Iowa Newspaper Association Honors Michael Giudicessi with Distinguished Service Award

Faegre Baker Daniels Partner and Des Moines Office Leader Michael Giudicessi has received a Distinguished Service Award from the Iowa Newspaper Association.

The award honors Giudicessi for his work to protect the rights of journalists and the First Amendment throughout his career. For more than 35 years, he has devoted a significant portion of his time to issues for media and communications clients. He has educated and mentored two generations of reporters, and his legal work ensures that public meetings are open and that records are available to the public.

Randy Evans, retired editorial page editor of The Des Moines Register, presented the award. “[Giudicessi] has done as much to ensure freedom and openness as anyone in the state and continues to battle secrecy and closed-door meetings of local government agencies,” Evans said. “He has provided consistent, valuable and fair defense of openness in government and the exercise of First Amendment rights.”    

Giudicessi is a past president and serves as counsel for the Iowa Freedom of information Council, and he is a former board member of the Iowa Newspaper Foundation. He has published articles relating to journalism and freedom of speech, and is a contributor to the Media Law Resource Center, writing Iowa law outlines on topics including media defamation law and media privacy law.

Faegre Baker Daniels Partner and Des Moines Office Leader Michael Giudicessi has received a Distinguished Service Award from the Iowa Newspaper Association.

The award honors Giudicessi for his work to protect the rights of journalists and the First Amendment throughout his career. For more than 35 years, he has devoted a significant portion of his time to issues for media and communications clients. He has educated and mentored two generations of reporters, and his legal work ensures that public meetings are open and that records are available to the public.

Randy Evans, retired editorial page editor of The Des Moines Register, presented the award. “[Giudicessi] has done as much to ensure freedom and openness as anyone in the state and continues to battle secrecy and closed-door meetings of local government agencies,” Evans said. “He has provided consistent, valuable and fair defense of openness in government and the exercise of First Amendment rights.”    

Giudicessi is a past president and serves as counsel for the Iowa Freedom of information Council, and he is a former board member of the Iowa Newspaper Foundation. He has published articles relating to journalism and freedom of speech, and is a contributor to the Media Law Resource Center, writing Iowa law outlines on topics including media defamation law and media privacy law.