Telecom expert Susan Crawford to speak March 21

Turnage Lecture to feature a leading thinker who raises questions about business and politics in the Internet age.

Strengthening Democracy: Challenges in a New Media Environment

Sponsored by: Turnage Family Faculty Innovation and Creativity Fund for the Study of Political Communication

March 21, 2013

Keynote speaker: Susan Crawford
7:30 p.m., Yeager Recital Hall

Afternoon panel
"Democracy in a New Media Environment: Issues to Watch"
3:30 p.m., Belk Pavilion, Room 208

Panelists:

- Janna Quitney Anderson, Elon University School of Communications
- David Levine, Elon University School of Law
- Daniel Kreiss, UNC School of Journalism
- Andrew Rens, Duke University
- Chair, Laura Roselle, Department of Political Science, Elon University

Many people have cited the challenges to building and sustaining democratic practices and processes in the United States today. Some have criticized the role of money in the political process – whether in elections or policy development. Others have criticized the lack of interest in political participation, especially among the young, and especially in a media environment in which choosing to ignore politics is relatively easy. Many recognize serious issues associated with transparency and openness. Finally, access to the technology needed to communicate in the US in the 21st century is another important issue. Our expert panel and keynote speaker will raise awareness about the state of political participation in a changing technological and informational environment.

Susan Crawford

 Susan Crawford is a leading telecommunications policy expert and professor of communications and Internet law at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law. She has held prominent government positions as Special Assistant to President Obama for science, technology and innovation (2009), and served as co-leader of the FCC transition team between the Bush and Obama administrations. Currently, she is a member of Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s Advisory Council on Technology and Innovation.

 Crawford’s new book, Captive Audience: The Telecom Industry and Monopoly Power in the New Gilded Age, examines how the U.S. government allowed a few large companies to dominate the telecommunications industry — diminishing America’s global competitive advantage as other countries surpass the U.S. in broadband speed and price. The current policies, Crawford warns, have created a deep “digital divide,” where stifled competition and high prices prevent one-third of Americans from having internet access, threatening the country’s democratic freedom of information and economic future.

Susan Crawford

Crawford writes regularly for Bloomberg.com and Wired magazine. She is a Fellow at the Roosevelt Institute where she spearheads the Institute’s work on making high-speed internet accessible and affordable for all. Prior to her position at Cardozo law school, Crawford was a professor at the University of Michigan Law School, and a visiting professor at Harvard’s Kennedy and Law Schools. Crawford received both her bachelor's degree and law degree from Yale University.

As an academic, Crawford teaches about open government policy, Internet law, and communications law. She was a member of the board of directors of ICANN from 2005-2008 and is the founder of OneWebDay, a global Earth Day for the Internet that takes place each Sept. 22.

She has been recognized as one of Fast Company’s Most Influential Women in Technology (2009); IP3 Awardee (2010); one of Prospect Magazine’s Top Ten Brains of the Digital Future (2011); and one of Newsweek's 100 Digital Disruptors (2012). She serves on the boards of Public Knowledge and TPRC and as a faculty co-director of the Berkman Center at Harvard.

contact: Laura Roselle, lroselle@elon.edu

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by Dan Anderson, Staff Last Updated - 2/25/2013

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Ink In Her Blood: The Passionate Pursuits of Susan Petrie

By Alicia Jacobs, Excelsior Life News Staff --

Susan Petrie’s passion for putting pen to print began at a young age. “I have ink in my blood,” she fondly said in a recent interview with Excelsior Life. Today Petrie uses her interest in books to help writers become published in traditional and new formats, using both old and new technology. Excelsior Life sat down with her to learn how she helps coach book authors for Hudson Whitman.

Excelsior Life: Where did your passion for books and publishing begin?

Petrie: My passion for books began around the age of four, at Christmas time. I remember I ran around the house reading Green Eggs & Ham to everyone. I could read! I had cracked the code! It was thrilling.

Family lineage may have also played a role in my passion. As I got older, my father who was a trained journeyman and printer used to bring metal type home from the Times Union letterpress printers for us. My grandfather also worked at the Times Union newspaper, in “ad alley.” Through genealogical research, my dad has brought the family name within two generations of Heinrich Petri, a Swiss printer who published works by Copernicus in the 1560s.

My passion for publishing started after graduating from college and working for my Uncle Joe (Girzone). He was a best-selling author and needed someone to answer phones, fill orders for his books, ship them, invoice, and keep track of inventory. When I worked for him, I became aware that publishing was more than just a passion for words. Over the next ten years I learned it was also relationships, sales, design, production, manufacturing, technology, and bringing dreams into reality.

Excelsior Life: How does your passion tie to your career?

Petrie: Learning to read is one of my best early memories, and growing up, I read all the time. I’d spend Saturday’s at the Troy Public Library (that’s where I had my first date, in 5th grade). I even majored in English because I loved to read. Today, my career is publishing at Hudson Whitman/Excelsior College Press. It brings my personal interests and professional skills together. It’s really the chance of a lifetime.

Excelsior Life: What advice would you give to someone interested in writing a book?

Petrie: First, do it. If the urge is there, you’ll always regret it if you don’t give in to it. Second, temper expectations. It’s often a labor of love.

Excelsior Life: What are an author’s responsibilities before publishing?

Petrie: Good writers are not necessarily good authors. If a writer wants to become a published author, he or she needs to be receptive to what a reader expects and needs. Empathy and honesty are important, too.

Writers take risks to become authors. Like a conductor, an author has to lead, engage and entertain, be in control of the subject. It’s a big responsibility that many writers don’t consider.

Excelsior Life: Who is your favorite book author and why?

Petrie: I don’t know that I have one favorite. They’re all like comforting companions. Joan Didion, Annie Dillard, Barbara Kingsolver for life’s persistent questions. Paulo Coelho, when I’m spiritual. The repressed scientist in me likes Natalie Angier and Ernst Mayr. Diane Ackerman writes prose like a poet. Oh, and Stacy Schiff because she is so stinking smart.

Excelsior Life: Where can someone find more information on Hudson Whitman Press?

Petrie: Visit hudsonwhitman.com or on Twitter @ExcelsiorPress.

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