Newsmedia Only -- One Day Y2K Seminar In New York Feb.23rd

Passing this along per request. -- Diane

Please relay this to any journalists or media outlets you know of. It could be a very important event. -- Tom Atlee
* The Co-Intelligence Institute * Oakland, CA
http://www.co-intelligence.org *
http://www.co-intelligence.org/Y2K.html

Reporting the Y2K Story
A seminar for working journalists

Presented by FACS
and the
Media Studies Center

February 23, 1999
New York City

As a journalist, you have heard the doomsday predictions as well as the assurance that, by year's end, the Year 2000 Computer problem will be "no problem" after all. Reporting accurately and authoritatively on the millennium bug is one of journalism's big challenges this year. What you need to know to do the job well is the focus of a daylong conference for journalists at The Freedom Forum's Media Studies Center, Tuesday, February 23.

The Media Studies Center and FACS are presenting a day of learning to provide journalists with the basic building blocks and the critical background for coverage of Y2K. Our faculty will include leading experts on risk assessment and preparedness for business, governments, international institutions and the nation's infrastructure (electricity, telecommunications, etc.). Liability experts will explain the vulnerability of commerce small or large.

This seminar is for reporters and editors who need better background information in order to cover the millennium bug story throughout 1999. Participants will be better able to evaluate future stories about this highly complex issue and will have new time lines for potential problems in 1999 as well as after January 1, 2000.

Attendance is limited to working journalists from print, broadcasting and new electronic media.

Agenda

8:30 a.m. Registration

8:45 Introductions and Assessment of Y2K Scenarios from participants
Paul Davis, FACS

9:00 A Journalists Perspective on Y2K
Marcia Stepanek
Business Week

9:20 This Year and Next. What are the Realities?
Ed Yourdon
The Cutter Consortium

11:00 Looking at Financial Institutions
Dennis Grabow, CEO
Millennium Investments

12:00 Lunch

12:30 p.m. Watching Federal, State and Local Governments
Victor Porlier, Center for Civic Renewal
Dr. Robert Alloway, Director, Nat'l Leadership Task Force on Y2K

2:00 Issues of Liability from Y2K Problems
Professor Walter Effross
Washington College of Law,
American University

3:00 The Power Grid
Rick Cowles, Author, Electric Utilities and Y2K

3:45 What Journalists should look for in the coming year
The Faculty and Journalists

4:45 Adjournment

Faculty and Speakers

 Dennis Grabow, CEO, Millennium Investments.
 Ed Yourdan, Chairman and Co-Founder, The Cutter Consortium, a software engineering consultant and author of Time Bomb 2000.
 Professor Walter Effross, Washington College of Law, American University, Chair, ABA Subcommittee on Electronic Commerce.
 Marcia Stepanek, Editor, Technology Strategies, Business Week.
 Dr. Robert Alloway, Director, National Leadership Task Force on Y2K.
 Victor Porlier, Center for Civic Renewal.
 Rick Cowles, Author, Electric Utilities and Y2K.

Where:
Media Studies Center
580 Madison Avenue, 42nd Floor
New York, New York

When: Tuesday, February 23, 1999
8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.

Cost and Registration
There is no registration fee but you must be pre-registered to attend.

Register for the Seminar using: FACSNET online service: Go to

http//www.facsnet.org

Select FACS Conferences
Or
By Telephone: (323) 851-7372
By Fax: (323) 851-9186
By E-mail facs@facsnet.org

A special hotel rate for this seminar is available on Monday, February 22 at the Courtyard by Marriott, 864 Third Avenue at 53rd Street in Manhattan. Call 212-644-9600 and tell the reservation agent you are with the FACS-Media Center seminar.

This program is being made possible in part through the support of the Hewlett-Packard Foundation.

The Media Studies Center is funded by the Freedom Forum of Arlington, VA, a non-partisan, independent foundation dedicated to the improvement of journalists.

FACS is a non-profit educational institution dedicated to improving public understanding of issues through a more informed news media. FACS programs are interactive and do not advocate points-of-view.

This conference is part of a continuing series of educational programs on science and technology conducted by FACS in association with the California Institute for Technology. The programs include the Science Institute for Journalists at Caltech, which will be inaugurated in June 1999.

REPORTING THE Y2K STORY
Tuesday, February 23, 1999
To register contact:

FOUNDATION FOR AMERICAN COMMUNICATIONS
3800 Barham Boulevard, Suite 409
Los Angeles, California 90068
(323) 851-7372 * Fax (323) 851-9186
E-mail: facs@facsnet.org
Name:
Title:
Organization:
Address:
City, State, Zip:
Phone: FAX: E-mail:

-- Diane J. Squire (sacredspaces@yahoo.com), February 17, 1999

Answers

There's also a link to the FACS site on the calendar page of my web site at http://www.yourdon.com

I'll write up a report on my impressions of the conference, and will post them somewhere on my site, with a "heads up" alert here on the forum.

Ed

-- Ed Yourdon (ed@yourdon.com), February 17, 1999.

Sorry, messed up the link:

http://www.facsnet.org

-- Diane J. Squire (sacredspaces@yahoo.com), February 17, 1999.

pshannon, you can make that date?

-- Lisa (lisa@work.com), February 17, 1999.

Diane -

I just forwarded the info to three departments of the local paper, in hopes of just getting SOMEONE to attend this. Many thanks!

-- Mac (sneak@lurk.com), February 17, 1999.

Thanks Ed!

We'll look forward to your "impressions."

Been off e-mailing this info to several reporters -- some DO have travel budgets.

Please everyone, if you feel so inspired, send a copy to your local Y2K investigative journalists. (I haven't completely given up on the media, just 50% of them are writing Y2K drivel. Still some good articles appearing now and then).

Diane

-- Diane J. Squire (sacredspaces@yahoo.com), February 17, 1999.

Neat - hope it helps. The key may be getting them keptical - as investigative reporters should be - rather than willing to take spoon-fed drivel.

This is not to claimthat all the drivel from Washington is propaganda - just enough of it that the real truth is getting shoved further and further away from the public. Some things are being resolved - more are getting worked on, but are very, very late. It is these that are late (and which ones are going to miss a deadline but still get partially fixed, and what systems are not going to complete at all, and what is reasult of the missed deadlines/missed testing/skipped "non-essential systems").

So far, for example, no one has found out exactly what are "essential federal systems" and what are "non-essential federal systems." Nobody even knows how many federal systems do what things at what time.

-- Robert A. Cook, P.E. (Kennesaw, GA) (cook.r@csaatl.com), February 17, 1999.

lisa - I would love to go! Unfortunately, the seminar is full...

-- pshannon (pshannon@inch.com), February 17, 1999.