Colleagues, I was informed this morning that the chair for two of MAC’s panels scheduled for the 2007 AEJMC national convention, which will be held Aug. 9 - 12 in Washington, D.C, is unable to coordinate the panels. So once again, I need your help. Specifically, I need two volunteers, one to chair each panel. As panel chair, you will be expected to schedule the moderator and three panelists, and communicate with the co-sponsor to schedule the two remaining panelists. If you are interested in chairing either panel, please e-mail me (not the listserv) ASAP. Appointments will be made on a first-response basis. Many thanks. Minority Media Ownership & Advocacy: A Status Report Lead: MAC; Co-Sponsor: Law & Policy Thursday, August 9, 11:45 a.m. - 1:15 p.m. It has been several years since the U.S. Commerce Department released a report on the number of minority media owners. In the 1990s, such reports were issued every two years. Ethnic minorities make up about one-third of America's population but own fewer than 4% of America's broadcast licenses. Fewer minority media owners engender fewer newspaper stories, television shows, and radio programs that educate, entertain and challenge all Americans with the concerns, culture and knowledge of people of color. David Honig of the Minority Media & Telecommunications Council stated that 50% of minority-owned stations owe their origins to the Tax Certificate Program, which was terminated in 1995. Taking advantage of the platform provided by meeting in the nation’s capital, this panel will bring together some of the key figures in the effort to increase minority ownership along with those from the appropriate federal agencies to assess where the minority ownership stands in 2007. Panel #1 (You may or may not opt to consider suggested panelists & moderator) Possible Panelists: Representative from the U.S. Commerce Dept/National Telecommunication & Information Administration (D.C. based) Representative from National Black Media Coalition (D.C. based) David Honig or Minority Media Telecommunications Council representative (D.C. based) Howard University professor who teaches media management Minority media owner Possible Moderator: Phil Napoli, Fordham University (diversity & telecomm policy author) Panel #2 (You may or may not opt to consider suggested panelists & moderator) Minority or Multicultural: Legal Landmines of High School Workshops Lead: MAC; Co-Sponsor: Scholastic Journalism Saturday, August 11, 5:15 - 6:45 p.m. Even though they’ve been around for a quarter-century and have a track record of turning high school students on to journalism, Dow Jones Newspaper Fund-sponsored high school workshops are under a new level of attack. In October 2006, a class action complaint was filed against Virginia Commonwealth University’s Urban Journalism Workshop after a white student was allegedly disinvited because of her race. A follow-up to a panel on minority workshops sponsored at the 2003 AEJMC convention in Kansas City, this panel focuses on legal issues that connect the ongoing affirmative action debate to diversity efforts at the high school level. Can universities solve the problem by simply changing the name of their workshops? What strategies does Dow Jones Newspaper Fund suggest for universities to shield themselves from legal actions such as those taken against VCU? Possible Panelists: Linda Waller Shockley, Deputy Director June Nicholson or Bonnie Davis, Virginia Commonwealth University Local affirmative action attorney (or member of the Law & Policy division who is an expert in higher education cases) Possible Moderator: Barbara Hines, Howard University (sponsors own summer Dow Jones workshop) Camilla Gant, Ph.D. MAC Vice Head & Programming Chair University of West Georgia Faculty Assistant to the President Associate Professor of Mass Communications