Registration-  Uris Hall Lobby

Welcoming Remarks:
Howard B. Homonoff, Conference Director
Everett Dennis, Fordham University, Co-Sponsor

Session One: Just the Facts, Ma’am – An Empirical View of the State of Media Concentration Today

Despite a lengthy, contentious and seemingly unending policy debate in the about the appropriate regulatory
approach to the ownership structure in the American media, a fundamental question remains unanswered:
Are American media becoming more competitive or more concentrated?

Professor Noam is conducting a study to provide extensive empirical data in the midst of the widely varying
policy proposals. Using revenue and market share data from the past 20 years, it identifies and interprets
concentration trends and related policy issues. This effort, along with the new research conducted by
Mark Cooper, will be the foundation for this session and those that follow.  Commentators will examine
the validity of these findings and the methodology, and consider the implications of the research for the
private and public sectors.

Session 1A: Presentations: (9:15-10AM)

Eli Noam, Professor and Director CITI [ presentation ]

Mark Cooper, Director of Research, Consumer Federation of America

Ben Compaine, Co-Author, Who Owns the Media?, and Research Consultant at the
MIT Program on Internet & Telecommunications Convergence.

Session 1B: Commentators: (10:15A-11A)

Professor Joel Waldfogel, Wharton School of Business, University of Pennsylvania

Dr. Thomas W. Hazlett, Senior Fellow, Manhattan Institute for Policy Research

Dr. Philip M. Napoli, Assistant Professor of Communications & Media Management at the Fordham Business School

This session will examine the real-world trends in the operation of the media business.  We will examine
questions such as: What forces most effectively encourage greater concentration in the media, and how
well do they work in practice?   By comparison, what are the forces that most hurt merged companies? 
How has the structure of the media affected the operations of individual companies – large and small?   
What consumer benefits if any flow from media mergers? What are the prospects for starting a new business
venture in the media world today, and is media concentration a significant impediment to its prospects for success?

Panelists:

Mr. Thomas S. Rogers, Chairman, Trget Media LLC

Mr. Hal Vogel, President Vogel Capital Management and Author, Entertainment Industry Economics

Mr. Rick Blume, President and CEO, Chronicle DTV

The Policy Debate: Is there any Common Ground?

Are the historic pillars of communications policy – localism, diversity, and competition – still valid? For example,
if rules to enhance localism undermine the economic viability of the broadcasting industry, is the goal itself no
longer as significant?  If we do want to pursue the same policy objectives, should we be considering approaches
outside of the structural rules that have dominated the debate on media concentration?   Should the focus shift
to alternative approaches such as minority tax credits, a revitalized leased access system, or a rethinking of
public television?  Finally, will the upcoming presidential election significantly impact the direction of this debate?

Panelists:

Ms. Ellen Agress, Senior Vice President and Deputy General Counsel, News Corp.

Mr. David Honig, Executive Director, Minority Telecommunications Council

Mr. Danny Schecter, Executive Editor, MediaChannel

Mr. James Gattuso, Director of Regulatory Affairs, Heritage Foundation

Concluding Remarks: Eli Noam, Howard Homonoff

Reception