GLOBAL MEDIA PROGRAM

	SEMESTER IN NEW YORK PROGRAMS Global Media Program
	OVERVIEW The Levin Institute is creating a professional training program for both graduate students and working professionals to develop their ability to lead and manage across borders and cultures within the rapidly changing media industry. The first cohort for the global media program will start in summer 2009.
	BACKGROUND During the summer of 2008, the Levin Institute interviewed more than 25 corporate practitioners, professors and students in the media industry to gain a precise and timely understanding of the specific issues and challenges related to globalization facing the industry. These interactions ranged from exploratory conversations with leading analysts and consultants to in-depth critical incident assessments with top global managers. The findings from this research confirmed and validated the urgent need and nuanced demand for a specialized, unique program in Global Media.
	SUMMARY OF FINDINGS Across the board, our data gathering has revealed a critical deficit in global media talent. As the industry weathers the revolutionizing effects of consolidation and digitization, media companies both big and small must grow and innovate across borders and platforms in order to survive. This requires both region-specific and medium-specific knowledge; managers with a deep understanding of the dynamics of foreign markets and the singularity of multiple medias, who are capable of solving contextual issues and forging valuable partnerships. According to our conversations, these managers have been difficult to find.
	PROGRAM DESCRIPTION The Levin Institute’s Global Media semester will be an intensive six to eight week period of study and internship or project work focused on the current trends in global media including the emerging new media options; the business models that are being launched and the practical challenges of operating and managing within the context of a rapidly globalizing media industry. Projects conducted for leading media firms will be supported with tutorials, discussion groups and classroom instruction to ensure that the student experience is rich with application and steeped in the realities and potential of the global media business. The program will be launched during the summer of 2009 and run from end of May until early August.
	PARTICIPANT PROFILE Our anticipated student profile is the 'young professional' ages 26-36 with at least 3 years work experience and a deep interest in a career in the media industry. The student body includes new hires and/or high potential leaders from a variety of global media companies as well as a few Masters level students who have completed at least 2 semesters of graduate study. We anticipate a class size of 15-20. We would expect the working professionals to attend the week of class sessions and then go 'back to work' to complete an assigned 'project' for their company.
	PROJECTS The students would be detailed to a number of different projects either in project teams or as individual interns. Projects such as the following will be arranged with leading media companies located in New York: Write up a case study with Sesame Workshop illustrating a product 'adaptation' to a local audience. (Ultimately we envision a series of 'cases' that could be used as teaching material in the program. This case would be used to illustrate the content requirements of going global with a product such as a Sesame Street show) Investigate the global market segment for a new product offering (to be specified by the sponsoring company) Develop a plan for audience access or expansion for an existing offering Prepare an analysis of the competitive/regulatory/content environment for expansion to a new market Project sponsors will include some of the following companies: Sesame Workshop; Time Warner; NBC Universal; Z Team; DDB; Ad Media.
	FACULTY A leading academic will serve as "faculty director" for the program coordinating sessions and projects and looking out for the overall program flow from a content perspective. Teaching faculty will include some of the following: Irving Wladawsky-Berger, Chairman Emeritus, IBM Academy of Technology, an expert in innovation and industry change. Irving will offer sessions on how innovation has disrupted the media industry and how new technology may continue to disrupt or otherwise influence the businesses George Knell and/or Charlotte Cole of Sesame Workshop who are supporters of the program and will offer the Sesame 'experience' of globalizing as a session Geoffrey Sands of McKinsey’s Media practice, an expert on the evolving media industry will offer a session on the structural aspects of the industry and how these have changed and can be expected to change Michael Jackson of InterActive Corp who leads the production side of the business and is grappling with issues of monetizing on-line entertainment offerings. Orville Schell of the Asia Society who will offer a session on media in China and lead a discussion of how China may be a player/influence in the future evolution of the industry
	PROGRAM COSTS Program Fees: $1500 Living Expenses (approximate): 2500 (includes room, board, local transportation, and books) Full and Partial scholarships will be made available. Scholarship applications will be due by March 15, 2009.