First Freedom of Information Center director dies

Paul Fisher, a former University of Missouri journalism professor and the initial director of the Freedom of Information Center, died March 17 at the age of 90, the Columbia Missourian reported.

MU journalism professor Paul Fisher's public acclaim as a hero of the freedom of information movement stood in bright contrast to his quiet, private personality.

Friends and colleagues said Fisher, who died Tuesday, March 17, 2009, at Lenoir Health Care Center at age 90, led the crusade for access to public information and helped found the academic study of information access.

"We wouldn't have a Freedom of Information Act in the United States if it weren't for Paul Fisher," said Pat Smith, editor of the Global Journalist. Smith described her friend and mentor as a brilliant, complicated intellectual who loved reading and the craft of journalism.

More here.

Also, Paul Fisher a true champion for freedom of information, by George Kennedy, here.