Iowa Public Television to Host 13th Annual DTV Symposium

More than 400 professionals to attend national conference in Des Moines

(Johnston, Iowa) – Iowa Public Television will host the 13^th annual Iowa DTV Symposium October 1, 2, and 3 at the Hotel Fort Des Moines. Nearly 400 people from all aspects of digital television content, production, and technology from across the country will be in Des Moines for this event.

The DTV Symposium continues to draw participants from across the country with well-known technical speakers and informative, up-to-the-minute content. This year, David K. Rehr, president and CEO of
|the National Association of Broadcasters, will deliver the keynote address at the opening day luncheon on Monday, October 1. During his address, Rehr will discuss NAB's aggressive public awareness campaign to educate all Americans about the switch to digital television on February 17, 2009.

The NAB will also sponsor a panel discussion to help broadcasters understand what is expected in their responsibilities for educating the public as the February 2009 DTV transition completion date approaches. The panel will be led by William T. Hayes, director of engineering at Iowa Public Television; Mark Erstling, senior vice president at the Association of Public Television Stations; Jason Oxman, vice president, communications with Consumer Electronics Association; Jonathan Collegio, vice president, digital television transition marketing and communications with NAB; Mary Lou Kenny, partnership manager with the National Telecommunications & Information Administration; and Marc Pearl, executive director of the Consumer Electronic Retailers Coalition.

Other presenters at this year’s symposium include:

· John L. Bolend, chief content officer for PBS,

· Michael Rosenblum from Rosenblum Associates Inc.,

· Peter Crithary, senior support engineer for Sony Electronics, Inc.,

· James Martinolich, vice president, Mobile Products with Chyron Corporation,

· Andrew Baron, creator and producer of Rocketboom,

· John C. Dvorak, columnist, author and editor.

For more information on the 2007 DTV Symposium, including a complete list of speakers and their presentation topics, visit the Web site at Iptv.org/dtv.

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Iowa Public Television is Iowa's statewide public broadcasting network. IPTV provides quality, noncommercial programming to make a difference in the lives of Iowans. As one of the last locally controlled media enterprises in the state, IPTV is committed to telling Iowa's stories like no one else can. Our mission to educate, inform, enrich, and inspire Iowans enables IPTV to present an unequaled array of programs of lasting value to Iowans regardless of where they live or what they can afford. More than one million viewers a week turn to IPTV for programming that reflects a range of interests for Iowans in all demographic categories. Iowa Public Television stations include: Channel 11, Des Moines; Channel 12, Iowa City; Channel 21, Fort Dodge; Channel 24, Mason City; Channel 27, Sioux City; Channel 32, Waterloo; Channel 32, Council Bluffs; Channel 36, Davenport; Channel 36, Red Oak. IPTV-Digital stations include: Channel 11.1, Des Moines; Channel 12.1, Iowa City; Channel 21.1, Fort Dodge; Channel 24.1, Mason City; Channel 27.1, Sioux City; Channel 32.1, Waterloo; Channel 32.1, Council Bluffs; Channel 36.1, Red Oak; Channel 36.1, Davenport (coming soon).