The Dr. Lewis B. O'Donnell Media Summit will explore digital media when top communications professionals converge on campus for "Media Revolution" Oct. 22.

The fourth annual edition of the summit will feature class visits and commentary by Sony BMG executive J. Scott Dinsdale, radio trade magazine publisher Erica Farber, ESPN.com chief Rob King, media guru Jack Myers and Oswego's own Steve Leblang '81 of FX Networks. The day's highlight is a panel discussion featuring all five visitors at 3 p.m. in the Sheldon Hall Ballroom on campus.

This year's summit panel discussion will also be Webcast.

As executive vice president of digital operations and new technology for Sony BMG, Dinsdale is on the forefront of the media revolution, helping connect international music artists with various distribution partners for Sony BMG. He previously worked as executive vice president of digital strategy for the Motion Picture Association of America, where his primary responsibility was to protect the industry's interest in the digital age.

Farber has consistently been recognized as one of the top executives in the radio industry. The head of respected trade publication Radio & Records, Farber is the driving force behind the delivery of news reflecting trends and growth in the industry.

King manages an award-winning team of more than 200 editors, writers and designers across ESPN.com and its network of related sites. The vice president and editor-in-chief of the leading sports Web site brings extensive experience in print, television and new media to this year's summit panel.

Leblang has been responsible for conducting research and formulating strategic development for FX and Fox Movie Channel since 2001 as senior vice president of strategic planning and research for FX Networks. The 1981 SUNY Oswego graduate has spent a majority of his professional career in the television industry.

Moderating the panel will be Myers, editor and publisher of more than 30 publications and Web sites targeting media, advertising and entertainment professionals. More than 30,000 senior executives read the JackMyers Media Business Report and visit the JackMyers.com network of media industry Web sites.

Student reactor Candace J. Dunkley '09, a broadcasting and mass communication major with a minor in Spanish, will join the panel on stage. She works at student-run WTOP-TV on campus and interned at News 12 Westchester and the NV Innovations Management Program.

Following the panel discussion and Q-and-A session, a group of six recent Oswego graduates will offer tips on how to launch a communications career at 5 p.m. in the Sheldon Hall lower lobby. They are Jeremy Ambers '00, senior editor and post-production supervisor at Rooftop Edit/Fort Group in New York City; Emil Calcano '07, manager of corporate sales and sponsorships for the New York Yankees; Michael Gewirtzman '05, owner of New York-based Vinyl Artist Management and one of Billboard magazine's "30 Power Players in Music Under 30"; Natasha Johnson '02, account executive at WROC-TV and WUHF-TV in Rochester; Phil Rankin '06, Web site editor at 9WSYR.com in Syracuse; and Matt Romano '05, broadband coordinator for the Sci-Fi Network, part of NBC Universal. Christa Leader '10 will moderate the session.

Louis A. Borrelli Jr. '77 founded the summit in 2005 with a leadership gift. Last year, he and Al Roker '76 provided funding to name it in honor of O'Donnell, longtime chair of Oswego's communication studies department.

Past guests have included legendary Washington Post editor Ben Bradlee, ESPN and ABC Sports President George Bodenheimer, and Oswego's own Linda Cohn '81, ESPN anchor and Ken Auletta '63, columnist for the New Yorker magazine.

-- Shane M. Liebler

PHOTO CAPTION:
From top: Jack Myers, Steve Leblang '81, Erica Farber, Rob King and J. Scott Dinsdale.



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