15. More than 40 years later, the former publisher of USA Today who now leads the world’s largest news organization, is still asking questions. One of them is concerning why the government withholds information from the public.

Rochester Institute of Technology’s School of Print Media will honor Curley with the Isaiah Thomas Award, April 26, named for one of America’s most influential proponents of the First Amendment. Isaiah Thomas was considered a patriot of the publishing industry in the 1700s.

Curley, a leading advocate for the free flow of government information, will take part in a panel discussion about freedom of information in America from 10:30 a.m. to noon on Tuesday, April 26 in Webb auditorium in the James E. Booth Building.

Curley says without question, the government has become more secretive. “More documents were classified in 2004 than in all previous years,” says Curley. “There usually is a move toward secrecy after or in times of war or public concern, so it’s important to say it’s just not this administration that has moved to do that. Over the course of history that’s been the normal reaction, but it behooves the rest of us who care about these type of issues to raise questions and to examine when and why things are being classified or kept from public view.”

Joining Curley on the panel will be Grant Cos, RIT professor in the College of Liberal Arts; Bob Finnerty, Chief Communications Officer, RIT University News; Bob Freeman, director of the Committee on Open Government in New York; Karen Magnuson, editor of the Democrat and Chronicle; Chuck Samuels, news director at 13WHAM-TV; and Rep. Louise Slaughter, 28th Congressional District. Norm Silverstein, president of WXXI-TV will serve as the panel moderator.

An award ceremony will be held at 3:30 p.m. on April 26 in Ingle Auditorium in the Student Alumni Union. The School of Print Media will take a look back at Curley’s outstanding contributions to the publishing industry. Curley is the 25th recipient of the award. Both events are free and open to the public.

NOTE: Rochester Institute of Technology’s School of Print Media, considered among the best of its kind in the world, offers undergraduate programs in graphic media and new media publishing, and a graduate program in print media.

RIT is also internationally recognized as a leader in computing, imaging technology, fine and applied arts, and education of the deaf, enrolling 15,300 full- and part-time students in more than 340 career-oriented and professional programs.

For well over a decade, U.S. News and World Report has ranked RIT as one of the nation’s leading comprehensive universities. RIT is also included in The Fiske Guide to Colleges and Barron’s Best Buys in Education.