2011's Plenary Speakers
Emily Bell is Professor of Professional Practice at Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism where she is the Director of the Tow Center for Digital Journalism.
From 2006 to 2010, Bell was director of digital content for Britain's Guardian News and Media.
Previous to that post, Bell was editor-in-chief of Guardian Unlimited from 2001 to 2006. Under Bell, the Guardian received numerous awards, including the Webby Award for a newspaper website in 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2009, and British Press Awards for Website of the Year in 2006, 2008 and 2009.
Bell first joined the Observer newspaper, which became part of Guardian News and Media, in 1990, as a business reporter specializing in media business, marketing and technology. Bell is a leading media commentator in the U.K., writing about broadcasting and media policy issues.
Emily Bell at Columbia University
Robert W. McChesney is the Gutgsell Endowed Professor in the Department of Communication at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
He is Co-author (with John Nicholls) of The Death and Life of American Journalism, as well as Rich Media, Poor Democracy and 14 other authored or edited volumes. The Utne Reader lists him among their “50 visionaries who are changing the world”).