Serving as the master of ceremonies at the New York luncheon, Margaret Carlson, Washington editor of The Week magazine and columnist for Bloomberg News, presented the eight honorees with a $5,000 honorarium and a crystal plaque commemorating their achievements.
“I am delighted to add eight more names to the impressive roster of Hugh M. Hefner 1st Amendment Award winners,” Hefner said. “A principal guarantee of freedom is the 1st Amendment. Now, more than ever, it is important that we honor the men and women who are on the front lines protecting that freedom.”
Playboy announced the following list of winners, along with a statement for why each was deserving of recognition:
· Paisley Dodds (Print Journalism): An Associated Press reporter who reported on the activities at the U.S. military detention facility in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and under the Freedom of Information Act, sued for the release of thousands of pages of tribunal transcripts, which revealed numerous complaints about prisoner abuse.
· Patricia Princehouse, Ph.D. (Education): The leader of Ohio Citizens for Science who, seeing a profound and rising challenge to the separation of church and state in American schools, organized a successful coalition to preserve science education in Ohio's public schools.
· Geoffrey R. Stone (Book Publishing): A law professor at the University of Chicago Law School who wrote “Perilous Times: Free Speech in Wartime from the Sedition Act of 1798 to the War on Terrorism.” The book sounds a clarion call for robust protection of 1st Amendment freedoms, especially in times of national crisis.
· Jack Spadaro (Government): The director of the National Mine Safety and Health Academy who put his life on the line when he blew the whistle on irresponsible mining practices, corporate collusion, and government cover-up in the wake of an environmental mining disaster.
· Shelby Knox (Arts and Entertainment): A student and subject of the film “The Education of Shelby Knox,” who challenged abstinence-only sex education and alarmist misinformation in her Lubbock, Texas high school and fought for medically accurate sexuality education and lesbian and gay rights.
· Marion Lipschutz & Rose Rosenblatt (Arts and Entertainment): The producers/directors of “The Education of Shelby Knox,” who exposed the consequences of abridging students' right to learn through abstinence- only education that prohibits teachers from giving comprehensive, medically accurate sexuality education.
· Rhett Jackson (Lifetime Achievement): The former president of the American Booksellers Association (ABA) and owner of The Happy Bookseller who has committed his life to the 1st Amendment and social justice with indefatigable dedication to the free exchange of ideas and the proposition that the printed word should be available to all.
To date, Playboy has honored more than 100 people for their contributions to free speech.
