BEA2025 Welcome to the BEA2025 convention program! All BEA sessions and events take place at the Las Vegas Convention Center’s West Hall, 3rd floor.
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Keep checking back for event registration, speaker announcements, and more details. Need answers ASAP? Reach out to our event planning team at help@BEAweb.org for info and more.
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Welcome to BEA2025! Grab a cup of coffee and a muffin and get the inside knowledge on BEA initiatives, volunteer opportunities and journals. Panelists will give you tips on navigating BEA's annual convention and NAB Show.
Hmmm, who am I...I am a Professor in the Point Park University School of CommunicationI teach Media & Society, Media Literacy, Video Production, Multimedia, and other random things.I'm involved with our School of Continuing and Professional Studies, working on microcredentials, certificates... Read More →
Jennifer Meadows is a Professor of Media Arts in the Media Arts, Design, and Technology Department at California State University, Chico. She is the 2023-2024 BEA Secretary/Treasurer. Her research and teaching focuses on communication technology, emerging technologies, and video... Read More →
Dr. Glenda Balas is a Professor in Communication and Technology at the University of North Texas at Dallas. She was formerly Dean of Liberal Arts and Sciences at UNT Dallas; Professor and Chair of the Communication and Journalism Department at the University of New Mexico; and Chair... Read More →
Do screenwriters need life rights when writing a story based on real events? What if they change significant details? What happens if life rights aren’t available at the time? Navigating these complexities can be challenging for creatives trying to focus on what matters most… telling a great story.
This panel will explore these issues from both a creative and legal perspective. First, Assistant Professor Benjamin S. Frahm, who teaches screenwriting at Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School and wrote the script "48 Hours in Vegas," will share his experience. His script was optioned by Michael Jordan and his son, Jeffrey Jordan, but later faced life rights complications involving other characters. Next, we’ll hear from Associate Professor Imraan Farukhi, a Communication Law expert at Syracuse University, who will provide insights from the legal side.
Moderator: Benjamin S. Frahm, Syracuse University Panelists: Imraan Farukhi, Syracuse University J. Christopher Hamilton, SyracuseUniversity
Author, J. Christopher Hamilton is an attorney, producer, and professor (Syracuse University) with over 20 years in the entertainment industry. Before teaching aspiring media executives about dynamic revenue models and content distribution strategies in the television, film, and... Read More →
Guarantees of freedom of speech and of the press are found in the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and in similar covenants around the world. In the 21st century, the average person has access to an overwhelming array of technologies by which to speak and publish. Yet, paradoxically, free speech seems more under attack today than in may seasons. This panel offers historical and contemporary perspectives on the freedom of the storytelling mass media, and the influence of the one upon the other. Moderator: Carey Martin, Liberty University Panelists: The Future of Freedom of Speech in the AI Era; Stephanie Longo, Penn State Scranton The Frosty Relationship Between Gen Z and Free Speech: Can it Thaw?; Amy Bonebright, Liberty University Mutual v Ohio at 90: “Business Pure and Simple” and its Influence Today; Carey Martin, Liberty, University
No, the panel participants won’t be Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce (nor even Taylor Swift). Instead, this session will feature the chiefs of the FCC Media Bureau’s Audio Division and Video Division. They are, respectively, Al Shuldiner and Barbara Kreisman.
This session will provide BEA attendees with key information on the direction of the Administration, the FCC and the Congress on broadcast and broadcast-related issues, ranging from broadcast group ownership and cross-ownership to government content regulation and technical advances and challenges for broadcast radio and television in the digital age. It also will provide an update on the contentious and evolving issue of AM radio being available in the cars and trucks being sold to American consumers.
The FCC division chiefs will comment on how the results of the 2024 presidential and congressional elections are having an impact on the Commission and those regulated by it. Following commentary by the expert panel, session attendees will be able to voice their own questions to the panelists.
Moderator: Barry D. Umansky, Ball State University Invited Panelists: Barbara Kreisman, Chief, Video Division, Media Bureau, FCC, Washington, DC Albert Shuldiner, Chief, Audio Division, Media Bureau, FCC, Washington, DC
As we enter the 29th year of the Telcom Update, note that broadcast/cable/streaming businesses continues to interact with each other while ratings show a definite trend toward streaming and on-demand programming. Will there be a shake-out in services? AI is all the talk; how will AI impact telecommunications industries? Will the AI Fraud Act make digital replicas illegal and can the FCC attempt to regulate AI in some meaningful way? How do the FCC, FTC and other agencies navigate regulation in the post-Chevon era? Sports always makes headlines; will antitrust play a role in the Venu Sports service? In the post-election environment, will be see more state level regulation of social media laws, anti-woke issues and filming police actions. Of course, there’s always our favorites: net neutrality, ownership rules, deep fakes and video privacy protection. These and other important issues will make the Update panel a must see. Moderator: Fritz J. Messere, SUNY - Oswego Panelists: Paul J. MacArthur, Utica University; Kim A. Zarkin, Westminster University; Amy Sindik, Central Michigan University; Laurie Lee, University of Nebraska
Moderator: David J. Weinert PhD, University of Miami Open Paper Competition Open 1st Place Paper: Caught on Camera: Free Speech and the Value of Recording Police in Public; Jeffrey Layne Blevins, University of Cincinnati Open 2nd Place Paper:Posting Performance Crimes on Social Media: Louisiana’s Legal Fight to Stop It; Caitlin LaComb, University of Louisiana at Lafayette; William R. Davie, University of Louisiana at Lafayette; T. Phillip Madison, University of Louisiana - Lafayette
David J. Weinert PhD (Penn State University Park), is a scholar of the First Amendment and communication/media law, and eminent major-market radio on-air talent and voice-over artist. With more than 21 years of faculty and administrative experience at the university level, Weinert’s... Read More →
Phillip Madison grew up in west Texas and lives with his wife and children in Lafayette, Louisiana. His professional experience includes radio production and sales, fundraising management, and institutional advancement. He has taught undergraduate and graduate courses in social media... Read More →
Dr. William R. (Bill) Davie holds a professorship from the Louisiana Board of Regents and is the Mass Communication/Broadcasting Coordinator for the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. He has authored and coauthored research papers, journal articles, and books on electronic media... Read More →
This panel promises lively debate regarding academe’s role in checking authoritarian assaults on media, based largely on the recent book by Mascaro and the late William E. Porter (Assault on the Media: The Nixon Years, Updated with Analysis of 21st Century Threats to Democracy, 2024). Panelists will update media law & policy, antitrust and regulatory issues, applied history, and the debate over cultural studies as a critique of power.
Moderator: Ralph Beliveau, University of Oklahoma Amy Sindik, Central Michigan University; Considers a half century of post-Nixon media law, including the Pentagon Papers impact on journalism, modern [secret] prior restraint, confidentiality as a currency of power, and teaching media law amidst attacks on journalism. Stuart Brotman, University of Tennessee, Knoxville; Assesses antitrust and regulatory issues in terms of helping or hurting the press, the FCC vs. the Office of Telecommunications Policy, and First Amendment freedoms in light of new communication and surveillance technologies. Tom Mascaro, Bowling Green State University; Proposes “applied history” by journal editors and working groups to take stock of battles between authoritarians and journalism advocacy, as both journalists and college faculty members are under siege. Ralph Beliveau, University of Oklahoma and Tom Mascaro; Concludes the session by sharing their years-long debate over cultural studies as a “check” on power or an anemic self-serving “critique.” It is no longer enough to “right” or “smart” as academics; it’s time to be more proactive. M
Dr. Beliveau is the Area Head for Creative Media Production and Professional Writing at the University of Oklahoma and affiliate faculty in both Film and Media Studies and Women and Gender Studies. He writes and teaches about media education and literacy, race, horror media, documentary... Read More →
Stuart N. Brotman is the inaugural Howard Distinguished Endowed Professor of Media Management and Law and Beaman Professor of Journalism and Electronic Media at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Brotman also is a recipient of the BEA Law & Policy Division “Lifetime Achievement... Read More →
Videogames trace their history to the 1960s, but games did not feature content labels until the industry formed the Entertainment Software Raging Board (ESRB) after Congressional intervention in 1994. For 30 years, the ESRB has been the de facto regulatory body of videogame content, with practices informed by systems used in films, comics, and music. This panel reflects on the ESRB’s history, formation, and influence (for better and worse) in shaping videogame content and culture.
Moderator: Nicholas David Bowman, Syracuse University Panelists: Amy Kristin Sanders, Pennsylvania State University; Blood-spatter effects and breasts that jiggle during combat: Are we effectively regulating video game content? Nick Bowman, Syracuse University; Moral Panics and motivated myopia: How the ESRB influences broader views of videogames as (il)legitimate leisure Sam Srauy, Oakland University; Violence? Whose violence: The imagined gamer, race, and the ESRB hearings 30 years later Trystram Spiro-Costello, Temple University, Digital involution: Three decades of ESRB ratings
