"THE FIRST AMENDMENT GUARANTEES FREEDOM OF SPEECH
AND FREEDOM OF THE PRESS. AND YOU CANNOT HAVE
A FREE SOCIETY IF YOU DO NOT HAVE BOTH."
-Hugh M. Hefner
THE HUGH M. HEFNER
FIRST AMENDMENT AWARDS
The Hugh M. Hefner First Amendment Awards, a program of the Hugh M. Hefner Foundation, were established by Christie Hefner, former Chairman and CEO, Playboy Enterprises, Inc., in 1979 to honor individuals who have made significant contributions in the vital effort to protect and enhance First Amendment rights for all Americans. Since the inception of the awards, more than 150 individuals, including high school students, lawyers, librarians, journalists, and educators, have been honored.
The Award winners, many of whom are unsung heroes, have traditionally come from the areas of journalism, education, book publishing, law, and government, as well as motion pictures, television, and theatre. Winners are selected by a panel of distinguished judges.
OUR 2019 HONOREES
GREG LUKIANOFF
Book Publishing
For his book, "The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting Up a Generation for Failure" (co-authored with Jonathan Haidt).
JONATHAN HAIDT
Book Publishing
For his book, "The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting Up a Generation for Failure" (co-authored with Greg Lukianoff).
CHRISTIAN BALES
Education
For creatively and inspirationally expressing his free speech rights in delivering his valedictory speech after his school tried to suppress it.
GRACE MARION
Journalism
For her fight against school censorship and for her investigative reporting on her school's lack of sexual misconduct records for its teachers.
TED BOUTROUS, JR.
Law
For successfully representing CNN and Jim Acosta in bringing First Amendment claims against President Trump and forcing the White House to restore Mr. Acosta's press credentials.
DR. GEORGE LUBER
Government
An internationally recognized epidemiologist, for his outspoken defense of science education and climate change, despite the risk of termination from the CDC.
FLOYD ABRAMS
Lifetime Achievement
For his lifelong devotion to constitutional law and for protecting freedom of speech and of the press from infringement by the government.
MASTER OF CEREMONIES
CHRISTIE HEFNER
President, Hugh M. Hefner Foundation
Christie Hefner is a passionate advocate for freedom of expression, social justice, and opportunities for women. She launched the First Amendment Awards in 1979.
THE 2019 JUDGES
Neal Katyal is the Paul and Patricia Saunders Professor of Law at Georgetown University and a Partner at Hogan Lovells. He previously served as Acting Solicitor General of the United States. He has argued 37 cases before the Supreme Court of the United States with 35 of them in the last nine years. At the age of 48, he argued more Supreme Court cases in U.S. history than any minority attorney, breaking the record held by Thurgood Marshall. His numerous distinctions include: the Edmund Randolph Award (U.S. Dept. of Justice); The Litigator of the Year by American Lawyer (2017); Appellate MVP by Law360 (most recently in 2017); winner of the Financial Times Innovative Lawyer Awards (2017); and 40 Most Influential Lawyers of the Last Decade Nationwide by National Law Journal (2010).
Michael B. Keegan is president of People for the American Way and People for the American Way Foundation. An arts and free expression advocate, he created Artists for the American Way to enlist artists’ support for the organizations’ work. Michael led the creation of PFAW’s Latinos Vote! Project, which holds candidates accountable for anti-Latino and anti-immigrant rhetoric. And he spearheaded the launch of the Next Up Victory Fund to help elect diverse leaders under age 40 to state and local offices to help build the bench of progressive leaders across the country. Michael has been a long time LGBT+ activist and was a founding national board member of The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLADD).
Karen Tumulty is a columnist and former national political correspondent for The Washington Post. She joined The Post in 2010 from Time magazine. During her more than 15 years at Time, Tumulty wrote or co-wrote more than three dozen cover stories. She also held positions with Time as congressional correspondent and White House correspondent. Before joining Time in 1994, Tumulty spent 14 years at the Los Angeles Times, where she reported on Congress, business, energy and economics from Los Angeles, New York and Washington, D.C. Tumulty received the Toner Prize for Excellence in Political Reporting; the National Press Foundation Edwin M. Hood Award for Diplomatic Correspondence; and the Gerald Loeb Award for Distinguished Business and Financial Journalism.