Speakers
We have a great lineup of speakers this year! They come from all over the country and from all areas of broadcast and media production. Please check back often to see the latest updates to the speaker list.
Alan Popkin
Director of TV Engineering
KLCS-TV/DT
Since 2002, Alan Popkin has been Director of Technical Operations and Engineering for KLCS-TV in Los Angeles. He has redesigned the entire PBS station to implement state-of-the art broadcasting to the entire Southern California DMA, and datacast to over one million students and teachers, delivering digital content services to an educational audience. Prior to KLCS, Alan was Director of Production for Time Warner Communications, where he managed technical systems, financial, and general operations of an 18,000 sq. ft. HDTV and SDTV production and post-production facility. Previously, Popkin was with CableVision Industries, first as Producer-Director-Production Manager, where he designed and supervised construction of the West Valley Studios, a major production and post-production facility. Later, he was promoted to National Director of Production, where he directed production nationwide for the 8th largest cable MSO. Alan has performed as a studio musician, and holds a BA in Physics from CUNY. He has won several and been nominated for many awards, including Emmys, ACE and Tellys.
Bill Megalos
Director/Cinematographer/Teacher
MegaloMedia
Bill Megalos is an LA filmmaker, director, cinematographer and teacher who has made over 30 full-length documentaries for PBS, BBC and Channel 4. His documentaries including "Aretha," "Paris is Burning," the Emmy Award-winning "W. Eugene Smith" with Peter Riegert for American Masters, "A Night in Havana-Dizzy Gillespie in Cuba," the PBS series "Quest for the Killers" and "Legendary Trails," as well as the Academy Award-winning "Down and Out in America." His biography of Jack Benny for HBO was awarded the Cine Golden Eagle Award. His series of family planning mini-dramas won the World Health Organization's Global Award for Media Excellence in Beijing in 1985. Megalos has a B.A. in anthropology and comparative literature from Columbia University, where he studied with Margaret Mead and assisted folklorist Alan Lomax. He was awarded an M.F.A. from Columbia and taught theater there at the graduate school of the arts. He is on the faculty of the School of Cinema Studies at the University of Southern California.
Bill Weber
Vice President and Chief Technology Officer
WHYY
WHYY, Inc.
1999-Present - Vice President and Chief Technology Officer
1983-1999 - Vice President - Engineering Administration
1982-1983 - Director of Engineering
1979-1982 - Chief Engineer
1969-1979 - Assistant Chief Engineer
1966-1969 - Transmitter & Studio Technician
Franklin Broadcasting - WFLN AM/FM
1965-1966 Broadcast Technician
Background: Mr. Weber is a graduate of Temple University Technical Institute; has completed many technological, business management and professional development courses throughout his 40 year career in public broadcasting.
Currently, Vice President for Content distribution and Chief Technology Officer for WHYY, Inc., he has been a key member of the executive management team working with others to develop and execute WHYY’s overall technology and service strategy. The recent digital transition initiative included the complete redesign and construction of a $18 million multimedia Technology Center located on Independence Mall in Philadelphia.
He began his career as a broadcast radio technician in 1965 with Franklin Broadcasting, the owners of WFLN AM/FM, a classical music service serving the entire Philadelphia region.. In 1966, he joined the WHYY technical staff as a transmitter technician. Three years later, he was appointed to the position of assistant chief engineer, an engineering management position. In 1979, he was promoted to chief engineer, then director of engineering in 1982, in 1983 was appointed a vice president and in 1999 was designated the Chief Technology Officer. Bill is the only vice president to have worked under four CEOs. His duties at WHYY have broadened significantly as technology applications evolved and corporate needs expanded and now include major building construction projects, telecommunications management, computer networking, information technology systems, multimedia audiovisual support, distance learning , digital asset management, content storage, video-on-demand and emerging digital streaming service ventures.
Mr. Weber has managed the architectural design, physical construction and technical design of three WHYY facilities during his tenure: the 1980 primary studio and operations center relocation in Philadelphia, the 1991 Wilmington Broadcast Center located at 625 Orange Street, Wilmington, Delaware and the 1999 corporate Technology Center on Independence Mall in Philadelphia. The current construction projects include a physical and virtual Digital Learning Lab in Philadelphia in the design development and final funding stage and a community digital library.
WHYY met the FCC mandated digital broadcast service requirement in May, 2000, three years ahead of the regulatory requirement. WHYY is a national leader in the innovative application of this new broadcast technology using Datacasting. Datacasting is a unique, high speed, wireless digital delivery system that enables a powerful link to multimedia computers and networks of computers using the digital broadcast signal available throughout the tri-state region.
Bill is a current member of the National Association of Broadcasters and a chapter manager of the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers. As a former volunteer fire service 1st responder and a communications officer, he has benefited form extensive emergency management training, fire fighting techniques, fire prevention, and public safety management. In 1995, Mr. Weber was co-founder of the region’s first non-commercial Internet based community service organization named “LibertyNet”. A partnership venture between WHYY, the University City Science Center, the Ben Franklin Foundation, the Free Library of Philadelphia and the University of Pennsylvania.
In 2002, Mr. Weber’s was appointed by the Mayor of Philadelphia to the Mayor’s Commission on Technology. Advising the Mayor and City Council on policies and actions related to the use and impact of information technology and other technologies in the City of Philadelphia and the region. In his role as WHYY’s, CTO, Mr. Weber has providing technology consulting services to the National Constitution Center, the Philadelphia Visitors Center, the Kimmel Center for the Performing arts, the Camden School District and many other universities, colleges and community colleges. In November, 2005, Mr. Weber was awarded a Citation for Outstanding Service by the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers in NYC.
WHYY today is a recognized, best in class, mass media technology organization serving millions of viewers, listeners and web surfers from it’s modern, high profile technology center in the heart of the historic section in Philadelphia.
Bruce Jacobs
Chief Technologist
Twin Cities Public Television
Bruce Jacobs is Chief Technologist with Twin Cities Public Television where his responsibilities include television engineering, DTV planning and information technology. Bruce is long-standing member of the PBS Enterprise Technology Advisory Committee and served on the Digital Steering Committee to develop the model for public television's digital conversion. He led the first national simultaneous demonstration of the four DTV image formats and edited ETVCookbook.org, a nationally recognized resource for television professionals. Bruce holds a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from North Dakota State University and earned the Senior Television Certification from the Society of Broadcast Engineers. In 2003, he was awarded the PBS Engineering Achievement Award for "Outstanding Service to Public Television". He has produced award-winning television musical specials, and consulted on audio-acoustic systems. Bruce is an avid amateur musician and whitewater canoeist.
Bruce Johnson
Senior Videographer/Editor
Wisconsin Public Television
Bruce A. Johnson is a 1981 graduate of the Boston University College of Communications. He got his first big break at WFTV, the Orlando ABC affiliate, in 1982, shooting commercials, documentaries and everything in between. He joined Wisconsin Public Television in 1987, and now splits his time between videographer/editor duties and being a new technology researcher. Johnson has appeared as a speaker at DVExpo East and West, the National Association of Broadcasters Convention, and the Iowa DTV Symposium, among others.
www.ppmm.com
Carolyn Jacobs
Senior Account Representative
Teachers' Domain, WGBH
Carolyn Jacobs came to Teachers' Domain in Nov. 2006 with over 20 years of experience in sales and education. Her eclectic background includes a stint as a stockbroker in the late 1970's and starting two successful (and one not-successful) businesses: Chicago Parent NewsMagazine and Business English Consultants LLC.
Craig Beardsley
Senior Applications Engineer
Harris Broadcast Communications
Craig Beardsley is currently Senior Applications Engineer with Harris Broadcast Communications. For the past ten years, his focus has been on digital video technologies, including compression, digital storage, digital transmission using conventional and IP technologies, and DTV/HDTV studio design and station DTV transition strategies. In his former position with Sony, he has written and presented on these topics at previous IPTV DTV Symposiums and throughout the central US. He has more than 30 years experience in broadcast engineering, with experience in systems engineering and project management at NBC, New York; as Chief Engineer of a Chicago TV station; and performing engineering work at TV, AM and FM stations as well as in live production, post-production and recording. He is a member of the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE), the Audio Engineering Society (AES), the Society of Broadcast Engineers (SBE). He is certified as a Senior Broadcast Engineer by the SBE, and has received many awards for his work.
David Anthony
Founding Partner VP Creative Development
Giant Interactive
A Grammy-Nominated DVD producer, Anthony founded Metropolis DVD in 1999, during which time he acted as Executive Producer on many award winning DVD projects including the Rolling Stones ground breaking 4 DVD box set - Four Flicks, The Guggenheim’s Millennium exhibit – The Worlds of Nam June Paik featuring over 100 DVD based video pieces, numerous Criterion Collection DVDs, as well as the Directors Series, where he worked with Michel Gondry, Spike Jonze and Chris Cunningham on their namesake DVD projects. Impassioned by a lifelong fascination with the nexus between technology and art, Anthony holds a degree in Media Arts, the first ever awarded by Bennington College.
Giant Interactive
A leader in A-level emerging media platforms, Giant’s New York City, Denver and Los Angeles studios create award winning interactive experiences for DVD, UMD, High Definition DVD, iPod Video, DualDisc , iTV, Mobile, VOD and the many evolving formats.
Since 1996, the people at Giant have created innovative titles for all types of clients. Based in New York City, and rapidly expanding, Giant is dedicated to making the best, most innovative media products on the marketplace.
Dennis Haarsager
Assoc. V.P. and G.M. of Educational Telecommunications and Technology
Washington State University
Dennis Haarsager is Associate Vice President and General Manager of Educational Telecommunications and Technology for Washington State University. The unit includes the 13-station Northwest Public Radio network, KWSU and KTNW public television, the University's statewide interactive video network and on-campus instructional support. Dennis served two terms on the PBS Board from 1997-2003 where he chaired technology and interconnection committees. From 2001-03 he took a half-time leave of absence from WSU to head up CPB's Digital Distribution Implementation Initiative. He is a prolific publisher of articles about technology-his article "It's About Time" was featured in Current last year. He also maintains a weblog at www.Technology360.com the purpose of which is to provide resources relating to technology of potential importance to public broadcasting, educational telecommunications and related public media. In addition, Dennis is on the board of the Integrated Media Association--public broadcasting's new media organization, a member of the APTS Board of Trustees, and was recently elected to a term on the board of directors of NPR. Recent projects include chairing the Public Service Publisher Initiative which has an on-demand collaboration with the Open Media Network, and helping to organize the current podcasting pilot by public radio stations, NPR, APM and PRI.
Gordon Tubbs
Assistant Director Marketing and Product Development
Canon USA Inc.
Gordon Tubbs has been in the broadcast industry in a number of sales, product development and marketing capacities with manufacturers since 1979. Presently in his 22nd year with the Broadcast and Communications Division of Canon USA Inc., Tubbs is an Assistant Director in charge of Marketing and Product Development. The products handled by Tubbs include Canon’s line of pro-video, broadcast and HDTV television lenses as well as the Canobeam line of Data and HDTV Free Space Optical Transmission products. Tubbs is a graduate of the Rochester Institute of Technology (1978)
Greg Best
President
Greg Best Consulting
Greg Best is President of Greg Best Consulting, Inc. His firm performs broadcast consulting services for a large variety of customers and serves the RF communications industry in general. Greg earned his BSEE degree from the University of Missouri-Rolla and MSEE degree from Illinois Institute of Technology. Greg has 30 years experience in the design, marketing, and product management of RF communications equipment. His corporate experience includes 16 years with the Broadcast Division of Harris where he was responsible for TV transmitter design and management. While there, he was responsible for coordinating the development of the Platinum Series VHF TV transmitter, as well as many other VHF and UHF TV transmitters. He has also worked for Motorola on the original 800 MHz AMPS cellular phone system transmitter development and for IFR Systems Test and Measurement division developing 3 GHz spectrum analyzers. He has published papers on TV Transmitter Multichannel Sound and others on TV Transmitter Design Architecture. Greg is a registered Professional Engineer, member of the Association of Federal Communications Consulting Engineers, IEEE, and SBE. Greg currently heads the IEEE DTV RF Measurement Standards activities and serves as an associate editor for the IEEE Transactions on Broadcasting.
Gregg A. Fehrman
Assistant Chief Engineer & Chief Draftsperson
Stainless LLC
Gregg is a member of Stainless LLC and currently holds the positions of Assistant Chief Engineer and Chief Draftsperson. Gregg has been designing, analyzing and modifying broadcast towers at Stainless for 14 years. Gregg holds a BSCE from Lehigh University in Bethlehem, PA. Gregg is a certified professional engineer in 14 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Gregg is involved in the TIA TR14.7 subcommittee, which maintains the TIA 222 structural standard for antenna support structures and antennas. Gregg is a member of AISC, ASCE and ACI.
Harry Jessell
Editor and Publisher
TVNEWSDAY.com
Prior to launching TVNEWSDAY.com in January 2006, Harry worked for more than 25 years as a reporter and editor for Broadcasting & Cable (formerly Broadcasting), the leading business magazine for the TV and radio industries. As the magazine's top editor from 1997 to 2004, Harry moved the magazine from Washington, D.C., to New York City and shifted its focus from law and regulation to programming and advertising. On the magazine's editorial page and in his bi-weekly column, he advocated full First Amendment protections for and minimal government regulation of broadcasting and other electronic media.
As a reporter in the 1980s and early 1990s, Harry covered broadcast technology, cable TV, the Federal Communications Commission, Congress and the federal courts. He was named executive editor in 1993 and editor in 1997. He has appeared regularly on TV and radio, lectured at universities and moderated numerous panels at industry conferences. In 1999, he was profiled in MIN Magazine as editor of one of "The Year's Top 12 Magazines."
Harry graduated from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, Pa., in 1976, with a BA in journalism. He lives with his wife, Rosemary, and their two children, Lauren and Mary, in Chatham, N.J., a suburb of New York City.
Hugo P. Gaggioni
Chief Technology Officer
Sony Electronics Inc.
Hugo Gaggioni is Vice President and Chief Technology Officer for the Broadcast and Production Systems Division (BPSD) of Sony Electronics Inc. Gaggioni, who joined Sony in 1988, holds six patents and has authored 32 technical publications in the areas of video compression, digital filter banks, and HDTV devices and systems. With research interests ranging from digital video and image processing and information theory to video/audio compression and multidimensional signal processing, Gaggioni has served as session-chairman of 13 international conferences in the areas of HDTV and bandwidth compression systems. He has also given numerous presentations and tutorial courses on signal processing and advanced video technologies at international events sponsored by SMPTE, IEEE, and Eurasip organizations. He was a member of the Advanced Television Advisory group to the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (1987 to 1994). He is a Fellow of SMPTE and the recipient of the 2004 Leitch Gold Medal award for technology leadership. Gaggioni was chairman of the SMPTE technical groups on Digital Representation of the 1125/60 High Definition TV Standard (SMPTE 260M, 88’-92’) and Digital HDTV Serial Interfaces (SMPTE 292M, 93’-96’). He has also chaired a SMPTE group on Editing of MPEG bit-streams for TV studio usage. Gaggioni represented Sony Corporation of America to the ANSI X3-L3 committee and the ISO/IEC MPEG coding group from 1988 to1996. Gaggioni holds degrees in Telecommunications, Systems Engineering, and Electronic Engineering from the University of Essex in Colchester, England; University of Pennsylvania, and Columbia University, respectively.
Jack Perry
President and CEO
Decisionmark Corp.
Since 1996, Jack Perry has successfully guided Decisionmark from startup to a highly profitable business. Mr. Perry has long been acknowledged as a media technology visionary known for his work with high-growth, technology-based companies such as Powercore, CE Software, and Interactive Resources. He is also noted for his Electronic Program Guide (EPG) innovations, for his work in the digital TV sector, and for his groundbreaking efforts regarding issues surrounding the SHVIA. Mr. Perry is also a respected figure inside the beltway for having educated legislators and members of the FCC on digital and satellite broadcast issues. He has been the lead inventor in the development of Decisionmark's growing number of patented technologies. The first patent covers household determination of broadcast signals delivered via satellite, others are key to solving issues related to broadcast signals delivered via the Internet or advancing the EPG to the household level. The most recent patent covers off-air antenna selection at the household level, a very timely patent due to resurgence of over-the-air broadcasting with the emergence of the transition to digital TV. These technologies have served as the basis for several Decisionmark innovations, all developed under the leadership of Mr. Perry, including CheckHD.com and TitanTV.com. It was under Mr. Perry's leadership that CheckHD, a digital TV education tool for consumers, was taken from concept to launch-a launch held in conjunction with the Federal Communications Commission in Washington D.C. The TitanTV EPG is the premiere online program guide with PVR capabilities having nearly half of a million users and placement on nearly 1,000 TV station web sites. It is the only guide that is updated in real-time by broadcasters who use Decisionmark's proprietary program scheduling tool. Mr. Perry has been a regular presenter at broadcast and technology conferences across the U.S., including: Streaming Media East and West, Kagan's Digital Household Summit, CES, NAB and Digital Hollywood. Mr. Perry has also been named a member of the Consumer Electronics Association's Academy of Digital Television Pioneers. Mr. Perry was nominated by the Consumer Electronic Association's Academy of Digital Television Pioneers (the DTV Academy) for its 2004 Best DTV Leadership (Industry) Award. A resident of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Mr. Perry earned a Bachelor of Liberal Arts degree from the University of Iowa.
James A. Frantzreb
Senior Product Marketing Manager
Avid Technology, Inc.
James A. Frantzreb is senior product marketing manager of Broadcast and Workgroups for Avid Technology, Inc. In this capacity, James is responsible for external marketing strategy and execution for the broadcast news market, and for workflow-enabling media service applications in all markets served by Avid. James joined Avid in May, 1995.
James has over 20 years experience in the marketing and sales of data storage, interactive video, and television systems. Prior to his current position at Avid, James led product marketing and the worldwide launch of Avid Unity, and led product management for MediaShare Fibre Channel, as well as for high-availability storage subsystems for Avid Broadcast. Before joining Avid, James was national sales and marketing manager for Aviv Corporation, and has held regional sales manager positions at Alcatel Thomson, Pioneer Electronics, and other companies. James has authored several white papers and articles dealing with storage and networking for digital media applications.
James holds a bachelor of science degree in broadcasting and film from Boston University, and a masters of business administration from Babson College.
James Pence
Director of Marketing and Sales for Educational Production
Teachers' Domain, WGBH
James came to WGBH Educational Productions from Pearson Achievement Solutions, where he was Product Management Director. He has 16 years of experience in the k-12 education sector, including high school teaching, Program Officer at the National Geographic Education Foundation, education consulting, and marketing professional development services. He has an MBA from the University of California, Davis, lives in Boston's South End, and spends his weekends exploring New England's many attractions.
Jay Gonzalez, C.E.T.
Vice President for Media Technology Solutions
TI Broadcast Solutions Group
Jay Gonzalez is Vice President for Media Technology Solutions, division of TI Broadcast Solutions Group. In his current capacity, Jay is responsible to lead Media Technology Solutions’ research and development of sustaining and innovative technologies primarily in the media market segment, engage in standards committees, and interact with a plurality of manufacturers and the industry at large with aim to develop technical solutions and archetypes for the media broadcast sector. He is also leading the sales and marketing operations. Jay is directly responsible for the design and development of DTV ClearChoice system, a turnkey DTV/ATSC end-to-end solution currently deployed in over two-hundred and seventy (270) television stations across the nation; DTV Sentinel, the most cost-effective ATSC (MPEG) signal confirmation/analyzer in the industry; and for co-development of the NewsFlow system, an end-to-end IT-centric Newsroom solution, among other endeavors. Prior to joining TI Broadcast Solutions Group, Jay enjoyed a successful career with Panasonic Broadcast & Television Systems Company. In his twelve-year tenure at Panasonic, he served in several capacities that included nation-wide responsibilities as National Engineering Manager for Broadcast. In addition as a technologist, he has delivered numerous broadcast related papers and presentations throughout the nation and abroad. Jay was instrumental in the design and construction of the first IT-based digital infrastructure for a statewide television facility (Georgia Public Broadcasting – GPB). He was also instrumental in the planning, design, and construction of the U.S. first IT-centric end-to-end tapeless newsroom facility for KLRT (Little Rock, AR), a Clear Channel Television station. Jay is member of SMPTE, IEEE, SBE, and is also CET and FCC accredited.
Jerry Whitaker
Vice President for Standards Development
Advanced Television Systems Committee
Mr. Whitaker supports the work of the various ATSC technology and planning committees and assists in the development of ATSC Standards and related documents. He currently serves as Secretary of the Technology and Standards Group and Secretary of the Planning Committee, and is closely involved in work relating to educational programs. Mr. Whitaker is a Fellow of the Society of Broadcast Engineers and a Fellow of the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers. Mr. Whitaker is the author and editor of more than 30 books on technical topics, including: The Standard Handbook of Video and Television Engineering, 4th ed.; NAB Engineering Handbook, 9th ed., DTV Handbook, 3rd ed., and The Electronics Handbook, 2nd ed. Prior to joining the ATSC, Mr. Whitaker headed the publishing company Technical Press, based in Morgan Hill, Calif. He has served as a Board member and Vice President of the Society of Broadcast Engineers.
Jim Burger
Member
Dow Lohnes PLLC
Jim represents technology companies on intellectual property, communications, and government policy matters. Jim joined the firm's Media, Information and Technology group in January 1997. For nine years before that, Jim was Senior Director in Apple Computer's Law Department; his responsibility included worldwide intellectual property policy. He was also General Counsel for Europe and Latin America and responsible for worldwide government affairs. He was Chair of the Information Technology Industry Council's Proprietary Rights Committee. Jim has participated extensively in such complex matters as DVD content protection, the Secure Digital Music Initiative (SDMI), wireless data communications, the Copy Protection Technical Working Group (CPTWG), as well as representing information technology industry associations and individual IT companies before the FCC in proceedings such as Broadcast Protection and Cable Plug & Play. Jim recently won FCC Broadcast Protection certification of TiVo's technology in the face of MPAA and NFL opposition. Jim works, speaks, and writes extensively on legal and policy issues arising from the confluence of digital technology, entertainment, intellectual property, and government regulation.
Jim Klas
Director of Media Technology/Information Technology
Wisconsin Educational Communications Board
Jim Klas serves as the Director of Media Technology / Information Technology for Wisconsin Educational Communications Board. Wisconsin Educational Communications Board operates the Master Control, monitoring and network distribution and transmitter facilities for Wisconsin Public Television and Wisconsin Public Radio as well as All Hazards radio throughout the state of Wisconsin. Jim has spent his career in Engineering and Operations in Microwave Common Carrier, Public Safety, Telecommunications and Broadcasting after leaving the simple life of life on the farm and an education in Radio /TV from the University of Wisconsin - Platteville. Jim serves as a member of the PBS ETAC (Enterprise Technology Advisory Committee.)
Joe Bates
Director of Research
Consumer Electronics Association
Joe Bates is the Director of Research for the Consumer Electronics Association. Joe oversees the consumer and business-to-business research program at CEA, which produces over 100 projects per year, including more than 25 unique consumer surveys dealing with buying patterns, awareness of new technologies, interest in product features and a host of other issues.
Joe has been conducting various types of consumer and business-to-business survey research for over 10 years, the last 6 of which have been at CEA. His research experiences prior to joining CEA include research in the areas of political polling, health insurance, telecommunications, law, and manufacturing.
He has received advanced statistical analysis and methods training from the ACNielsen Burke Institute and Sawtooth Technologies. He is trained in all commonly used basic and advanced analysis techniques and methodologies, including regression, factor, cluster, conjoint, market segmentation analysis, and perceptual mapping.
He is a professionally trained focus group moderator by ACNielsen Burke Institute and has been a guest lecturer on research methods at The College of William and Mary, Northern Virginia Community College, The Greater Washington Society of Association Executives, and the Marketing Research Association.
Joe graduated Magna Cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa from the College of William and Mary.
Joe Denk
General Manager
KFXA -TV (Fox 28)
Mr.Denk is the General Manager of KFXA-TV in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He has served in this position since 1996. In addition, he manages an out-sourcing agreement between Second Generation Television of Iowa (the owner of KFXA) and Sinclair Broadcast Group (the owner of KGAN-TV, CBS 2 in Cedar Rapids).
He is currently the vice-chairman of the Fox Affiliate Board of Governors.
He is also the creator, producer and director of the “Big Four Classic,” an annual four-game series of state-wide telecasts featuring UNI, Drake, Iowa State and Iowa basketball.
During a 20-plus year career in television, Mr. Denk has held the title of sports director, news director, program director, operations manager, local sales manager, national sales manager and general sales manager.
Prior to coming to Cedar Rapids, he served as the GSM of WRSP-TV in Springfield, Illinois. Before that, he spent time in various positions at KDUB-TV in Dubuque, Iowa.
Mr. Denk began his career at Group W Cable in Dubuqe. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Platteville with a degree in Radio/TV Broadcasting.
He interned at CNN Sports in Atlanta while in college.
John M. Lawson
President and CEO
Association of Public Television Stations
John Lawson began service as president and CEO of the Association of Public Television Stations in April 2001. Lawson leads the association's efforts to secure federal funding and favorable public policies for the nation's 357 public television stations. Priorities include digital conversion, an expanded role for public television in education, use of DTV datacasting for homeland security, and universal access to public television through all distribution technologies. During Lawson's tenure as president of APTS, public broadcasting persuaded Congress to approve the first federal funds specifically targeted for the digital conversion of stations. Federal funding for DTV conversion has exceeded $300 million so far. Congress also approved the extension and expansion of public television's Ready to Learn and Ready to Teach programs in the "No Child Left Behind Act." And the FCC ruled that public stations can use a portion of their DTV transmission capacity for revenue producing activities. In 1993, Lawson founded Convergence Services, Inc., a consulting and lobbying firm that focused on educational technology policy and which he ran until accepting the APTS position. Lawson also has produced and hosted seven major satellite videoconferences on educational technology, reaching thousands of schools, libraries and colleges across the U.S. Previously, he worked at South Carolina ETV Network and headed an environmental foundation. Lawson was appointed to the Federal Communications Commission's Media Security and Reliability Council in 2002. Lawson also served on the board of the National Coalition for Technology in Education and Training. Lawson holds BA and MA degrees in International Studies from the University of South Carolina. He serves on the National Advisory Council for the university's College of Liberal Arts.
John Naylor
Director, Infinity Series Program
Grass Valley, A Thomson Brand
John Naylor is the director of the Infinity Series Program and is responsible for establishing Grass Valley as a recognized ENG/EFP solutions provider. He joined Grass Valley Group as the European Design Center Manager in 2001. Naylor joined Grass Valley Group, prior to the acquisition by Thomson, in 2001 as the European Design Center Manager. He has been involved in various technology businesses for over 20 years in diverse fields including: broadcast audio and video, film special effects, voice compression, and networking technology. Prior to joining Grass Valley, Naylor led the software team that developed AMS-Neve Logic 1, the world’s first all-digital broadcast audio deck, a product line that culminated in the Academy® Award-winning Digital Film Console.At Kodak, he was responsible for two Cinéon workstation software releases including a hands-on role in developing the “3D Space” film-resolution 3D DVE. Since joining Grass Valley, he has led the projects that created the PVS 3500 Profile XP Media Platform, and Turbo iDDR intelligent digital disk recorder. A Chartered Engineer since 1992, Naylor was educated in England. He graduated in Electroacoustics with first class honors in 1987 from Salford University, and a Masters in Business Administration from Henley Management College in 2004. Naylor is now based in Portland, Oregon.
John Phelan
Vice President and General Manager
Cedar Rapids Television Company dba KCRG-TV
John W. Phelan, is the Vice President and General Manager for Cedar Rapids Television Company, dba KCRG-TV and Radio. KCRG-TV(Channel 9) is the ABC affiliate for the Cedar Rapids-Iowa City-Waterloo-Dubuque DMA. KCRG Radio (1600 AM) is the ESPN affiliate for Eastern Iowa.
John has been with CRTV Co. since September, 1984. First as an Account Executive, 1984-1990, Local Sales Manager, 1990-1996, General Sales Manager, 1996-1998. He has been Vice President and General Manager since 1998.
In addition to his duties at KCRG, John is active in many local organizations and is currently serving on several Volunteer Boards, including; Big Brothers Big Sisters, Aging Services, Iowa Freedom of Information Council, The Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Iowa, and The Iowa Broadcasters Association.
John and his wife, Mari have been married since 1988. They have no children. John, who is an avid Hawkeye fan, enjoys playing golf, traveling with his wife, reading, and collecting wine in his leisure time.
Karl Kuhn
Application Engineer
Tektronix
A Tektronix Senior Television systems Application Engineer for Tektronix supporting Analog/Digital Video, MPEG, and RF. Tektronix employed him for six years. Previously to working for Tektronix he was the lead Video Test Engineer for IBM in their Digital Video Development Laboratory in Bethesda, MD. Karl holds 3 U.S. patents and 1 International patent that covers In-service Testing of Digital Broadcast Video. Karl is the Section Chairman and Past Secretary and Treasurer for the Washington DC Chapter of the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE). He is also a Certified Project Management Professional thru George Washington University.
Kent Hatfield
Vice President of Technology & Operations
WXXI-DT
Kent started his career in broadcasting at KTFS radio in Texarkana, Texas in 1967, continued in broadcasting while in college at KSWH in Arkadelphia, Arkansas. After college he accepted a television production position in Little Rock at KTHV and later moved into production engineering. In 1982 he accepted an engineering position in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, with Louisiana Public Broadcasting. 18 years later, as Director of Engineering for the Louisiana Public Broadcasting network, he resigned to accept a position at WXXI in Rochester, New York, as Vice President of Technology & Operations.
Kent has served two 3-year terms as a member of the PBS Technical Advisory Committee and supported the PBS V-SAT Project. He is currently a technical advisor on homeland security projects.
Laura Wyatt
Vice President, Regional Manager
Nielsen Media Research
Laura Wyatt is a vice president and regional manager in the Chicago office of Nielsen Media Research, the television ratings company.
Laura has been a member of the company’s sales and marketing team for nearly 20 years. She currently manages Nielsen’s local market sales and marketing staff in Chicago, covering television stations in 59 media markets, such as Des Moines, Kansas City and St. Louis.
Previous to her career at Nielsen Media, Laura was a Media Buyer at Foote, Cone and Belding in Chicago.
Laura has a Bachelor’s degree in Advertising from the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois.
Mark Fuerst
Executive Director
Integrated Media
Mark has worked as a producer, manager and leader of public broadcasting since 1976. He is best know for his work at WXPN, where he helped to develop "The World Cafe" and the AAA music format for public radio. Upon leaving XPN, Mark joined the Station Resource Group, and then left SRG in 1997, to organize the Public Radio Internet Station Alliance (PRISA), the first consulting group focused exclusively on Internet service for public broadcasters. Over the last nine years, he has managed research projects and advised stations about the potential to use online technology to advance the mission of public radio and TV. In 2003, he helped to transform PRISA, which focused on radio, into IMA, the Integrated Media Association, which has emerged as the principle advisory group for new media policy, strategy and practice within Public Broadcasting.
Maryann Baldwin
Director
Magid Media Futures
Maryann Baldwin joined Frank N. Magid Associates in August of 1998 as director of Magid Media Futures. Media Media Futures is a strategic consultation service designed to assist media organizations in the development of sound competitive strategies for navigating the emerging media landscape. The program offers access to both timely consumer research and the broad range of Magid expertise in traditional media, Internet, digital TV, subscription television services, and interactive TV. Prior to Magid, Maryann held a variety of management and development positions at Tribune Broadcasting, Publishing and the corporate offices. She was also Director of Station Relations at Paramount Domestic Television, seminar manager for PROMAX and held program and promotion assistant and management positions at WLUK-TV, Green Bay and WOKR-TV, Rochester, NY. She has a degree in Radio/TV Communications from Ithaca College.
Michael Cronan
Product Engineering Manager
Panasonic Broadcast
Michael Cronan is Product Engineering Manager for Panasonic Broadcast & Television Systems Company, headquartered in Secaucus, NJ. He has been with Panasonic for the past 10 years dealing with robotic automation systems, news automation systems as well as nonlinear and video server development. He has 24 years of experience in the television broadcast industry, and in addition to Panasonic, has held operations and management positions with USA Networks and Home Box Office.
He is currently involved with new product development for all aspects of Panasonic Broadcast’s products and systems and oversees day-to-day engineering management.
Michael Geoghegan
Co-founder and CEO
GigaVox Media
Michael W. Geoghegan is co-founder and CEO of GigaVox Media, a company that develops and produces exclusive technology-related audio content, which includes the IT Conversations Network.
Michael also founded Willnick Productions, creator of some of the first corporate podcasts, including the official podcast of the Disneyland Resort. Michael's other podcasting endeavors include Reel Reviews: Films Worth Watching, Grape Radio, and PrivaCast, an enterprise-level solution for secure RSS currently used by Duke University.
Michael speaks frequently on podcasting's impact on new media and its corporate applications and is often quoted by the media including in The New York Times, USA Today, CNN and Wired Magazine. He is also co-author of "Podcast Solutions: The Complete Guide to Podcasting."
Mike Simon
Market Development Manager, RF Products
Rohde & Schwarz
Mike has over 25 years broadcast engineering experienceand currently is Advanced Technologies Manager, Broadcast Division, Rohde & Schwarz. before joining R&s he was Lead DTV Application Engineer, Harris Broadcast. Mike has 15 years experience at the station level as maintenance Engineer, Transmitter Supervisor and Chief Engineer. Mike has a BSEE and a Master of Science Telecommunications, University of pittsburgh. Mike is active member of ATSC TSG/S9, IEEE BTS, TIA TR47, and DVB Technical Module.
Neal Oberg
Vice President of New Media
Morgan Murphy Stations
Neal Oberg lives in Duluth, Minnesota with his Wife Stacy and 3 children Brett(11) Cassie(8) and Brooke (8 months). Immediately following college graduation, Neal’s interests turned to the internet. He and another colleague formed a web development company, where he became President and sole owner. The company was eventually sold to the Murphy's, where Neal continued his efforts by putting their newspapers and television stations online and developing many ecommerce applications. Neal currently works for Morgan Murphy Stations, as Vice President New Media and General Manager, Multi-Media Interactive. Morgan Murphy Media has media companies in Wisconsin and Washington.
Paul Burrows
Media Solutions, Office of Information Technology
University of Utah
Paul Stackhouse
Director of Web and Multimedia Services, KET
KET-TV
Paul Stackhouse is an 18 year veteran of public broadcasting technology at KET; beginning his career as the lead programmer for the KET/SERC Distance Learning keypad project. He leads the technology team that has created ket.org, the award–winning companion web site for the network.
KET began video streaming Kentucky’s state house and senate chambers the first week of January, 2000; immediately following the Y2K transition. In 2003 KET took-over the management of LiteracyLink a PBS developed on-line literacy and ESL product. Mr. Stackhouse is the technology manager for these three products. Recently, Paul has served as technology lead for KET’s digital archive project, digitizing 6,700 hours of finished television production from the first thirty years of KET’s existence into a 26TB video archive. He currently leads KETs DVD-on-demand project and various forays into podcasting, video podcasting, RSS, OMN and Google Video.
Phillip Swann
President and Publisher
TVPredictions.com
Phillip Swann is president and publisher of TVPredictions.com, and the weekly e-mail newsletter, 'Swanni Sez.' He is also the author of "TV dot COM: The Future of Interactive Television," a weekly columnist for Television Week and a weekly commentator for Wall Street Journal Radio. Mr. Swann has been a featured speaker at numerous television industry conferences. He was the keynote speaker at Scientific-Atlanta's 2001 Interactive TV Developers Conference. He has also been a guest expert on many TV and radio shows, including the NBC Nightly News With Tom Brokaw, Fox News, CNN, Tech TV, CNET TV and Donahue. Mr. Swann has been quoted on TV issues in dozens of publications, including Newsweek, The Hollywood Reporter, Daily Variety, Wired News, The Chicago Tribune, The Los Angeles Daily News, Electronic Media, Cable World, The Associated Press, The Street.com and the Digital Coast Reporter. His bylined articles on television have been featured in a variety of publications, including The New York Times, Emmy Magazine, Satellite DIRECT, Cable World and Vision Magazine. He has also conducted a number of interviews with TV celebrities, including Howard Stern, Lorne Michaels, Bill Maher, Daisy Fuentes, Dyan Cannon and baseball's Pete Rose.
www.tvpredictions.com/
Robert Paterson
President
The Renewal Consulting Group Inc.
Robert is the President of The Renewal Consulting Group Inc. The motto of our form is "Looking Beneath the Surface". We provide our clients with the deep insight and broad context that they often need to find solutions to novel situations.
For instance we developed a contextual picture, for Veterans Affairs, of all the issues related to the aging of Canada that provided VAC with the policy background to launch a strategy for seniors in Canada. We provided the same type of deep context for the web and the digital divide enabling Industry Canada to launch its web strategy for Schools in Canada. We have just completed an exceptionally complex assignment of this type helping NPR and 300 Radio Stations define their challenges and opportunities in the new digital age.
Prior to running his own business, Rob worked for Dr Fraser Mustard, President of the CIAR, as his Senior Advisor for Outreach. The CIAR is the leading think tank in Canada.
Prior to working for himself, Rob held a number of senior roles at CIBC, a large Canadian bank. These roles included SVP HR for the bank where he was responsible for the bank's HR strategic direction, SVP Marketing for CIBC Investment Bank where he was responsible for the merger and integration of Wood Gundy, an investment bank, and CIBC. ED New Issues for CIBC Limited in London where he built the first part of CIBC's international investment banking business and AD Middle East for Wood Gundy where he established their business in Saudi Arabia.
Rob is deeply involved in community work. In Toronto he was a director of the Smile Theatre company that brings theatre to shut in seniors. In the US he was a director of the Marion Foundation that incubates new ideas about health and the environment. He is an active advisor to CHANCES Family Resources Centre on PEI, to Sport PEI, to Theatre PEI and to FRP Canada (The national body of family resource centres).
Recent Representative Work includes:
New Realities for NPR and Public Radio in the US
Using a virtual team of colleagues, we worked with NPR to help the entire public radio system, more than 300 stations and 1,000 people from every part of the US, bring into sight a common view of the threats and opportunities that confront the public radio system as the new digital reality changes all prior assumptions and the way of doing business. The process also helped re-establish a great deal of trust that had been eroded by the fears aroused by the new.
Sara Linner
Executive Producer of New Media
KHGI News
Steve Atkinson
Vice President, Americas
Software Generation, Ltd.
Steve has been involved with archive and storage systems for video servers from its infancy dating back to 1993. His experience includes stints at Ampex, Storage Technology Corporation, and Avalon. He holds dual BS degrees in computer science and journalism.
Steve Lampen
Multimedia Technology Manager
Belden
Steve Lampen is Multimedia Technology Manager for Belden. He has worked for Belden for fifteen years. Prior to Belden, Steve had an extensive career in radio broadcast engineering and installation, film production, and electronic distribution. Steve holds an FCC Lifetime General License (formerly a First Class FCC License) and is an SBE Certified Radio Broadcast Engineer. On the data side, he is a BICSI Registered Communication Distribution Designer. His latest book, "The Audio-Video Cable Installer’s Pocket Guide" is published by McGraw-Hill. His column "Wired for Sound" appears in Radio World Magazine.
Steven A. Smith
President Broadcast Technology Consultants
Broadcast Technology Consultants
Mr. Smith was the VP Engineering/Technology for Liberty Corporation’s 15 television stations from 1995 until 2006 when Liberty Corporation merged into Raycom Media. In February 2006, he restarted Broadcast Technology Consultants (BTC), a consulting company Smith operated during the 1980’s when BTC provided a variety of technology services to the broadcasting industry including project consultant on new studio facilities for: WCCO-TV, WDIV-TV, KCRA-TV, KOIN-TV, WJLA, WJXT-TV and project management for construction of new TV stations WOFL-TV, WJZY-TV; WLBJ-TV; and KSAS-TV. In February 2006, Smith purchased Broadcast Merchandising Corporation (BMC), from Raycom Media and renamed the company MyTED, Inc a internet based Television Equipment Dealer. Smith’s was also Chief Engineer of KCTV Kansas City, Director of TV Engineering Meredith Corporation, and Chief Engineer WCCO-TV and KSDK-TV. He is a graduate of the University of Missouri with a BSEE and George Washington University with a Masters in Engineering Administration (MEA). Professional memberships include the IEEE, SMPTE, SBE, and AFCEE. Smith is co-chair of the South Carolina Broadcasters Association Engineering Committee and their Winter Engineering Conference. ATSC participation has including AS, IS, T3 and the Ad Hoc Group that developed the Distributed Transmission System Standard and Recommended Practice. Smith is active in the SMPTE S22 Committee Ad Hoc Group on Lip Sync Issues. He also is on the WideOrbit Advanced Technology Committee. Smith has been granted one patent “System & Method for Determining Optimal Broadcast Area of an Antenna” (Optimal Beam Tilt).
Terry Harvey
Chief Engineer
KAET
Terry Harvey is Chief Engineer for PBS member station KAET in Tempe Arizona. Television broadcast engineering has taken him to numerous continents. Terry began his broadcast career at the BBC’s Lime Grove Studios, where he was for many years.
After receiving his Masters Degree in Electronics Engineering from Southampton University in England in 1992, he moved to Malaysia where he designed and constructed one of the first all component digital broadcast facilities in Asia. He was later the South East Asia Regional Technical Manager for Harris Broadcast, where he helped support the Singapore DTV trials in 1998.
Todd Mundt
Director of Content & Media
Iowa Public Radio
Tom Campbell
Filmmaker and Photographer
Tom Campbell's Film/Video Productions
Tom Campbell started his diving career at age 18 in the cold water lakes and rivers of Alberta and British Columbia. He moved to California with the goal of becoming involved in professional military diving. After completing the rigorous physical and mental demands required for volunteers into the Marine Corps First Force Recon Company, Tom was sent to the US Naval School of Underwater Swimmers in Key West, Florida, where he graduated as a qualified Navy diver. In 1964-1965, Tom was part of a select Force Recon unit that was assigned to Seal Team One in Vietnam to conduct covert operations. After his discharge in 1966, he became a NAUI diving instructor and has introduced hundreds of people to the ocean realm.
After graduating from college in 1970 with a degree in business and law enforcement, he attended the California Highway Patrol Academy and started his career in one of the world's top law enforcement agencies. Tom spent twenty years with the CHP and received numerous commendations for his service, one of which was given by President Reagan.
Throughout his professional years Tom was an avid photographer and filmmaker shooting wildlife, both underwater and topside. His hobby became fine tuned and focused more on a film and video career. The rest is history, Tom's photographs have appeared in hundreds of popular publications worldwide. He has completed assignments for a wide range of corporations such as the BBC, Continental Airlines, National Geographic, Time Life Books, New York and LA Times magazine. He has written dozens of articles and won several photographic awards, including International Wildlife's Annual Competition and recognition in the BBC's Wildlife Photographer of the Year publication.
Tom has been a featured speaker internationally including Antibe, France and Norway at the Antibe and Lofoton film festivals. His successful line of notecards and posters, titled "It's Our World Too", are marketed worldwide.
Tom's assignments have taken him from the frigid waters of Norway to the tropics of the world. Recent assignments include shooting Discovery's High-Definition film documentary on the Lost Civilization of Yanaguni, venomous fish in Papua New Guinea, Great White Sharks in South Africa, and Giant Mantas in Mexico. Tom's production company and crew hosts a complete line of High-Definition equipment realizing that no other acquisition can match the quality of this digital format.
Tom feels that the most important contribution any wildlife photographer or filmmaker can make is: "To create an awareness that will protect and preserve our environment for future generations."
Tom Silliman
President and CEO
Electronics Research, Inc.
Mr. Silliman is currently the President and CEO of Electronics Research, Inc. He joined the company in 1969 as a project engineer. He maintains a close interaction with all aspects of the business, including product design, manufacturing, test, and installation. Academic Background - Bachelor of Electrical Engineering, Cornell University 1969 (five year degree)
- Master of Engineering (Electrical), Cornell University 1970
Professional Licenses - Registered Professional Engineer in the states of Indiana, Minnesota, and Maryland
Professional Affiliations - Association of Federal Communications Consulting Engineers (AFCCE), Full Member and President
- IEEE Broadcast Technology Society, Senior member and Secretary of the Administrative Committee
- Volunteer on the Board of Directors of WNIN-TV/FM, the local public radio (NPR) and local public television (PBS) station licensed to Evansville, Indiana.
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