Top media industry leaders will explore effective approaches to preparing for traditional and non-traditional communications jobs at Bowie State University’s annual media conference April 19-20, 2013.
The free conference runs from 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. Friday, April 19 and from 9 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. Saturday, April 20 at the Center for Learning Technology. It will provide opportunities for Bowie State’s communications majors to connect with prominent media professionals and learn first-hand about the wide-range of career options. Community residents are also welcomed to attend.
WJLA-TV Anchor Maureen Bunyan, an award-winning veteran newscaster with more than 30 years of broadcasting experience, will be the keynote speaker. Bunyan is a founder of National Association of Black Journalists and the International Women’s Media Foundation, which serves women in the media in 100 countries.
More than 30 guest speakers, representing companies like NBC 4, National Geographic Society, and Al Jazerra English, will share their experiences and knowledge in concurrent panel discussions centered on the theme: “Preparing for Productive Media Careers in a Competitive World.” Sessions on careers in social media, research, sports and entertainment management, as well as media ownership and publishing industry trends, are designed to facilitate discussions and showcase the diversity of career opportunities in communications fields.
The conference promises to be one of the largest hosted by Bowie State’s Department of Communications. “The expert speakers represent the broad spectrum of job and career opportunities in today's contemporary media industries. They will share their insights on the status, direction and future of traditional and emerging media,” said Dwight Ellis, communications lecturer and conference organizer.
On Friday, April 19, the daylong sessions will culminate with an awards program to recognize veteran professionals for their outstanding work in advancing the progress of minorities and women in the media industry. The program is set for 5-7 p.m. in the Thurgood Marshall Library, Special Collections Room.
The honorees are:
- Marcellus Alexander, executive vice president, television, National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) and president, NAB Education Foundation
- Lisa Fager Bediako, president/co-founder, Industry Ears (media watchdog group focused on media’s impact on communities of color)
- Maureen Bunyan, news anchor/correspondent, WJLA-TV
- Topper Carew, chief executive officer, Step It Up, Inc. and visiting researcher/scholar, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Media Lab
- Betty Hudson, executive vice president, communications, National Geographic Society
- Jennifer Lawson, senior vice president, television and digital video content, Corporation for Public Broadcasting
- Pluria Marshall, founder/chairman, National Black Media Coalition
- Richard Prince, editor, 'Journal-isms" (online column on the website of the Robert C. Maynard Institute for Journalism Education)
- Daniel Spears, vice president industry relations licensing, BMI
- Lon Walls, communications director, District of Columbia Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department
- Howard Woolley, senior vice president, strategic alliances and wireless public policy, Verizon Communications
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ABOUT BOWIE STATE UNIVERSITY
Bowie State University (BSU) is an important higher education access portal for qualified persons from diverse academic and socioeconomic backgrounds, seeking a high quality and affordable public comprehensive university. The University places special emphasis on the science, technology, teacher education, business, and nursing disciplines within the context of a liberal arts education. For more information about BSU, visit the website at
www.bowiestate.edu.
Posted By: Reginald Culpepper
Wednesday, April 3rd 2013 at 6:01PM
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