Ken Paulson: 'I'm Not Running Away'

By: Joe Strupp After four years running USA Today, outgoing editor Ken Paulson says he is most proud of the paper's investigative work. And he adds that he is not leaving to escape the mounting newspaper industry problems, but to go to what he calls the "Yankee Stadium of the First Amendment."

"I would be here for another five years if this job had not come along," Paulson, 55, said Thursday, a day after announcing he would become president and COO of The Freedom Forum and Newseum on Feb. 1, 2009. "Deciding to leave is very difficult. I am not running away from anything. These are hard times, but I remain bullish about newspapers and USA Today in particular."

Paulson, former executive director of the Freedom Forum's First Amendment Center, became editor of USA Today in April 2004, replacing Karen Jurgensen. He took over in the wake of the Jack Kelley scandal, which revealed that Kelley, a USA Today Pulitzer Prize finalist, had falsified stories.

During his time at the paper, Paulson believes he has allowed it to maintain its easy reading style, but with a nose for in-depth reporting. He points to the highly-praised 2006 revelation that the National Security Agency had been keeping a massive data base of private citizen phone calls, as well as last week's report on toxins near schools.

"USA Today will always be thought of as a bright, quick, easy read and we are comfortable with that," Paulson said. "But it is also a newspaper that holds people in power accountable."

He adds that, "one of the things we emphasized since I arrived here was daily enterprise and watchdog work. Our lead story on most days is different from anyone else."

As for the Newseum and Freedom Forum, Paulson offered no immediate changes or plans he will put forth. "You look and you listen and you talk to people," he said about his first weeks in the new job.

But he noted that some music-related programs, which marked his days at the First Amendment Center, are likely. "You'll see a lot more of that," he said, citing past events that included the likes of Steppenwolf and members of the Young Rascals. "The Freedom Forum is a great place to take a fresh look at the 216-year-old freedoms."

Paulson declined to speculate on who might replace him at USA Today. But he said the job remains an attractive one, even with the industry problems: "Running a national newspaper is still an exciting opportunity. I am sure there will be a lot of people interested."

As he leaves the editing ranks, Paulson does offer some advice for those who will continue to run daily papers: "It is important to remember what the founding fathers had in mind. The American people have always counted on us to act as a check on government. Whether that sells papers or not, that is still our job."