FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Tricia Kelly
Assistant Director, Communications & Society Program
The Aspen Institute
tricia.kelly@aspeninstitute.org
Atlanta to Host Media leaders from China and the United States
Will discuss potential ways to work together despite different systems
Atlanta, GA, May 6, 2015 – Media executives and journalists from China and the United States will meet for a daylong roundtable session in Atlanta on Thursday, May 7, 2015. About a dozen representatives of each country’s media will discuss areas of potential collaborations and exchanges.
Attendees
Among those attending are Madam Cui Yuying, vice minister of the Chinese State Council Information Office (SCIO) and Zhang Fuhai, director-general of the International Affairs Bureau of the SCIO. On the American side, participants include Teya Ryan, CEO of GPB Media (Georgia Public Broadcasting), Juan Williams, commentator on Fox News, and Mike Finnerty, senior vice president of the Weather Company, owner of the Weather Channel.
Among those attending from the Atlanta area are Fredricka Whitfield, anchor, CNN; Mike Dreaden, news editor, WSB-TV; Mark Waligore, managing editor, Atlanta Journal Constitution; and James Black, assistant director of the Center for Collaborative Journalism, Mercer University.
Meeting Agenda
On the morning of May 7 participants will hear from Vice Minister Cui, Aspen Institute Vice President Charles Firestone, and Vice President of Dolby Laboratories Jeffrey Moon.
They will also view a re-edited version of the documentary, Touching the Tigers, a collaboration of Chinese and American documentarian film makers, chronicling the work of the Flying Tigers in World War II. Malcolm Clarke, director of the film, will also address the group.
In the afternoon, the participants will go into private session to address how to foster exchanges of journalists between the two countries, and whether there are opportunities for other collaborations. This is intended as a warm up session to further talks of this topic.
The day will be capped by a musical performance, “Qin-Tai” at the World of Coca-Cola.
Noting the difference between the two media systems, Firestone observes that the two countries have completely different starting points. “Finding areas where the media might work together may seem difficult at first,” Firestone observed, “but not impossible. For example, environment is one potential area of collaboration where both countries have agreed to work to reduce carbon emissions. And there are many other stories of interest to people of both countries.”
The Roundtable is being organized by the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries and the Chinese State Council Information Office with support from the Aspen Institute Communications and Society Program
Editor’s Note: Media interested in covering this event can contact Tricia Kelly at tricia.kelly@aspeninstitute.org.
The Aspen Institute is an educational and policy studies organization based in Washington, DC. Its mission is to foster leadership based on enduring values and to provide a nonpartisan venue for dealing with critical issues. The Institute is based in Washington, DC; Aspen, Colorado; and on the Wye River on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. It also has offices in New York City and an international network of partners. For more information, visit www.aspeninstitute.org.
###