The Paley Center for Media has announced speakers for the 2024 Paley International Council Summit, including John C. Malone, chairman, Liberty Media, Liberty Broadband and Liberty Global; Adam Silver, NBA commissioner; and Aryeh B. Bourkoff, chairman and CEO, LionTree. With the title “Global Innovators: Defining the Future of Media,” the event happens at the Paley Museum in New York November 12-13. 

Each year, the summit brings together chief executives and other thought leaders to discuss topics and trends in the media. Frank A. Bennack, Jr., executive vice chairman and former CEO, Hearst, and chairman of The Paley Center For Media, chairs the summit. 

“Over the years I have had the distinct privilege to witness and take part in some of the insightful conversations that are a signature of the Paley International Council Summit,” said Bennack. “The media industry is constantly evolving, and the Summit continues to serve as a vital platform to discuss the ideas that will shape the industry in the coming years and beyond.” 

Other speakers include Paul Cheesbrough, CEO, Tubi Media Group; Mike Fries, CEO, Liberty Global; Don Garber, commissioner, Major League Soccer; Rebecca Glashow, CEO, BBC Global Media & Streaming; Steve Hasker, President and CEO, Thomson Reuters; Jim Lanzone, CEO, Yahoo Inc.; Almar Latour, CEO, Dow Jones & Co., and publisher, The Wall Street Journal; Dennis Mathew, chairman and CEO, Altice USA; Sowmyanarayan Sampath, CEO, Verizon Consumer Group, Verizon; and Phil Spencer, CEO, Microsoft Gaming. 

John Malone has spoken at the last few Paley summits. 

“We are honored to welcome the leaders and innovators from some of the world’s most influential companies to this year’s Paley International Council Summit,” said Maureen J. Reidy, president and CEO of The Paley Center for Media. “We look forward to hosting many fascinating discussions on some of the most important topics within the media industry including the advancement of artificial intelligence, the continued evolution of streaming and more. Additionally, we extend our deepest thanks to Accenture, Hearst, Verizon, and William S. Paley Foundation for their invaluable support of this year’s Summit.”

The Chairman’s Opening Night Reception happens Monday, November 11 at the Hearst Tower in New York. Day 1 takes place November 12 from 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the museum. Day 2 starts 9:30 a.m. and concludes at 1 p.m. 

The panel “Maintaining Trust in Journalism from Reporters to Aggregators and Everything in Between” was held at the Paley Center for Media in New York during its International Council Summit. Leopoldo Gomez, president, Univision News; Simone Swink, executive producer, Good Morning America; and Matt Murray, editor in chief, The Wall Street Journal, were on the panel, and Alberto Ibarguen, president and CEO, John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, moderated. 

Gomez spoke about the polarization going on in America, amid politics and the culture war, and how that erodes trust in the news. “It’s a huge challenge going forward,“ he said.

Swink mentioned how fake news has become a catchphrase, but many who use the term do have a degree of trust in certain individuals and organizations. “When people start locking in on individual brands and individuals bringing them the news,” Swink said, the trust level in news is much higher.

Murray said a newsroom might start every day, assuming readers and viewers don't trust the product, then set out to earn it each day.

Swink brought up the challenge of covering politicians who deny the results of the 2020 election. “How much sound do you play from them?” she asked. “If you choose not to play that sound, are you telling the whole story?”

Swink described that as a daily discussion that did not exist a couple of years ago.

Ibarguen asked what news might look like five years down the road, and how much disruption is needed to retain its relevance. Gomez said the biggest challenge is reaching what he called the “really young,” those 18-35.

Murray shared that news might not need all that much of an upheaval. “There are things about journalism that should not be disrupted, that we should cling to,” he said. “People are always going to need and seek out news.” ■

The Paley Center for Media announced Wednesday (Sept. 23) the speaker lineup for its International Council Summit. Globally Connected: Media in the 21st Century will be held on Nov. 10-11, marking the 25th anniversary of the summit.

Executives from numerous brands and companies that will be speaking include: Mike Bloomberg, Bloomberg L.P., Bloomberg Philanthropies; Tami Erwin, Verizon; Brad Smith, Microsoft; Frank Bennack Jr., Hearst; Ted Sarandos, Netflix; Dexter Goei, Altice USA; Mike Fries, Liberty Global; David Zaslav, Discovery Communications; Josh Sapan, AMC Networks and more.

The summit is co-chaired by Henry Kissinger and Frank Bennack Jr., former CEO of Hearst with the keynote address being given by Kissinger. 

Official partners for the summit are Nielsen, Hearst and Verizon, with Verizon having exclusive VOD rights to the discussions.

“In a year where we have seen our world impacted by a global pandemic, we’re honored to be able to convene these distinguished leaders to discuss the current state of the media industry, including the impact of COVID-19,” said Maureen J. Reidy, the Paley Center’s president & CEO. “We look forward to the many informative discussions from the fields of media, government, finance, news, technology, advertising, entertainment, music, sports, and gaming that will take place at this year’s Paley International Council Summit.”  

The Paley Center for Media hosts its International Council Summit Thursday and Friday (Nov. 19-20) in New York, where top media and entertainment company executives will convene to discuss the transactions that "are moving the needle and changing the face of the global media landscape."

The summit, programmed around the theme "Deals & Dealmaking: Capitalizing on the Media Revolution," opens at 9 a.m. Thursday with an interesting pairing when Discovery Commuications president/CEO David Zaslav interviews James Murdoch, CEO of 21st Century Fox.

The event's other keynote speakers are Tim Armstrong, CEO of AOL, and Marni Walden, EVP and president of product innovcation and new business at Verizon, who close out the day at 4:30 p.m. with "40/40 — Going All In on Mobile," during which they promise to open up about their “40-40 opportunity — $40 billion going to mobile and $40 billion going to video." Chris Pantoya, the NBA's SVP of mobile strategy, will moderate.

Among the featured speakers is Hearst executive vice chairman Frank A. Bennack, Jr., who is also chairman of the Paley Center. He and Steve Swartz, Hearst president and CEO, will join Multichannel News editorial director Mark Robichaux at 2:45 p.m. for "Masters of the Game," a half-hour conversation about the executives' game plan for building and reinvigorating a global media powerhouse through the strategic acquisition of content, technologies and multiple platforms. 

Other sessions of note on Thursday include:

--"It’s a Disneyfied World!" at 11:05 a.m., with Andy Bird, chairman of Walt Disney International, and Claudio Chiaromonte, EVP and managing director, The Walt Disney Co. Latin America, on their approach to building Disney’s global network, linking all of its businesses;

--"Breaking the Backend," at 11:35 a.m., with United Talent Agency's Peter Benedek, Discovery's Rich Ross and Leftfield Entertainment's Brent Montgomery, on the new economics of programming, production, content investment and talent deal structures; and

--"Media Myths & Consumer Trends: Separating Fact from Fiction," at 2:30 p.m., a 15-minute talk by Nielsen global president Steve Hasker on Nielsen's progress toward measuring the "Total Audience" for all content across all platforms and consumer trends the media measurement company foresees in 2020.

The conference continues on Friday (Nov. 20) through 1:30 p.m. with six additional sessions. For more information, visit the Paley IC 2015 website.