FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez To Deliver Keynote Remarks at Oct. 29 Event

FOR RELEASE: October 28, 2024

Contact: Richard T. Kaplar
The Media Institute
703-506-8030

Vienna, Va., October 28, 2024 – The Media Institute will honor renowned First Amendment attorney Floyd Abrams and veteran media executive Patrick Butler at its annual “Free Speech America” Gala on Oct. 29.  Media Institute Board Chairman Richard E. Wiley will receive a special Lifetime Achievement Award.

Floyd Abrams will receive the Freedom of Speech Award, which will be presented by his son, TV and radio host Dan Abrams.  Patrick Butler will receive the American Horizon Award, to be presented by PBS News Hour Senior Correspondent Judy Woodruff.

FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez will be the evening’s Featured Speaker.  The event will take place at The Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Washington, D.C.

Floyd Abrams is Senior Counsel at Cahill Gordon & Reindel LLP in New York City.  He represented the New York Times in the Pentagon Papers case, and his briefs before the U.S. Supreme Court have helped shape decades of constitutional law related to the First Amendment.  He chairs the Steering Committee of The Media Institute’s Madison Project.

Patrick Butler recently retired as President and CEO of America’s Public Television Stations (APTS).  He has held senior leadership positions with The Washington Post Company, Newsweek Productions, Times Mirror, and Pew Research Center.  His media career followed distinguished service in U.S. Senate and White House staff positions.

Richard E. Wiley is The Media Institute’s Chairman of the Board.  In 1983 he co-founded Wiley Rein LLP, a Washington law firm known for its far-reaching communications practice, and now is Chairman Emeritus.  Mr. Wiley served as a Chairman, Commissioner, and General Counsel of the FCC from 1970 to 1977.

FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez brings more than 30 years of public and private sector experience to her position, which she has held since September 2023.  She has served in senior positions in the U.S. State Department, NTIA, and the FCC.

The Freedom of Speech Award recognizes an individual who has worked to advance free speech, a free press, and the First Amendment.  The American Horizon Award recognizes an individual for visionary leadership in the communications industry.

Information about sponsorship opportunities can be found on The Media Institute’s website at https://www.mediainstitute.org/2024-free-speech-america-gala/.

The Media Institute is a nonprofit foundation specializing in communications policy and the First Amendment.  For more information, visit the Institute online at www.mediainstitute.org.

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