The awards were presented at The Media Institute's Friends & Benefactors Banquet on Oct. 22 at the Four Seasons Hotel in Washington. Honoring The Media Institute as a special guest was FCC Commissioner James H. Quello.

Sen. Leahy is known on Capitol Hill as the "cyber senator." He was one of the first members of Congress to go online, and conducts electronic town meetings with Vermonters on the Internet. He was elected to the Senate in 1974.

John S. Hendricks has guided the growth of Discovery Communications, Inc. since he founded its original cable service in 1982. Today Discovery is a global multi-media enterprise that includes film, video, online, publishing, and retail ventures. The Discovery Channel alone serves 98.5 million subscribers in 146 countries.

Presenting the Freedom of Speech Award to Sen. Leahy was John Perry Barlow, co-founder of the Electronic Frontier Foundation and lyricist for the Grateful Dead. James H. Billington, Librarian of Congress, presented the American Horizon Award to Hendricks.

The Media Institute is an independent nonprofit research organization specializing in communications policy. Through conferences, publications, and filings with courts and regulatory bodies, the Institute advocates a strong First Amendment, competition within the communications industry, and journalistic excellence.