Jacob Scher | |
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| Born | May 25, 1908 Chicago, Illinois, United States |
| Died | September 27, 1961 (aged 53) Chicago, Illinois, United States |
| Alma mater | University of Illinois |
| Occupation(s) | Journalist, lawyer, journalism professor |
Jacob Scher (May 25, 1908 – September 27, 1961) was an American journalist, lawyer and tenured journalism professor at the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois.[1]
A leading authority on public access to information, who championed the "people's right to know," Scher served as chief counsel for the U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on Access to Government Information, in Washington, D.C.[2] Headed by Representative John E. Moss of California, the committee was created in 1955 to investigate cases of news suppression by government agencies, a precursor to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).[3] The Freedom of Information Act took 12 years to get through Congress.[3]
"To me," Scher wrote, "the basis of civil rights is freedom of speech, freedom of the press and freedom of association. You can't apprise your fellow man of injustice if you can't talk about it."[4]
- ^ Special to The New York Times (September 28, 1961). ""Prof. Jacob Scher of Northwestern, Leader in Fights of Press Against U.S. Secrecy Dies, Sept. 28, 1961"". The New York Times. p. 35.
- ^ Moss, John E. (1963). "Public Information Policies, the Apa, and Executive Privilege". Administrative Law Review. 15: 111–123. ISSN 0001-8368. JSTOR 40708407.
- ^ a b Gold, Susan Dudley (2012). Freedom of Information Act (1st ed.). Cavendish Square. ISBN 978-1608704859.
- ^ Snyder, Alice W. (1996). Inventing Medill: A History of the Medill School of Journalism Northwestern University 1921-1996. Evanston, Illinois: Northwestern University. p. 77.