Washington, May 13, 2002 – A new luncheon program of the Cornerstone Project, the First Amendment education and awareness program of The Media Institute, will be funded by a grant from The SDX Foundation of the Society of Professional Journalists.

      The Cornerstone Luncheon Series will feature speeches and panel discussions on the impact of current events on freedom of speech and of the press.  The SDX Foundation, which seeks to draw attention to the importance of a free press in our society, has agreed to fund all three of the Cornerstone Luncheon Series events scheduled for 2002.

      The first of the luncheons will be held on May 28. It will feature a panel discussion on the First Amendment questions regarding issue advertising and political speech raised by the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act.  Panelists will include Kenneth Starr of the law firm Kirkland & Ellis and Jan Baran of Wiley, Rein & Fielding, in opposition to the Act, Norman Ornstein of the American Enterprise Institute and Roger Witten from the firm of Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering, in support of it.  Tony Mauro of Legal Times will be the moderator.

      The inaugural luncheon, which is invitation-only, will take place at the St. Regis Hotel in Washington, D.C. Future luncheons in 2002 are tentatively planned for August and November.