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Biography
Carolyn S. Carlson is an associate professor of Communication and director of the Journalism and Emerging Media program at Kennesaw State. Carlson researches the relationship between reporters and government public relations professionals. Reports on her research have received widespread attention during national Sunshine Week in March of 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016. The latest involved national surveys of police public information officers and crime reporters. Carlson teaches the reporting and writing classes, advanced media writing, the capstone course and media law.
Before entering academia, Carlson worked as a political press secretary and as a longtime reporter and editor for The Associated Press. Carlson was also a reporter for five years on The Augusta (Ga.) Chronicle and the Orlando (Fla.) Sentinel. While at the AP, she served as national president of the Society of Professional Journalists, which is the oldest and largest professional organization serving the news media. She is a former chair of the SPJ Ethics Committee and is currently a member of the SPJ Freedom of Information Committee.
Carlson is the recipient of many awards, including SPJ’s highest honor for a member, the Wells Key, which she received in 1993, and the SPJ First Amendment Award, which she received in 1998 for founding the multi-organizational Campus Courts Task Force, which has had success in changing federal law to increase public access to college disciplinary records involving serious crime.
Industry Expertise (5)
Education/Learning
Media - Print
Media - Online
Media - Broadcast
Writing and Editing
Areas of Expertise (10)
Journalism
News Writing
Copy Editing
Social Media
Press Releases
Blogging
Journalism Ethics
Media Law
Freedom of Information Act
News Media
Accomplishments (2)
Society of Professional Journalists' Wells Key (professional)
1993
Society of Professional Journalists First Amendment Award (professional)
1998 For founding the multi-organizational Campus Courts Task Force for its success in changing federal law to increase public access to college disciplinary records involving serious crime
Education (1)
Georgia State University: Ph.D., Political Communication 2005
Affiliations (1)
- Society of Professional Journalists Freedom of Information Committee : Member
Links (2)
Media Appearances (6)
Navigating Through Open Records Laws
GBP's "On Second Thought" radio
2016-07-11
Few journalists ever want to find themselves in the headlines, but that’s exactly what happened a few weeks ago when a North Georgia newspaper publisher was jailed after he filed an open records request. He has since been released, all charges dropped, but the case is still attracting national attention, and raises very serious First Amendment issues.
Working journalists help students follow in footsteps
The Sentinel
2016-03-31
The university’s chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists hosted a panel discussion in conjunction with the Atlanta Press Club the morning of Saturday, March 26.
Study: Government Blocks Specific Journalists From Accessing Information
IBT Media Inc.
2014-07-08
As states move to hide details of government deals with Wall Street and as politicians come up with new arguments to defend secrecy, it was revealed this week that many government information officers block specific journalists they don't like from accessing information. The news comes as 47 federal inspectors general sent a letter to lawmakers criticizing "serious limitations on access to records" that they say have "impeded" their oversight work.
Obama’s Blacklist Includes More Than Just Terrorists
In These Times
2014-08-22
As states move to hide details of government deals with Wall Street, and as politicians come up with new arguments to defend secrecy, a study released earlier this month revealed that many government information officers block specific journalists they don't like from accessing information. The news comes as 47 federal inspectors general sent a letter to lawmakers criticizing “serious limitations on access to records” that they say have “impeded” their oversight work.
How a new Washington stifles a new political press
Columbia Journalism Review
2014-08-06
The video featured all the trappings of a heartwarming human interest piece: uplifting piano music, a hometown angle, and a main character named Earnest. Released by the White House last week, the four-minute film shows Press Secretary Josh Earnest, a Kansas City native, inviting four locals to dinner with President Barack Obama. More than 42,000 viewers watched the clip as of Wednesday morning—small potatoes by mainstream media standards, but a sizeable total nonetheless.
Stonewalling by government officials at all levels is a threat to democracy
The Buffalo News
2014-03-16
When the Valley Journals of Riverton, Utah, a suburb of Salt Lake City, wanted to know the time of the town’s 2012 Easter egg hunt, they couldn’t find out. The city barred the parks official from speaking to reporters without permission, and nothing, not even the Second Coming, would pry that information loose.
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