Film News And Views - Press Releases - The Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media

LOS ANGELES, Dec. 28, 2007 - Academy Award-winner Geena Davis, Sony Entertainment Co-Chair Amy Pascal, Philanthropist Wallis Annenberg and ABC Entertainment President Stephen McPherson are scheduled keynote speakers at the exclusive Executives & Producers Luncheon and Forum of The Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media Conference 2008, to be held on January 30 at the InterContinental Hotel in Century City.

This forum is part of a four-day international conference on gender in media, running January 28 -31 2008 at the University of Southern California (USC), hosted by the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media. Funding is provided by the Annenberg Foundation. The conference host committee includes Gerry Laybourne, Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Oxygen Media, Lucy Fisher, Co-Head of Red Wagon Entertainment.

The conference is designed to increase awareness of gender imbalance in entertainment for kids and strategize toward more varied gender portrayal in entertainment media aimed at young children.

Ground-breaking research findings about aspirations and goals for girls in children's media will be revealed by Dr. Stacy Smith of the Annenberg School, at both at the January 30th Executives & Producers Luncheon and Forum, and at the Open Forum press conference on January 31.

Attendees to the Producers & Executives event on January 30 will be treated to a sneak preview of clips and materials from the Institute's Gender Balance PSA Contest and its upcoming I Want to See Jane Campaign.

At the Open Forum on January 31, WGA's Animation Writers Caucus head Craig Miller will moderate a panel entitled, " Giving Female Characters Goals". Other sessions include a business panel, "The Toy-Product-Marketing-Kids' Media Link" and an educational/action panel, "How to Create a Cultural Shift". Additional panelists throughout the day include Heather Kenyon of the Cartoon Network, Doreen Spicer of the movie "Jump In," David Kleeman of American Center for Children and Media, and critics Brian Lowry of the TV Guide Channel and Variety, Celebrity Parade's Jeanne Wolf, and Entertainment Weekly's Mari Cartel.

The conference will also feature two days of International Researcher Workshops on January 28 and 29, featuring approximately 30 accomplished children's media researchers from around the globe and a panel open to the public on the evening of January 29.

About the Annenberg Foundation

Established in 1989 by Walter H. Annenberg, the Annenberg Foundation provides funding and support to nonprofit organizations in the United States and globally through its headquarters in Radnor, Pennsylvania and offices in Los Angeles, California. Its major program areas are education and youth development; arts, culture and humanities; civic and community life; health and human services; and animal services and the environment. In addition, the Foundation operates a number of initiatives which expand and complement these program areas. The Annenberg Foundation exists to advance the public well-being through improved communication. As the principal means of achieving this goal, the Foundation encourages the development of more effective ways to share ideas and knowledge.

For more information please visit: www.thegeenadavisinstitute.org