Regional media figures from the fields of print, radio and television journalism will join moderator Gene Policinski of "Speaking Freely" for a panel discussion entitled "The Freedom to Act" at the State University of New York at Fredonia on Wednesday, April 13 at 7 p.m. in 202 McEwen Hall. This in-depth look at the current state of First Amendment rights is part of "A Call to Civic Action," the 2005 SUNY Fredonia convocation, and is sponsored by the Department of Communication, the Journalism program of the Department of Interdisciplinary Studies, The Leader, WNYF-TV, Fredonia Radio Systems and the Convocation Committee. Admission is free and open to the public.
 
Mr. Policinski is executive director of the Freedom Forum’s First Amendment Center at Vanderbilt University and the executive producer/co-host of "Speaking Freely," a television program dedicated to free expression and the arts that appears weekly on the Public Broadcasting System. Throughout his distinguished professional career, Mr. Policinski has also served as the host of National Public Radio’s "Newseum Radio," an editor for USA Today and a bureau chief for Gannett News Service.
 
Along with Mr. Policinski, the panel for "The Freedom to Act" will be composed of five guests representing different aspects of news media in Western New York. The group will include:

• Lee Coppola, dean of the Jandoli School of Journalism and Mass Communication at St. Bonaventure University and a former investigative reporter and federal prosecutor;
• Dunkirk Observer Managing Editor and SUNY Fredonia graduate John D’Agostino;
• Ellen Przepasniak, editor-in-chief of the weekly SUNY Fredonia student newspaper, The Leader;
• Jim Ranney, news director for Buffalo radio station WNED 970-AM;
• Bruce Corris, news manager for Buffalo television station WNYO-TV 49.

"It was important to us to have as many aspects of the media represented as possible in order to get a comprehensive perspective of the state of the First Amendment in the 21st century," said Ann Carden, an Assistant Professor of Communication at SUNY Fredonia. "To this end, we wanted representatives from daily print, radio and TV. It was also important to understand the preparation future journalists are receiving in college, thus the addition of a journalism school dean, who rose through media ranks, and the editor of the college newspaper."
 
Mr. Policinski will also present a speech at a SUNY Fredonia luncheon event on Wednesday, April 13 at 12:15 p.m. in the Williams Center Multipurpose Room. Tickets are $7 and can be purchased at the Central Ticket Office by calling (716) 673-3501. Tickets will remain on sale through Wednesday, April 6.
 
SUNY Fredonia convocation activities are part of an annual tradition in which select faculty members and administrators choose a topic for the campus community to study. A variety of projects related to this subject are then scheduled across the academic calendar. This year, $5,000 was budgeted by SUNY Fredonia to support convocation events and the Office of the President donated an additional $800 to support convocation functions.
 
For more information on programs and events at SUNY Fredonia, visit the university online at www.fredonia.edu.