The McGaughey Lecture on Press Freedom and Responsibility will
bring noted political cartoonist Marc Murphy to the stage of Lovett
Auditorium at 7 p.m., Feb. 14.
“In colonial America, publishing political cartoons critical of
government and its leaders was often a criminal offense, resulting in
heavy fines and even jail. The First Amendment was ratified, in large
part, to protect the right to dissent,” said Kevin Qualls, chair of
Murray State’s department of Journalism and Mass Communication.
“This presentation will focus on the value of dissent.”
The event was created by the McGaughey Fund for Excellence in
Journalism and Mass Communication which was established in 2020
through a generous bequest from the late Robert H. “Doc” McGaughey. “Doc”
McGaughey.
“Doc McGaughey was a devout believer in press freedom,” Qualls said.
“But he was equally devoted to the concept of press responsibility to
public service, the dissemination of truth and protection of innocence.”
As a leader of the faculty at Murray State University, he devoted his life
to those principles in teaching and in practice.”
Murphy is a Louisville attorney with an ability to capture the essence of
important ethical and political issues in his art. He is regularly published
in The Courier Journal and USA Today. His cartoons have garnered
numerous local and national awards.
“Dissent is important if we are to have a well-informed electorate. And
Marc Murphy does it boldly while maintaining fair standards,”
Qualls said. “We’re fortunate to have Marc Murphy as our first McGaughey
lecturer.”
McGaughey began his career at Murray State following an active
undergraduate career in media and military service in Vietnam. He
returned to be adviser the Murray State News and, after a brief absence to earn his doctorate in journalism at Ohio University, joined the faculty. In 1974, he became chairman of the new-formed department of Journalism and Radio/TV.
“When Doc was inducted into the Kentucky Press Hall of Fame, he laid
out the problems that would afflict our society without checks on press
irresponsibility,” said Robert Valentine, a long-time colleague.
“He was one of the first scholars to articulate the stress that comes from
unchecked abuse of the privilege of free speech.”
Valentine said the McGaughey Fund for Excellence in Journalism is an
extension of “Doc” McGaughey’s lifelong campaign to teach the use of
free speech “while safeguarding the public good through the responsible
use of the new power new media.”
“It is among the greatest challenges we face today,” Qualls said.
The lecture is intended to be an annual effort to encourage both dissent and
responsibility.
The lecture is free to the public and will be among the first events in the
newly-remodeled Lovett Auditorium.
