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9:30am > Registration

10:00am > Opening Remarks
Michael X. Delli Carpini, C'75, G'75
Dean, Annenberg School for Communications

10:05-11:15am > News and Journalism in the New Age of Information

· Introduction: Lisa Cohen, C'82, producer, 60 Minutes II

· Moderator: Dr. Stephen P. Steinberg, Gr'89, executive director of the Penn National Commission on Society, Culture and Community and co-editor (with University of Pennsylvania President Judith Rodin) of Public Discourse in America: Conversation and Community in the Twenty-First Century

· Panelists: Ti-Hua Chang, C'72, Peabody and Emmy-award winning reporter, News Channel 4 New York; Henry Schleiff, C'70, L'73, chairman and CEO of Court TV; Walter Updegrave, C'74, senior editor, Money magazine; Robert Zimmerman, C'88, vice president, media relations, Fox News; Bobbi Rebell, C'92, financial news reporter for Reuters Television; Emily Frances, entertainment reporter for Channel 11's "News in the Morning" in New York

Since World War II, Americans have moved from a world of information scarcity to a state of information overload and ubiquity. Raw information is available 24/7/365, both online and through new media and technologies. Where our parents and grandparents read evening newspapers and watched newsreel trailers at the movie theater, we have access to 24-hour news via print, radio, network and cable television as well by logging onto the Internet. The 21st Century consumer of news can receive information from a virtually limitless variety of sources and even receive specialized daily reports on areas of personal interest. One would think we had entered a technologically-mediated "heaven on earth" for journalists, news junkies, and mediaphiles -- news anywhere, anytime, anyway we want it -- a true information democracy.

How have traditional media outlets changed with the advent of the 24-hour news cycle? What's been the impact of new technological advances on broadcast, online, and print communications? Does any real distinction remain between news and entertainment? Do recent instances of willfully inaccurate -- even invented -- reporting signal a general deterioration of responsibility and professional ethics in the news business? Does the coverage of the War on Terrorism and the War in Iraq foreshadow a return to the World War II era of "patriotic" news reporting and jingoistic -- even xenophobic -- treatments of international events? The panel will cover these topics and more.

11:30am-12:45pm > Sports and the Media

· Introduction: Eliot Kaplan, C'78, editorial talent director, Hearst Magazines

· Moderator: Stefan Fatsis, C'85, sports writer for The Wall Street Journal and author, Word Freak

· Panelists: Buzz Bissinger, C'76, author, Friday Night Lights, and contributor to Vanity Fair magazine; Donna Bryan, W'89, vice president, negotiations, NBC Sports; Leland Hardy, WG'86, AIC Limited; Budd Mishkin, C'81, NY-1 sportscaster; Alan Schwarz, C'90, senior writer at Baseball America magazine, and regular contributor to ESPN.com, Newsweek, and The New York Times; Professor Kenneth Shropshire, HOM'92, sports expert and chair of legal studies for the Wharton School

Sports has become more than American’s favorite pastime. In fact, the importance and popularity of sports, as we know it today, has grown beyond our national borders and fueled a complex global industry involving unimaginable amounts of money as well as a multitude of social, political and legal issues.

Some observers have suggested that television has been the driving force behind many of the changes involving sports in the last couple of decades. But the success of modern, televised sports has also strongly influenced practices in and expectations of the rest of the media.

Whether it is the multimillion dollar contracts of high school athletes, Kobe Bryant's image and his ability to get a fair trial, or the marketability of Anna Kournikova as a celebrity outside the world of tennis, the impact of sports on our culture is undeniable.

In this panel, we will hear from several individuals who spend a great deal of their time thinking about sports. We will explore such issues as the corporate sponsorship of athletes and sporting events, the rising cost of talent, the public image issues of athletes, the hiring of minority coaches, and the effect of Tiger Woods and the Williams sisters on their respective games and on the world of sports in general.

12:45-2:15pm > Lunch

2:15-3:30pm > Writers on the Writing Process

· Introduction and Moderator: Professor Al Filreis, HOM'91, founder and faculty director of the Kelly Writers House at the University of Pennsylvania, and director of the Center for Programs in Contemporary Writing

· Panelists: Leslie Bennetts, CW'70, journalist and writer, Vanity Fair magazine; Jennifer Egan, C'85, writer and author, Look At Me; Galina Espinoza, CAS'91, deputy editor, Latina Magazine; Stephen Fried, C'79, writer, investigative Journalist, and author, The New Rabbi; Caroline Hwang, C'91, author, In Full Bloom; Marci Alboher Nusbaum, C'88, lawyer and freelance writer

Writing is the key element in every media profession. Whether one is reporting facts, creating stories, or developing abstract ideas, good writing is the sine qua non that fuels the media industry. Writing is not only vital to the creative process, but it is the common thread that links newspapers, television, magazines, and books. The writer is at the center of the story, the article, the screenplay, the vision. In fact, a strong writer or writing team is almost always behind a successful creative media project -- while poor writing can destroy the credibility of reporters and news gathering organizations. Yet writers live a professional life of great difficulty and uncertainty, where success not only does not come easily, but can be fleeting and ephemeral, subject to the fads and fashions of the literary or journalistic moment.

In this panel, we will hear from writers of different ages, experience, levels, and interests. We will ask each about their craft. How did they become writers? What are their favorite subjects to write about? How are ideas for their projects generated? What inspires them? We will also discuss the realities of the profession as well as the current state of writing and the publishing industry.

3:45-5:00pm > At the Intersection of Commerce, Culture and Creativity, Part II

· Introduction and Moderator: Bill Boggs, C'62, ASC'64, TV talk show host and producer

· Panelists: Neil Braun, C'74, president, Vanguard Animation and overseer of the University of Pennsylvania School of Arts and Sciences; Donny Deutsch, W'79, chairman and CEO, Deutsch, Inc., Advertising; Julie Goldstein, C'87, executive vice president, development and European Production, Miramax Films; Rich Ross, C'83, president, entertainment, Disney Channel; Tina Sharkey, C'86, senior vice president of life management, community, and network integration at AOL; Stanley Jaffe, W'62, former studio executive and producer of the Oscar-winner for Best Picture Kramer vs. Kramer and the Oscar-nominated Fatal Attraction, Racing with the Moon, and School Ties, among many others

How do various players in the media industry integrate creativity and commerce to create a product or property that effectively meets the demand of the marketplace? What are the challenges that these executives face in today’s marketplace? How have things changed in the Media since the economic downturn?

In this final panel, we will follow up with several of our Penn colleagues who are experts in the fields in advertising, TV, animation, the Internet and film production about these questions which first surfaced in last year’s panel of the same title.

This time we will add to the debate the recent phenomenon in the media including Reality TV, the marketing of Generation Y "Teen Market", the increasing cost of TV and film production and its effect on programming and the viability of the Internet as a profitable model for business.

6:00-8:00pm > Networking Reception