The 2009 Dr. Lewis B. O'Donnell Media Summit presented "Your GPS Directions to the Digital Media World" on Oct. 14. You can hear a rebroadcast of the event on the WRVO stations at 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 24.

The panel discussion in the Sheldon Hall ballroom included moderator Louis A. Borrelli Jr., former president and CEO of market leader NEP Broadcasting, the summit's founding sponsor and a 1977 Oswego graduate; Matty de Castro, an account director at Facebook; 1988 Oswego graduate Mark Levy, vice president and creative director for NBC Sports and Olympics; E.B. Moss, founder of high-profile marketing firm Moss Appeal; and 1977 Oswego graduate Rick Yacobush, market sales manager for Clear Channel in Syracuse. Student reactor will be senior broadcasting major Robert Stobie. 

In addition, guest experts will visit classes and meet with students throughout the day.

The new digital media change our knowledge of the universe around us: how we interact with other people, how we regard the laws and customs of our society, how completely and factually world and local events are reported to us, how we can use media to impact business and government and how we are entertained. Discussions will address national broadcast TV networks, national cable TV networks, local broadcast TV stations, local radio broadcast stations, broadband program delivery/video on demand, Web sites/social interaction platforms, motion pictures/DVD, recorded music/CDs, video games, newspapers/magazines and mobile devices.

The summit's day of activity also included a Career Connectors speed meeting at 5 p.m. in the Sheldon Hall lower lobby, where current students can network with established professionals. Career Connectors booked included Emanuel Adjekum (class of 2005), associate manager of university and diversity recruitment at ESPN; Michael Gewirtzman (class of 2005), founder and principal of Vinyl Artist Management; Jim Griffin (Class of 1997), director of technology at noise, a firm that helps companies target young adults; Ron Lombard, general manager and news director for News 10 Now in Syracuse; Larry Rubinstein (class of 1981), chief engineer of Magno Sound and Video Studios; Seth Thibault (class of 2005) senior account manager at Yahoo!; and Koren L. Vaughan (class of 1995), assistant marketing director for New York City's WBLS-FM and WLIB-AM.

The Media Summit was founded through the generosity of Borrelli in 2005. In 2007, Al Roker (a 1976 Oswego graduate), weathercaster and host of NBC's "Today" show, provided additional funding to rename the summit in memory of longtime professor Dr. Lewis B. O'Donnell, a seminal figure in the college experiences of Borrelli and Roker. The college's communication studies department coordinates the summit.

For information on the 2008 Media Summit, visit its archived page.