June 4-6, 2008 in Minneapolis:  
Communication Commission will meet prior
to National Conference on Media Reform

PROGRAM: The Communication Commission spring meeting will begin with dinner on Wednesday night, June 4, at 7 p.m. and conclude around 9 p.m. Thursday night, June 5, at Westminster Presbyterian Church, 1200 Marquette Avenue in downtown Minneapolis. 

Our sessions will be immediately followed by the National Conference for Media Reform (NCMR) from 10 a.m. on Friday, June 6, until 1 p.m. Sunday, June 8, at the Minneapolis Convention Center two blocks away.  The NCMR will require a registration fee, but there's no charge for participation in the Communication Commission sessions.

More than 3,000 are expected for the media reform conference, including Bill Moyers, Arianna Huffington, Dan Rather, and FCC Commissioners Michael Copps and Jonathan Adelstein. More info and registration for NCMR is at  www.freepress.net/conference. The Commission is working with the UCC media advocacy office to co-sponsor several ecumenical workshops during NCMR to offer a faith perspective on the issues.

SCHEDULE:  We will begin with a buffet dinner at 7 p.m. on Wednesday night, June 4, featuring a visit with NCC President-Elect Peg Chemberlin, who is CEO of the highly regarded Minnesota Council of Churches.  She's a savvy ecumenical communicator with her own faith-centered radio talk show.

On Thursday morning, the Web Managers Committee and the Electronic Programming Committee will meet at 9 a.m..  Lunch will be served at noon and will feature a presentation by the Media Education and Advocacy Committee. After lunch, the Marketing and Promotion Committee will hold its inaugural meeting, concurrently with the News/Media Relations/WFN Committee meeting. 

At 7 p.m., following an early dinner on your own, the Web Managers will hold their second session and the Electronic Programming Committee will sponsor an Ecumenical Film Festival, showcasing productions of the Commission's member communions, a popular feature from last year's commission meetings.

All commission participants are welcome to attend all committee sessions, and are urged to choose a primary and secondary committee to take advantage of  cross-disciplinary experiences and to enrich the diversity of each committee.

LODGING:  We have access to a block of rooms at the Hyatt Regency Minneapolis, 1300 Nicollet Mall, at a convention discount rate of $129/night. You do NOT have to stay at the Hyatt to participate in the meetings, but it is the most convenient location for our Commission meetings, which will be held at Westminster Presbyterian Church, 12th and Marquette (about a block from the Hyatt), and is the nearest hotel to the convention center.  Do NOT call the Hyatt directly.  For discount rates, you must use one of two ways to make a reservation for the Hyatt or other participating downtown convention hotels for these meetings: 

• Go to the NCMR housing website at
  (https://resweb.passkey.com/Resweb.do?mode=welcome_ei_new&eventID=59908) and enter your dates, then choose from the Hyatt and other available hotels.   

• or call the Housing/Reservations Center at 612-767-8200 or 888-947-2233 (9 a.m.-3 p.m. Central Time).

All discount rooms, in the Hyatt and other participating hotels, will be available first come/first served and will be available to all others attending the National Conference for Media Reform. All downtown hotels are expected to sell out.

Previous Commission Meetings . . .

For a brief summary of the twice-yearly NCC Communication Commission meetings since 2001, click here. . .