FOR RELEASE: September 4, 2025

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

Vienna, Va., September 4, 2025 – The Media Institute today named long-time media executive and government official Patrick Butler as its inaugural James Madison Fellow.

On a variety of platforms, and through interviews with leading journalists, political figures, media executives, historians, and other experts, Butler will examine the role of the First Amendment in the 21st century, issues of media credibility and authenticity in the age of artificial intelligence, how media of all kinds influence public perceptions and opinions, what the public values in a free press, and related topics.

James Madison, fourth President of the United States, is considered the “father of the Constitution” and drafted its first 10 amendments, collectively known as the Bill of Rights. The First Amendment guaranteed freedom of the press, speech, religion, assembly, and the right to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

Forty years ago, Butler was a co-founder of the Times Mirror Center for The People & The Press, which explored such issues through public opinion research on a broad scale. The Times Mirror Center evolved into the Pew Research Center, now regarded as one of the premier public opinion research institutions in the world.

Butler subsequently served for 18 years as senior vice president of the Washington Post Company, and then for 14 years as president and chief executive officer of America’s Public Television Stations. In 2005, he delivered a lecture on The First Amendment in the 21st Century at the 75th anniversary of the Princeton University School of Public Affairs.

In government service, he was a speechwriter for President Gerald R. Ford and special assistant to U.S. Senate Majority Leader and White House Chief of Staff Howard H. Baker, Jr. (R-Tenn.).

“There may be no one better suited to serve as the James Madison Fellow than Pat Butler,” said Media Institute President Richard T. Kaplar. “He brings decades of perspective, an extraordinary breadth of experience, and communications skills that will make this work accessible and useful to anyone interested in the media’s role in our society. We were honored to give him our American Horizon Award last year in recognition of his many years of public service, and we are delighted to announce this new association with such a universally respected leader.”

“Being named James Madison Fellow is a lot to live up to,” Butler said. “But I believe there’s nothing more important to our national conversation right now than improving the mutual understanding of the people and the press, ensuring that the freedom of the press gives the American people the information they need to govern themselves effectively, and examining how media of all kinds help shape our perception of the world and our times.”

In October 2023, the Institute launched a major new initiative, “The Madison Project: Free Speech and Free Press in American Democracy,” which is a timely and impactful assessment of free speech and free press on the future of American democracy. Butler serves on The Madison Project’s steering committee.

The Media Institute is a nonprofit, nonpartisan foundation specializing in communications policy and the First Amendment. Visit the Institute at www.mediainstitute.org.

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