Dr. Zeny Panol and
John Seigenthaler

Dr. Zeny Panol, associate interim dean of the MTSU College of Mass Communication, welcomes the participants with introductory remarks, followed by comments from John Seigenthaler.

John Seigenthaler founded the First Amendment Center in 1991 with the mission of creating national discussion, dialogue and debate about First Amendment rights and values. A former president of the American Society of Newspaper Editors, 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. He retains the title chairman emeritus. In 1982, 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. A former Nieman Fellow at Harvard University, he served for two decades as a member of the Nieman advisory board.