About the Media Summit
The Dr. Lewis B. O’Donnell Media Summit is a day-long event that welcomes media professionals to campus for engaging conversations about timely and important topics facing media industries and media consumers. The summits are headlined by a panel discussion featuring top names from various areas of media, but the day also offers small-group discussions where students can listen to and ask questions of visiting luminaries.
SUNY Oswego’s School of Communication, Media and the Arts hosts the Media Summit each fall.
The Media Summit was founded in 2005 by Lou Borrelli, ’77. In 2007, Al Roker ’76 became a co-sponsor of the event, which was renamed in memory of their beloved professor, the late Dr. Lewis B. O’Donnell.
2023 Media Summit
The television and film industry can feel like a secret club to outsiders. The 2023 Media Summit looked to unveil some of those secrets with the theme, “Behind the Scenes in Hollywood.” The program was held in Waterman Theatre on Oct. 25. The panelists shared their experiences as screenwriters, producers and media executives, offering insights on what it really means to work in Hollywood. They shared advice on breaking into the industry, and they discussed what students should expect from thier first gig.
Panelists included Jeremy Garelick, film writer, director, producer, Juliet Giglio, TV/film writer, producer, associate professor; Aunrée Houston ’00, Vice President of Account Services and Digital Production Operations, Paramount Global; and Christy Somers ’15, unscripted television producer. The 2023 Media Summit was moderated by Megan Mazzoccone ’07, Career Coach, SUNY Oswego.
Left to Right: Panelists Aunrée Houston, Juliet Giglio, Jeremy Garelick, Christy Somers
2022 Media Summit
On Oct. 26, 2022, the Media Summit tackled a decades-long issue in a program titled, “Reaching for the Summit: Underrepresentation in Sports Media.” Panelists shared their personal experiences and discussed what sports media operations were doing well to expand the diversity of thier workforces and what organizations could do to improve recruitment and retention efforts. The 2022 summit marked the first fully in-person since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Panelists met with students throughout the day, leading up to the panel discussion in Waterman Theatre at 3 p.m.
The panel included Ade Ellis ’04, Associate Director, CBS Sports; Donna Goldsmith ’82, sports and entertainment executive; Yaw Ofori-Atta ’05, Producer, CBS Sports; Morgan Rumpf ’17, Chief Marketing Office, C-Suite Executive Solutions. The event was moderated by Allif Karim ’18, Producer, WBZ-TV.
2021 Media Summit
The 2021 Media Summit, “On-Demand In Demand: Audiences and the Future of Video Streaming,” explored the changing habits of media consumers and the rapid growth of video streaming services. The panel examined audience fragmentation and its impact on legacy media networks. In addition, panelists discussed the infrastructure required to keep up with demand and the struggle to find business models that work in a media environment facing unprecedented disruptions.
The panelists included Renard Jenkins, Senior Vice President Production Integration & Creative Technology Services, WarnerMedia; Jamie Duemo, Media and Entertainment Business Development Leader, Amazon Web Services; Chrissy Guest, Associate Professor of Media Arts, Sciences, and Studies, Ithaca College; and Frank Palumbo ‘83, Vice President Local Television, Nielsen Holdings. Jenkins and Palumbo joined the panel virtually due to corporate travel restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2021 Media Summit was moderated by Justin Dobrow ’17, Supervisor of Program Operations, NBCUniversal.
Joining the conversation virtually from left to right, Frank Palumbo ’83 and Renard Jenkins. On stage from left to right, moderator Justin Dobrow ’17, panelists Jamie Duemo and Chrissy Guest.
2020 Media Summit
The 2020 Dr. Lewis B. O’Donnell Media Summit, “On the Frontline with the First Amendment,” took place virtually on Oct. 28, 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The day-long event gave students the opportunity to learn more about the role the First Amendment plays in their daily lives. Throughout the day, our distinguished panelists attended classes and Q&A sessions providing students with an inside perspective of their work as journalists and media professionals. At 3:30pm, the panelists convened via webinar to discuss the COVID-19 pandemic, the Black Lives Matters movement, the 2020 Presidential Election, and their relationship to the media.
The panel discussion was moderated by SUNY Oswego’s Michael Riecke, a professor of broadcast and digital journalism. Panelists included Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Connie Schultz, Editor of NBC News’ NBCBLK Michelle Garcia ’06, WGRZ-TV investigative reporter Steve Brown, Cornell Law School legal fellow Ava Lubell and KERA political reporter Bret Jaspers.
Top left to right: Bret Jaspers, Michelle Garcia, and Connie Schultz. Bottom left to right: Ava Lubell, Steve Brown, and Moderator Michael Riecke.
2019 Media Summit
The 2019 Media Summit took place in Waterman Theater in Tyler Hall on Oct. 23 with the theme “Trust Transformed: Media & the Public 15 Years Later.” The panel examined the relationship between media professionals and news consumers, with a nod to the theme of the college’s first Media Summit in 2005, “Why Don’t We Trust the Media? How Can the Media Recover Public Trust.”
SUNY Oswego alumnus Kendis Gibson, anchor host of “MSNBC Live” on weekends, moderated the panel. Panelists included Cristina Domingues, anchor of “Your Morning Rochester” and midday shows for Spectrum News; Sharon Newman ’79, senior producer on the MSNBC program “The 11th Hour with Brian Williams”; Doug Schneider, a watchdog reporter for USA Today Network-Wisconsin and writer for the Green Bay Press-Gazette; and Jennifer Williams, senior foreign editor at Vox and co-host of Worldly, Vox’s foreign affairs podcast.
Left to Right: Moderator Kendis Gibson and Panelists Doug Schneider, Sharon Newman, Jennifer Williams, Cristina Domingues
2018 Media Summit
The 2018 Dr. Lewis B. O’Donnell Media Summit took place in Waterman Theatre in Tyler Hall on Oct. 17 with the theme “Viral Voices: Advocacy in the Digital Age.”
The panel included Social and Influencer Communications Lead, Global Markets Brand Communications Manager for IBM Corporate Communications Brandi Boatner; Assistant Professor of Sociology at SUNY Oswego Dr. Latoya Lee; Health Equity Coordinator for Planned Parenthood of Central and Western New York Gina Iliev; SUNY Owego Alum(’07) & Co-Founder of Digital Hyve Jeff Knauss. Oswego Alum(’12) and News Anchor for WNYT-TV in Albany, New York Asa Stackel moderated.
The 2018 Media Summit E-board, Panelists and Career Connectors
2017 Media Summit
The 2017 Dr. Lewis B. O’Donnell Media Summit took place in Waterman Theatre in Tyler Hall on Oct. 26 with the theme “Facts, Fiction, Politics and the News.”
The panel included supervising producer for “The Lead with Jake Tapper” on CNN Kristen Donnelly; Radio host and conservative political commentator on WHAM-AM in Rochester, New York Bob Lonsberry; Deputy chief of staff and communications director for U.S. Rep. Elijah Cummings Trudy Perkins ’93; and CBS news radio correspondent Steven Portnoy. Co-anchor and helth and wellness reporter for NewsChannel 13 in Albany, New York Benita Zahn moderated.
2016 Media Summit
The 2016 Dr. Lewis B. O’Donnell Media Summit took place in the newly renovated Waterman Theatre in Tyler Hall on Oct. 27 with the theme “Digital, Social, Mobile: How Media Trends Impact Theatre, Music, and Art.”
The panel included Composer-in-residence for the Los Angeles-based symbiosis ensemble and concert series, “Music @ MiMoDa” George “Nick” Gianopoulos ’07; Star of the Lifetime Television series “Pitch Slapped” Diana Preisler ’96; Director, actor, playwright, and visiting assistant professor at SUNY Oswego Mya Brown; and the communications manager for University Services at Princeton University Michael Yoon ’00. Co-host of FOX5 Las Vegas’s popular lifestyle and entertainment programs, “MORE” and “MORE Access” Sean McAllister ’01 moderated.
2015 Media Summit
The 2015 Dr. Lewis B. O’Donnell Media Summit took place in the Sheldon Hall Ballroom on Oct. 21 with the theme “A Mile in their Shoes: Reflections on Equality and Diversity in the Media.”
The panel included ABC News national correspondent Kendis Gibson ’94; WSYR-TV Chief Meteorologist Dave Longley ’94; Vox.com Senior Editor Michelle Garcia ’06; and WSYR-TV News Anchor Jennifer Sanders. Student Association President Christopher Collins-McNeil ’16 moderated.
2014 Media Summit
A pair of media icons — Charlie Rose and Al Roker — headlined the 10th annual Lewis B. O’Donnell Media Summit on October 16, in SUNY Oswego’s Marano Campus Center.
Other participants included nationally syndicated Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Connie Schultz and Dennis Thatcher, president and chief operating officer of Cleveland-based Mission Broadcasting. Panel moderator was Ken Auletta, a 1963 graduate of Oswego, columnist for The New Yorker magazine and best-selling author of books on the media industry.
Left to Right: Moderator Ken Auletta and Panelists Al Roker, Charlie Rose, Dennis Thatcher, Connie Schultz
2013 Media Summit
ESPN “SportsCenter” anchor Steve Levy and former World Wrestling Entertainment executive Donna Goldsmith headlined an all-star, all-alumni and accomplished panel of sports media and business professionals for the 2013 summit on November 6 in Tyler Hall’s Waterman Theatre.
Other panelists for the sports-themed summit, titled “Get in the Game,” included Jay Beberman, managing editor for sports at Bloomberg News, and John Kucko, sports anchor at WROC-TV in Rochester. All of the panelists — Levy and Kucko in 1987, Goldsmith in ’82 and Beberman in ’89 — graduated from SUNY Oswego.
2012 Media Summit
Former national news anchor Garrick Utley and political analyst Edward Wyckoff Williams were among the headliners for the Dr. Lewis B. O’Donnell Media Summit on Wednesday, Oct. 24, 2012 at SUNY Oswego. The summit title was “A Star Is Born”; the event took place at 3 pm in Tyler Hall’s Waterman Theatre.
On the panel were Edward Wyckoff Williams, a columnist, political analyst and former investment banker who regularly appears on MSNBC, CBS and nationally syndicated radio; Kevin Torres, SUNY Oswego class of 2006 and a regional Emmy award-winning backpack journalist at KUSA-TV in Denver; Denis Mueller, an award-winning documentary filmmaker; and Jackie Robinson, recently retired WSTM-TV news anchor-Garrick Utley was the moderator for the 2012 summit.
The panelists had a ninety minute discussion on today’s media landscape and the implications for anyone trying to break into the business. After the summit, students had a chance to meet one-on-one with the guests as well as a variety of Career Connectors and visiting professionals from around the area.
2011 Media Summit
The 2011 edition of the Dr. Lewis B. O’Donnell Media Summit focused on “Diversify Yourself.” The 2011 theme was structured around Media Diversity. In particular, issues/questions pertaining to ethnicity, gender, technology, business models, content and global were addressed by the panel. The activities for the day concluded with an all-star panel discussion at 3 pm on October 27 in the Waterman Theatre.
Moderator for the 2011 Media Summit was Dr. Michael S. Ameigh, general manager of WRVO Public Media. The panelists for 2011 were Kendis Gibson ’94, now a reporter for ABC News; Ric Harris, sales leader/media strategist at Accenture; Sharon L. (Friedlander) Newman ’79 of ABC News Radio; Ms. Adriana Waterston of Horowitz Associates; and Louis A. Borrelli Jr. ’77, the founder and co-sponsor of the annual summit.
2010 Media Summit
SUNY Oswego’s sixth annual Lewis B. O’Donnell Media Summit explored a new dimension-the rapidly heating, consumer-driven realm of 3D and personal devices. Panelists were Vicki Betihavas, television producer and founder of Nineteen Fifteen, a 3D high-definition TV production company based in the United Kingdom; Andy Carvin, senior social media strategist for NPR; Mike Cassidy, a 1998 Oswego alumnus who is founder and president of Undertone Networks; and Jon Landis, Ph.D., Northeast education development executive for Apple Computer.
The panel discussion took place on Thursday, Oct. 14, 2010. In addition, Oswego alumna and award-winning anchor Benita Zahn, of WNYT-TV in Albany, was the moderator for the 2010 Summit.
2009 Media Summit
The 2009 edition on Oct. 14 presented “Your GPS Directions to the Digital Media World.” The 3 pm panel in the Sheldon Hall ballroom included moderator Louis A. Borrelli Jr., former president and CEO of market leader NEP Broadcasting, the summit’s founding sponsor and a 1977 Oswego graduate; Matty de Castro, an account director at Facebook; 1988 Oswego graduate Mark Levy, vice president and creative director for NBC Sports and Olympics; E.B. Moss, founder of high-profile marketing firm Moss Appeal; and 1977 Oswego graduate Rick Yacobush, market sales manager for Clear Channel in Syracuse. Student reactor was senior broadcasting major Robert Stobie.
2008 Media Summit
The 2008 summit, titled Media ®evolution, looked at new media and intellectual property rights on Oct. 22 of that year. Experts participating included J. Scott Dinsdale, executive vice president of digital operations and new technology for SONY/BMG Music Entertainment; Erica Farber, CEO of Radio & Records magazine; 1981 SUNY Oswego graduate Steve Leblang, senior vice president of strategic planning and research for FX Networks; Patrick Stiegman, vice president and executive editor/producer for ESPN.com; and moderatorJack Myers, who heads entertainment publishing company Myers Publishing. New that year was an on-stage student reactor, senior broadcasting major Candace J. Dunkley.
2007 Media Summit
The 2007 edition, October 17 in the Sheldon Hall ballroom, included Paul Condolora (SUNY Oswego ’82), senior vice president and general manager for Cartoon Network New Media; Geraldine B. Laybourne, founder, chair and CEO of Oxygen Media; Doug McMonagle, regional director for Inergize Digital Media; Shelly Palmer, managing director of Advanced Media Ventures Group LLC; and Russell Quy, executive producer of advanced media for TWI Interactive. SUNY Oswego alumnus Al Roker ’76, weatherman and host of NBC’s “Today” show, will serve as moderator. The educational and entertaining day’s programming was based around the theme of “New Technologies + New Generations = The Media of the Future.” At the end of the 2007 event, the summit was renamed in memory of longtime professor Lewis B. O’Donnell in an emotional ceremony featuring O’Donnell’s family, Borrelli, Roker and Oswego President Deborah F. Stanley.
2006 Media Summit
The second edition of the summit, on October 20, 2006, looked at “The Impact of Media on U.S. Sports: Who’s Winning? Media, Teams, Athletes or Fans?” Panelists were George Bodenheimer, president of ESPN and ABC Sports and co-chairman of Disney Media Networks; Dr. Myles Brand, president of the National Collegiate Athletic Association; Linda Bruno, commissioner of the Atlantic 10 Conference; Bud Poliquin, sports columnist for the Syracuse Post-Standard and co-host of WHEN’s sports talk radio show; and Stuart Robinson, athletic director at SUNY New Paltz. Linda Cohn, a 1981 SUNY Oswego graduate and an anchor on ESPN’s SportsCenter, served as moderator.
2005 Media Summit
The first summit on Oct. 27, 2005, asked “Why Don’t We Trust the Media? How Can the Media Recover Public Trust?” Panelists included Ben Bradlee, legendary editor of the Washington Post during Watergate; Tom Rosenstiel, director of Columbia University’s Project for Excellence in Journalism; Kimberley A. Strassel, a senior editorial page writer for the Wall Street Journal; and David Folkenflik, who covers media for National Public Radio. Moderator was SUNY Oswego alumnus Ken Auletta, a media analyst and best-selling author.
