Educational experience: undergraduate and master's degrees from
Drake's School of Journalism and Mass Communication; doctor of jurisprudence
from Drake Law School in spring 2002.
Kathleen Richardson worked at The Des Moines Register for 20 years
in a variety of newsroom jobs: copy editor and copy desk chief, wire
editor, news editor, features editor, book reviewer and columnist.
After leaving the Register to return to school, she also worked for
several years with Dr. Herb Strentz on the Iowa Freedom of Information
Council, a non-profit organization that promotes open government and
is headquartered in the SJMC. She succeeded Strentz as executive secretary
of the organization in 2000. In that role, she produces educational
materials on the state's open meetings and records laws, conducts workshops
and answers citizens' and journalists' inquiries on the Council "hotline."
Richardson's professional interests include journalism law, especially
cyberspace and the law, freedom of information issues and journalism
ethics. She teaches communications law and news writing classes.