Paul K. McMasters, The Freedom Forum

Paul K. McMasters, a 31-year veteran of journalism, became executive director of The Freedom Forum First Amendment Center at Vanderbilt University in 1992. Prior to that, he was associate editorial director of USA Today.

In 1995 he assumed his current role as First Amendment Ombudsman at The Freedom Forum’s headquarters in Arlington, Va. As ombudsman, he works to educate and inform about First Amendment issues that arise in Congress, the courts, the media, and other areas of public life.

McMasters speaks and writes frequently on all aspects of First Amendment rights and values, in particular free speech, free press, censorship, journalism ethics, and access to government information. He has testified before a number of government commissions and congressional committees.

McMasters is active in a number of press groups and is the former national president of the Society of Professional Journalists, the nation’s largest and most broad-based press organization; he also served four years as the National FOI Chair for SPJ. In 1996, he was one of 24 Americans inducted into the inaugural class of the Freedom of Information Hall of Fame.