St. John's School of Law - Rethinking the Discourse on Race: A Symposium on How the Lack of Racial Diversity in the Media Affects Social Justice and Policy

April 28, 2006 - April 29, 2006
School of Law, Queens Campus

The Ronald H. Brown Center for Civil Rights and Economic Development at St. John's University School of Law, supported through a grant from the Ford Foundation's Knowledge, Creativity, and Freedom Program.

"Rethinking the Discourse on Race: A Symposium on How the Lack of Racial Diversity in the Media Affects Social Justice and Policy"

This symposium will investigate the subject of racial diversity in the media and in media policy.

Symposium Brochure and Registration Form (PDF)

Dates
April 28-29, 2006

Location
School of Law, Queens Campus

The Ford Foundation is funding this dialogue aimed at generating new thinking about racial diversity in the commercial and noncommercial entertainment and news media and its effect on social justice and media policy. Media scholars have documented many examples of disparate news and entertainment coverage. This symposium will explore how media and media policy combine to sustain negative racial perceptions among the public, the impact of these perceptions on media policies, and the role of higher education curriculum/programs in developing awareness in journalism, media studies, and communications education at undergraduate and graduate levels. Bringing together an interdisciplinary group of scholars, this symposium will examine research on the media and media policies from the perspectives of the law, cultural studies, the social sciences, journalism, and communications studies and will examine innovative proposals and policies designed to combat these negative representations.

Symposium Schedule
Friday, April 28, 2006
8:30 - 9 a.m.
Registration / Continental Breakfast

9 - 9:15 a.m.
Welcome

  • Mary C. Daly, Dean and John V. Brennan Professor of Law and Ethics, St. John’s School of Law
  • Leonard M. Baynes, Professor of Law and Director The Ronald H. Brown Center for Civil Rights and Economic Development, St. John’s School of Law
  • Becky Lentz, Program Officer, Electronic Media Policy, The Ford Foundation
  • Irma McClaurin, Program Officer, Education and Scholarship, The Ford Foundation

9:15 - 10:45 a.m.
Race, the News and Hurricane Katrina
Panelists will discuss how race played a role in the media coverage of Hurricane Katrina. 1.5 Non-transitional CLE Credits

Moderator
Linetta J. Gilbert, Senior Program Officer, Community and Resource Development, The Ford Foundation

Panelists

  • Rosa Clemente, Independent Journalist
  • Oscar Gandy, Herbert I. Schiller Term Professor, Annenberg School for Communication, University of Pennsylvania
  • Chul-joo Lee, Ph.D. Candidate, Annenberg School of Communication, University of Pennsylvania
  • Marguerite Moritz, Professor and Director of Graduate Studies, School of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of Colorado
  • Hemant Shah, Professor, School of Journalism and Mass Communications, University of Wisconsin-Madison

11 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
Racial Misrepresentations and Gaps in News and Entertainment Media Content and Employment
Panelists will discuss the misrepresentation and the lack of representation of African Americans, Latinos, Asian Americans and American Indians in media news and entertainment. 1.5 Non-transitional CLE Credits

Moderator
Irma McClaurin, Program Officer, Education and Scholarship, The Ford Foundation

Panelists

  • Robert Entman, The J.B. and Maurice C. Shapiro Professor, School of Media and Public Affairs, George Washington University
  • Elena Lingas, Research Scientist, Berkeley Media Studies Group
  • Federico Subervi, Professor, School of Journalism and Mass Communication, Texas State University
  • Sonny Skyhawk, President and Founder, American Indians in Film
  • Nancy Wang Yuen, Ph.D. Candidate, UCLA Department of Sociology

12:30 - 2 p.m.
Lunch

2 - 3:30 p.m.
Race, Media, Curricular Solutions and Journalism Professionalism
Panelists will discuss how, through specialized courses and textbooks, journalism schools can better educate aspiring journalists on how best to cover news stories in a racially inclusive and sensitive manner. In addition, the panelists will also discuss how working journalists can better achieve more racial inclusion and balance in their news reporting. 1.5 Non-transitional CLE Credits

Moderator
Erna Smith, Visiting Professor and Senior Fellow, Institute for Justice and Journalism, Annenberg School for Communication, University of Southern California

Panelists

  • Angela Campbell, Professor and Director, The Citizens Communications Project, Institute for Public Representation Georgetown University Law Center
  • Ali Mohammed, Associate Professor of Journalism, and Communication Studies, Edinboro University of Pennsylvania
  • Pamela Newkirk, Associate Professor, Journalism and Mass Communication, New York University
  • Earnest L.Perry, Associate Professor of Journalism and Chair of Journalism Studies, University of Missouri School of Journalism
  • Alice Pifer, Director, Continuing Education, Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism

3:45 - 5:30 p.m.
Race, Markets, Economics and the Media
Panelists will discuss how “supposedly” free markets ineffectively distribute media goods and services to racially and ethnically distinct markets, e.g., broadband, radio, and television. 1.5 Non-transitional CLE Credits

Moderator
Mark Cooper, Director of Research, Consumer Federation of America

Panelists

  • Allen Hammond IV, Professor of Law, Santa Clara University School of Law
  • Basilio Gaspar Monteiro, Assistant Professor, Communications, Journalism and Media Studies, St. John’s University
  • LaVonda Reed-Huff, Assistant Professor of Law, University of Louisville Brandeis School of Law
  • Catherine J. K. Sandoval, Assistant Professor of Law, Santa Clara University School of Law
  • Jorge Reina Schement, Distinguished Professor, Co-Director of the Institute for Information Policy, Department of Telecommunications, College of Communications, School of Information Sciences and Technology, Pennsylvania State University
  • Joel Waldfogel, Joel S. Ehrenkranz Family Professor, Professor of Business and Public Policy, Chairperson, Business and Public Policy Department, Associate Vice Dean, Doctoral Programs, Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania
  • Karin Wilkins, Associate Professor and Graduate Adviser, Department of Radio-TV-Film, University of Texas-Austin

7 - 10 p.m.
Gala Dinner
The Water’s Edge
The East River at 44th Drive
Long Island City, New York

Keynote Speaker
Honorable Jonathan Adelstein, Commissioner, Federal Communications Commission

Saturday, April 29, 2006
9:30 - 11 a.m.
A Dialogue on Race between the Media Reform and Media Justice Movements
Academic scholars and members of the Media Reform and Media Justice Movements (all working to change the current media paradigm) engage in a dialogue designed to reach a common ground and collaboration to increase racial and ethnic diversity in commercial, noncommercial and alternative media. 1.5 Non-transitional CLE Credits

Moderator
Philip Napoli, Associate Professor and Director, Donald McGannon, Communication Research Center, Fordham University

Panelists

  • Mary C. Beltran, Assistant Professor, Communication Arts and Chicana and Latina Studies, University of Wisconsin
  • Chanelle Hardy, Legislative Counsel, Consumers Union
  • Malkia Amala Cyril, Director, Youth Media Council
  • Sharon Ross, Assistant Professor, Television Department, Columbia College Chicago
  • Ben Scott, Policy Director, Free Press
  • Kade L. Twist, Vice President, Native Networking Policy Center

11:15 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
Race, Media, and Re-Conceptualizing Regulation and the First Amendment
Panelists will discuss short- and long-term strategies designed to combat media absences and misrepresentations and will also discuss more theoretical proposals designed to re-conceptualize First Amendment review and analysis. 1.5 Non-transitional CLE Credits

Moderator
Leonard M. Baynes, Professor of Law and Director, The Ronald H. Brown Center for, Civil Rights and Economic Development, St. John’s School of Law

Panelists

  • Nolan Bowie, Senior Fellow and Adjunct Lecturer, Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government
  • David Honig, Executive Director, Minority Media and Telecommunications Council
  • Jerry Kang, Professor of Law, UCLA Law School
  • Blake D. Morant, Roy L. Steinheimer, Jr. Professor of Law and Director Francis Lewis Law Center, Washington and Lee University School of Law
  • John Miller, Professor, School of Journalism, Ryerson University
  • Russell Robinson, Acting Professor of Law, UCLA Law School

12:30 - 2:30 p.m.
Luncheon, Keynote and Book Signing

  • Patricia J. Williams, James L. Dohr Professor of Law, Columbia Law School, Author of Alchemy of Race and Rights

2:30 - 3:30 p.m.
Conference Wrap-Up
Discussion of future steps, strategies, and research needed.

Moderator
Leonard M. Baynes, Professor of Law and Director, The Ronald H. Brown Center for, Civil Rights and Economic Development, St. John’s School of Law

Registration Fee
$10 per person if received by April 17, 2006
$25 per person if received after April 17, 2006
$50 CLE Credit. Qualifies for 8 CLE Credits
Students are free

Continuing Legal Education
St. John’s University School of Law has been certified by the New York State Continuing Legal Education Board as an Accredited Provider of Continuing Legal Education in the State of New York.

Qualifies for 8 CLE Credits.

The conference is being organized by Professor Leonard M. Baynes, the Director of The Ronald H. Brown Center, who previously served as a scholar-in-residence at the Federal Communications Commission ("FCC") during the administration of William Kennard. In this capacity, Professor Baynes worked exclusively on media diversity issues. Since joining the St. John's law faculty in 2002, he has written several path-breaking law review articles examining these critical issues and proposing innovative and cutting-edge regulations to address under-representation in the media.

More Information
Leonard M. Baynes
Professor of Law and Director
The Ronald H. Brown Center for Civil Rights and Economic Development
St. John's University School of Law
8000 Utopia Parkway
Queens, New York 11439
(718) 990-6032
baynesl@stjohns.edu
Attn: Media & Diversity