Top University Deans and blacklist100 Founder Join "Jack Myers Leadership Conversation" on the "Future of Education for Media, Marketing, Advertising & Journalism"

NEW YORK, Aug. 6, 2020 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Marshall McLuhan's "The medium is the message" phrase coined in 1964 has returned to relevance with a vengeance during this pivotal cultural moment in history. Perhaps nowhere will the founder of media ecology's message be more relevant than in the virtual halls of our educational institutions.

On Thursday, August 13 at 1:00pm ET, leading media ecologist Jack Myers, founder of MediaVillage and AdvancingDiversity.org, moderates the next "Leadership Conversation" on the "Future of Media, Marketing, Advertising & Journalism Education – for Industry Professionals, Educators, Students & Job Seekers," with Dean Gracie Lawson-Borders, Howard University Cathy Hughes School of Communications; Dean Mark Lodato, S.I. Newhouse School of Communications at Syracuse University; and Andrea Press, Media Studies Department Head, University of Virginia. The webinar is complimentary but to attend one must register at MediaVillage.com here.

Kai Wright, Founder & Curator of blacklist100, and host and managing editor of The United States of Anxiety, a podcast about the "unfinished business of our history and its grip on our future," produced by WNYC Studios, will join Myers for a keynote conversation to open the 90-minute live "Media Education Summit."

"As an industry, we have under performed in every measure of diversity, retention, and nurturing a diverse talent pool in our workforce," says Myers, an education and diversity activist for the media and advertising community who has spent decades researching and reporting on the media, marketing and advertising landscape. "Our growth comes from the engagement and commitment of companies and organizations – past, present and future – willing to invest in education and diversity. MediaVillage has been leading the way as the media industry's driving force for growth for the world's leading companies."

Topics discussed by Wright and the Deans in conversation with Myers include:

• Recommendations for advancing relevant educational connections and collaboration between the media community and academia;
• How can we successfully attract diverse new majority talent to media and advertising professions, especially from non-traditional sources;
• How can academic institutions help feed diverse leaders into senior positions of responsibility in media, advertising and journalism;
• What are the best models for assuring that diverse students see themselves reflected in the professional ranks of the media community;
• How can we hold the media, advertising and marketing community responsible for delivering on ambitious talent development goals and what are those goals;
• What are the realities confronting college students as they enter or return to school and what are the different models being tested;
• What are college communications, journalism and advertising programs doing to adapt their curriculum to the new realities of the fake news, social media, commercial-free environment.

To quote a section of Wright's introduction of the "blacklist100": "Sorry, but not sorry, this isn't a message of hope; it's a message to stay woke. Because education, representation, and talent development are all critical components to building a healthy work environment & community for all, we cannot allow leaders to stay asleep at the wheel any longer." Wright's journalism has focused on social, racial, and economic justice throughout his career. Formerly, he was an editor at The Nation and the editorial director of Colorlines. His writing has appeared in The New York Times, Mother Jones, and Salon, among other outlets, and his broadcast appearances include MSNBC and NPR. Wright is the author of Drifting Toward Love: Black, Brown, Gay and Coming of Age on the Streets of New York, as well as two surveys of Black American history.

Dean Lawson-Borders is a member of the advisory board of BlackPast.org, and the editorial board of the International Journal on Media Management. Her book Media Organizations and Convergence: Case Studies of Media Convergence Pioneers focuses on convergence of technologies in media organizations.

Dean Lodato is making his first public appearance since joining the Newhouse School in July from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University, where he established partnerships between the school and such major media outlets as NBC News, CBS News, ABC News, Univision, Fox Sports Arizona, Pac-12 Networks, E.W. Scripps Co., TEGNA and Meredith Corporation. Lodato's career in broadcast journalism preceded his academic career, working at network affiliates in Phoenix, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., and Ft. Myers, Florida, as an investigative reporter, political correspondent, and anchor.

Andrea Press is the William R. Kenan, Jr. Professor of Media Studies and Sociology at the University of Virginia, where she founded the Media Studies Program. Professor Press is internationally known for her interdisciplinary scholarship on the media audience, on feminist media issues, and on media and social class in the U.S. She has authored the forthcoming US Media-Ready Feminism and Everyday Sexism and Women Watching Television: Gender, Class and Generation In The American Television Experience.

Jack Myers Leadership Conversations support the MediaVillage Media Industry Advancing Diversity & Economic Relief Fund efforts. Ten organizations were selected as recipients of the Relief Fund by the Advancing Diversity Council, an organization of 45 industry diversity and inclusion leaders focused on advancing diversity from advocacy to activism. The 10 beneficiaries are: 4A's Foundation, ADCOLOR, Advancing Diversity/Mentor's Playlist, American Education Foundation (AEF), AAF AdCamp for High School Students, Institute for Veterans and Military Families at Syracuse University, International Radio & TV Society Foundation (IRTS), Jacaronda Foundation College Loan Relief, John A. Reisenbach Foundation, and TD Foundation for Children of Wounded Warriors and Fallen Heroes.

For interviews with Jack Myers, who is author of the best-selling 2013 book Hooked Up: A New Generation's Surprising Take on Sex, Politics and Saving the World and recently wrote "The numbers don't lie, diverse workforces make companies more money," for MarketWatch's Opinion page; to learn more about MediaVillage's and AdvancingDiversity.org's diversity and education programs; or to get a copy of Myers' white paper on "The Case for Education & Diversity as Tools for Business Growth in Marketing & Media," contact [email protected].

About MediaVillage:
MediaVillage is the media and advertising community's leading education and diversity activist. Through our collective impact approach, we implement effective and cost efficient B2B growth solutions. For the past decade, MediaVillage, in collaboration with partners across the marketing ecosystem, has been developing innovative strategies for generating growth through education and diversity programs. Today, more than 150 companies, organizations and industry leaders are members of the MediaVillage Knowledge Exchange, a B2B Solutions Marketplace and Center of Excellence for Advancing Marketing Solutions, Diversity and Education. Follow @mediavillagecom @advdiversity

About Jack Myers:
For more than 40 years, MediaVillage founder Jack Myers has been singularly dedicated to identifying, developing, and introducing solutions to the challenges confronting media companies. As the world's leading media ecologist, he's a noted expert on generational and gender shifts, the impact of technological advances on business economics, and the dynamics of business growth and decline. His background includes executive roles at CBS Television, ABC Radio, Metromedia Outdoor, Television Production Partners, and UTV Cable Network. Follow @jackmyersbiz

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