Media Tycoon Profile Presentation

The assignment consists of both an oral presentation to class and a written report. Each student will present to the class for five minutes on one of the media tycoons listed below.  If more than one student sign up for the same tycoon, the assignment will be determined by drawing names.  The written report should be typed, double-spaced on font size 11 and within 5 pages (The chronology can be single-spaced). Title page and reference pages are not counted in this 5-page limit. As the difficulty of gathering information for the tycoons varies, those marked with *** are considered the lowest level of difficulty in gathering information and will be graded with higher demand for source completeness and depth. You must include at least one non-online source in your reference to be considered as complete (see instructions on next page). 

Presentation and Report Structure:
1.  Background of the tycoon (e.g., education, family, important life experiences)- the path to media ownership/management
2.  Review of the tycoon's management philosophy and achievements of tycoon with a critique and lessons for learning
3.  Chronology of the milestones of the tycoon's media career with emphasis on the most recent activities and telecommunications industry ownership
e.g.., Jan 1979 - xxxx worked at xxx as xxx (job title)
        Mar1980 - xxxx founded xxx media
        May1991 - xxx purchased xxx media
Note: Your milestone should have the latest job affiliation of the tycoon at the time of writing the report. The chronology should be a separate section at the end of the paper.
4.  References (Written report only, in APA style, example listed in the course web site). 

List of contemporary media tycoons

  1. Billy Campbell, President, Discovery Networks
  2. Rob Lawes, Founder and CEO of HIT Entertainment (Children Programs)
  3. ***Steve Jobs, CEO, Apple Computer Inc.and Pixar Studio
  4. Terry Semel, CEO, Yahoo!
  5. Peter Chernin, President and Chief Operating Officer, News Corp.
  6. Lowell Bud Paxson, President and Founder, Paxson Communications Corporation
  7. Patrick J. Mullen, President, Tribune Broadcasting
  8. Allan Block, Managing Director, Block Communications
  9. Craig Dubow, President and CEO, Gannett Broadcasting
  10. Joseph Clayton, President and CEO, Sirius Satellite Radio Inc.
  11. John Sykes, Chairman and CEO,  Infinity Broadcasting.
  12. Hugh Panero, President and CEO, XM Satellite Radio Holdings, Inc.
  13. David J. Barrett, President and CEO, Hearst-Argyle Television, Inc.
  14. David D. Smith, President and CEO, Sinclair Broadcasting Group Inc.
  15. Gary Gannaway, CEO, WorldNow.
  16. Reid Johnson, Founder, President and CEO, Internet Broadcasting Systems Inc.
  17. Robert W. Decherd, President and CEO, A. H. Belo Corp.
  18. James McNamera, CEO, Telemundo Communications Group, Inc.
  19. Vincent Young, Chairman, Young Broacasting Inc.
  20. Kenneth Lowe, President & CEO, E. W. Scripps Company.
  21. Kevin P. O'Brien, President, Meredith Broadcasting Group.
  22. Paul McTear, President & CEO, Raycom Media Inc.
  23. Harry J. Pappas, Chairman, President & CEO, Pappas Telecasting Companies
  24. Donald Graham, Chairman & CEO, The Washington Post Company (owner of Post-Newsweek Stations Inc.)
  25. Walter Ulloa, Chairman & CEO, Entravision Communications Corp.
  26. J. D. Clinton, Chairman, Summit America Television, Inc.(formerly Shop At Home)
  27. J. Stewart Bryan III, Chairman & CEO, Media General Inc.
  28. Jeff Smulyan, President & CEO, Emmis Communications
  29. W. Don Cornwell, CEO, Granite Broadcasting Corp.
  30. Gary R. Chapman, Chairman, President & CEO, LIN TV Corp.
  31. James Cox Kennedy, Chairman & CEO, Cox Enterprises, Inc.
  32. ***Jeff Bezos, Chairman, President & CEO, Amazon.com
  33. Reed Hastings, Chairman, President & CEO, Netflix, Inc.
  34. Steven J. Smith, Chairman & CEO, Journal Communications, Inc.
  35. Harold W. McGraw III, President & CEO, The McGraw Hill Companies, Inc.
  36. Alex Wallau, President, ABC Television Network
  37. Marc Juris, President, Fuse Networks, LLC
  38. ***Steven Spielberg, Principal, Dreamworks SKG
  39. Ron Lam, President & CEO, Sega Gameworks, LLC.
  40. Tatsumi Kimishima, President, Nintendo of America, Inc.
  41. Stanley T. Sigman, Cingular Wireless, LLC.
Sources of information


1. Online sources - trade press and business/popular press.  Most of the online sources can be found in the course web site. You can also use web search engines and directories to find the company and individuals.  Some of the best web search engines can be found on Dr. Ha's home page. Hoovers.com and Findarticles.com are ones where you should start your research. The tycoon's company web site is also an excellent source of info.
2. Print sources – print version of the trade press, business newspapers and popular press listed in the course web site such as USA Today, The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times.  They are available in the main library.  You can use research databases such as ABI-INFORM and Periodical Abstracts to locate them.  You can also look up the index pages of recent issues of the periodicals for the company and the person and annual reports of the company.  Ask the librarian for help in looking up information about the company and the tycoon.
3. Interviews - if you could not find sufficient information about the tycoon you selected from the above secondary resources, you can contact the public relations department of the company for information about the tycoon.  If you plan to conduct any interviews, you MUST obtain their consent by using the consent form provided in the course web site and finish reading all your secondary sources prior to the interview. 

Grading


Background
10 points
Management Philosophy & Achievements
20 points
Chronology
10 points
Source Completeness
10 points
Oral Presentation 
40 points
Total
90 points
In grading the oral presentation, the skills being used (opening, organization, flow, effective use of audio-visual aids, clarity) and the content will both be counted. Power Point files are preferred and a copy of the file must be sent to the instructor the same day the presentation is done to receive full credit. 

ALL WRITTEN REPORTS ARE DUE ON MARCH 1 REGARDLESS OF THE PRESENTATION DATE.