OTTAWA – The 81st annual Canadian Association of Broadcasters convention kicks off this Sunday in Ottawa and runs through Tuesday, November 6th.
(Cartt.ca, which is a media sponsor, will be there with a team of reporters covering the sessions – and will also produce a printed show daily on-site.)
The 2007 convention theme, Broadcasting, Redefined, “targets issues of fundamental importance to the broadcasting and distribution industries: new technologies and platforms, new business models and partnerships, and new policies and regulations that will allow Canada’s private broadcasters to thrive in an increasingly complex global business environment,“ says the CAB.
There are more than 100 guest speakers from Canada, the United States, Europe and Australia participating in 18 information sessions over two days.
The Convention also features an impressive roster of keynote speakers:
• Don Tapscott, Chief Executive, New Paradigm Learning Corporation, who will provide the Convention’s Opening Keynote Address on Monday November 5th
• Konrad von Finckenstein, Chair, Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), keynote speaker at the Gold Ribbon Awards Luncheon on Monday; November 5th;
• The Honourable Josée Verner, Minister of Canadian Heritage, Status of Women and Official Languages, keynote speaker at the Gold Ribbon Awards Breakfast celebrating Community Leadership on Tuesday morning, November 6th;
• General Rick Hillier, Chief of Defence Staff, who will speak at the CAB Hall of Fame Luncheon on Tuesday, November 6th; and
• The Honourable Michael K. Powell, Chairman, Federal Communications Commission (2001-2005) who will present the Closing Keynote Address at 2:00 pm Tuesday, November 6th, 2007.
The CAB Convention kicks off with the opening Plenary Session, Public Policy, Redefined, on Monday November 5th, 9:15 to 10:15 am. Moderated by Mike Duffy of Mike Duffy Live, CTV Newsnet, the session will include the Honourable Ralph Goodale, MPs Rahim Jaffer and Thomas Mulcair, as well as the Honourable Janice MacKinnon, Professor of Public Policy, University of Saskatchewan and Nik Nanos, President and CEO, SES Research.
On Monday at 2:00 pm, the Copyright, Redefined Plenary Session, moderated by Mark Hayes, Partner, Toronto Office, Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP, includes Michael Geist, Canada Research Chair in Internet and E-commerce Law, University of Ottawa, Jean-Marie Heimrath, President and General Manager, Sound Source Networks, Bal Samra, Director, Vision Operations and Rights, BBC, Paul Spurgeon, General Counsel, SOCAN, and Alan J. Weinschel, Partner, Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP.
The Tuesday Plenary Session at 9:15 am Regulation Redefined, moderated by Richard French, Adjunct Research Professor, Graduate School of Public and International Affairs, University of Ottawa, includes panellists: Charlotte Bell, Vice-President, Regulatory Affairs, TV and Radio, CanWest MediaWorks and Chair, CAB Board of Directors, Shan Chandrasekar, President and CEO, Asian Television Network (ATN), Pierre Dion, President and Chief Executive Officer, Groupe TVA inc., Dan Goldberg, President and CEO, Telesat Canada, John Hayes, President, Radio, Corus Entertainment Inc., Phil Lind, Vice-Chair, Rogers Communications Inc., and Gary Smith, President, Bell ExpressVu.
For additional information on the program of the 2007 CAB Convention, visit the CAB web site at www.cab-acr.ca/convention.
For the most comprehensive coverage of the convention to be found anywhere next week, simply surf back to Cartt.ca which is covering the convention with a roster of four reporters, the most of any media outlet in the country.
