Bio
Julia Boorstin
Julia Boorstin joined CNBC in May 2006 as a general assignment reporter. In December 2006, Boorstin became CNBC's media and entertainment reporter working from CNBC's Los Angeles Bureau. Boorstin covers media with a special focus on the intersection of media and technology.
Boorstin joined CNBC from Fortune magazine where she was a business writer and reporter since 2000, covering a wide range of stories on everything from media companies to retail to business trends. During that time, she was also a contributor to "Street Life," a live market wrap-up segment on CNN Headline News.
In 2003, 2004 and 2006, The Journalist and Financial Reporting newsletter named Boorstin to the "TJFR 30 under 30" list of the most promising business journalists under 30 years old. She has also worked for the State Department's delegation to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (O.E.C.D.) and for Vice President Gore's Domestic Policy office.
She graduated from Princeton University with a B.A. in history. She was also an editor of The Daily Princetonian.
Edward Burns
Lauded by critics and audiences alike, Ed Burns gained international recognition for his first feature film THE BROTHERS MCMULLEN, which premiered in competition at the 1995 Sundance Film Festival, winning the Grand Jury prize. The film, which Burns wrote, directed and starred in, was shot on a budget of only $25,000 and went on to gross over $10 million at the domestic box office, making it the most profitable film of 1995. The film also won "Best First Feature" at the 1996 Independent Spirit Awards.
Burns' second film, the romantic comedy SHE'S THE ONE starring Jennifer Aniston and Cameron Diaz, reinforced Burns' versatile talent as a writer, director, and actor able to simultaneously and successfully wear multiple hats.
His 10th feature film as a writer, director and actor is the romantic drama NEWLYWEDS, which had its world premiere as the closing film of the 2011 Tribeca Film Festival. Burns has been actively involved with the TFF since the festival’s inception in 2002.
Burns continues to write, direct, star in and produce his films, including the Paramount Classics relationship comedy SIDEWALKS OF NEW YORK, PURPLE VIOLETS, and most recently, NICE GUY JOHNNY. In a groundbreaking deal, Purple Violets was the first feature film to premiere exclusively on iTunes. Burns expanded on this new model of digital distribution to include cable Video on Demand to reach even wider audiences and successfully released two films, NICE GUY JOHNNY and NEWLYWEDS via these platforms in 2010 and 2011.
As an actor, Burns starred opposite Tom Hanks and Matt Damon in Steven Spielberg’s critically acclaimed World War II epic SAVING PRIVATE RYAN. He also starred in the thriller 15 MINUTES opposite Robert De Niro, CONFIDENCE opposite Dustin Hoffman, and the 20th Century Fox romantic comedy hit 27 DRESSES opposite Katherine Heigl.
Burns will star opposite Tyler Perry and Matthew Fox in I, ALEX CROSS which is set for release in late 2012. His recent acting projects include FRIENDS WITH KIDS, with Jon Hamm and Jennifer Westfeldt and MAN ON A LEDGE, opposite Sam Worthington and Elizabeth Banks.
Ed Burns was born in Woodside, Queens and raised on Long Island. While at Hunter College in New York City, Burns switched his focus from English to filmmaking before quickly moving on to make The Brothers McMullen, which won the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival.
Rio Caraeff
Rio Caraeff is President and CEO of VEVO, the world's leading all-premium music video and entertainment platform. Prior to VEVO, Rio worked in new technologies across film, television, music and games for such companies as Universal Music Group's eLabs, Universal Music Mobile, Sony Pictures Digital, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Sony 550 Digital Media Ventures, Capitol Records Group, Propaganda Films/PolyGram Filmed Entertainment, Generator Digital Post, Crunch Media Group and Fabric.
Chairman Julius Genachowski
Julius Genachowski is an American lawyer and businessman. He became Federal Communications Commission Chairman on June 29, 2009.
Chris Matthews
Chris Matthews is the host of “Hardball with Chris Matthews,” on MSNBC and the host of NBC’s “The Chris Matthews Show.” Over the last 15 years, he has become known for his powerful and influential political commentary. Matthews is an author, international journalist, and no-nonsense political commentator. He was until recently a nationally syndicated columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle and is the author of best-selling books such as, Now Let Me Tell You What I Really Think. He joined the San Francisco Examiner in 1987 where he served as Washington Bureau Chief for 13 years. Prior to entering journalism, Matthews served as White House aide and speechwriter to President Jimmy Carter and as a top aide to former Speaker of the House Thomas P. O'Neill, Jr.
Dan Mead
Dan Mead is president and chief executive officer of Verizon Wireless, the largest wireless company in the United States, with responsibility for the company's operations, financial performance and advocating public policy issues on behalf of Verizon Wireless and its customers.
Under his leadership, Verizon Wireless launched and now operates the largest 4G LTE network in the United States which today covers more than two-thirds of the population.
Before assuming his current position in 2010, Mead served as chief operating officer at Verizon Wireless.
Previously, Mead was president of Verizon Telecom, the corporation's telephone, Internet and entertainment services unit. He also served as president of Verizon Services Corporation.
Mead was one of the founding senior executives of Verizon Wireless in 2000 and served as president of the company's Midwest area.
Mead is a member of the Verizon Wireless Board of Representatives, the Verizon Foundation Board, and an officer and member of the Board of Directors of CTIA, the wireless industry trade association. He also is on the Board of ISIS, an emerging mobile commerce company.
Mead earned an MBA and a bachelor's degree in quantitative business analysis and finance from The Pennsylvania State University. The University named Mead an Alumni Fellow in 2008. Mead also received the Penn State Distinguished Alumni Award, the highest honor given to a graduate by the University, in June 2010.
Michael Powell
Michael K. Powell is the President and CEO of the National Cable & Telecommunications Association. NCTA is the policy trade association for the cable operator and cable programmer industries. Prior to joining NCTA, he served as a Senior Advisor with Providence Equity Partners and served on the boards of Cisco Systems, Aol and EDMC. Mr. Powell served as the Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, from 2001 to 2005, having served as a Commissioner for several years prior.
Prior to his tenure at the FCC, Powell served as the Chief of Staff of the Antitrust Division in the Department of Justice where he advised the Assistant Attorney General on substantive antitrust matters, including policy development, criminal and civil investigations, and mergers. He also served as an associate in the Washington, D.C., office of the law firm of O’Melveny & Myers LLP and clerked for the Honorable Harry T. Edwards, Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
Before his legal career, Powell served as a policy advisor to the Secretary of Defense. His experience also includes military service as an armored cavalry officer in the United States Army, retiring after being seriously injured on duty.
Powell serves on a number of non-profit boards, including the Mayo Clinic, the Aspen Institute and America’s Promise, where he co-chairs Grad Nation—an effort to end the high school dropout crisis. Powell also has served as the Rector of the Board of Visitors of the College of William and Mary, and has taught, as an adjunct professor, at the Catholic University Law School.
Powell graduated from the College of William and Mary with a degree in Government and earned his J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center. He is married and has two sons.
María Elena Salinas
Univision Network Anchor María Elena Salinas is the most recognized Hispanic female journalist in the United States. Named by The New York Times as "the voice of Hispanic America," for three decades, Salinas has informed millions of Hispanics in the United States, along with 18 countries in Latin America. As co-anchor of the highly-rated evening newscast "Noticiero Univision" and news magazine "Aqui y Ahora" (Here and Now), she has handled some of the most challenging assignments in modern-day journalism.
Salinas' work has earned her several journalistic awards including three national Emmy Awards and one regional. She was also part of the Univision news team that received the Edward R. Murrow Award for the network's coverage of the Atlanta Olympic Park bombings. Salinas has interviewed every U.S. President since Jimmy Carter and has been face to face with dozens of Latin American heads of state, rebel leaders, and dictators. In 2007, Salinas made history by co-hosting both the first ever Democratic and Republican candidate presidential forums in Spanish on the Univision Network.
Her influence reaches beyond television. Salinas is a radio analyst on Latino issues and is one of few Hispanic syndicated columnists in the United States, where her column is published in both Spanish and English, as well as on Univision.com and her own website MariaESalinas.com. In 2006, she published her memoir entitled "I Am My Father's Daughter: Living A Life Without Secrets," which received critical acclaim and made the best-seller lists for Spanish-language books on several occasions.
Salinas is also the official spokesperson for "Ya es Hora" (It's Time), a national citizenship and civic engagement campaign, that received the coveted Peabody Award for helping motivate Hispanics to participate in the American political dialogue. In 2000, Salinas launched a scholarship in her name to be awarded to a Hispanic journalism student interested in pursuing a career in Spanish language media. She is one of the founding members of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists and sits on the board of the Hispanic Scholarship Fund and the International Women's Media Foundation.
Salinas began her journalistic career as a reporter for KMEX-34 television in Los Angeles in 1981. Her insightful reporting on the impact of daily news to the increasingly growing Hispanic community in Southern California quickly earned her the credibility that would lead to her assume the anchor chair of "Noticiero Univision" in 1987.
Since then her brand of journalism has earned her dozens of awards and recognition from important groups such as the Mexican-American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials, The Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute, and the National Organization for Women that honored her with the coveted Intrepid Award.
Salinas has been featured as one of the most influential Hispanics in the United States in several publications including Hispanic Magazine, People En Español and PODER, and was named one of the "Top 15 Most Influential Hispanics" among Latino voters in a poll conducted by Hispanic Voter Trends.
Salinas was born in Los Angeles to Mexican immigrant parents. She resides in Coral Gables, Florida, with her two daughters, Julia Alexandra and Gabriela María.
Steve Scully
Steven L. Scully is a senior executive producer and political editor for the C-SPAN television network. He is also a host of its morning call-in show, Washington Journal. Scully served as president of the White House Correspondents' Association from 2006 to 2007.
Scully joined C-SPAN in 1990 as political editor and White House producer. Since 1991, he has been responsible for coordinating campaign programming for C-SPAN, C-SPAN.org and C-SPAN Radio. As senior producer for the network's White House coverage, Scully manages a team of field producers responsible for coverage of the White House, politics and special projects. He serves as the regular Sunday host of Washington Journal, a live three-hour news and public affairs program. He is a host and moderator for a number of other C-SPAN programs, including Newsmakers, Road to the White House and In Depth on Book TV. In addition to his television work, he regularly appears on C-SPAN Radio’s Washington Today, a live two-hour afternoon drive time program broadcast nationwide on Sirius XM Radio.
In January 2003, Scully assumed the Amos P. Hostetter Chair at the University of Denver and Cable Center, teaching a distance learning course on media, politics and public policy issues via a cable television connection between Washington, D.C., University of Denver, Pace University and George Mason University. The class aired on C-SPAN and C-SPAN3, and was streamed via the C-SPAN website. He taught the course at the University of Denver until 2011 and continues to teach the class at George Mason University (as well as Purdue University at one point) in conjunction with The Washington Center.
Scully began his journalism career as a weekend newscaster on WAMU, the American University-based radio station. Following his undergraduate degree, he worked as a reporter and anchor for Erie's WSEE-TV in 1982 and 1983. He returned to WSEE after completing his graduate studies in 1984. After a stint as a Washington, D.C.-based correspondent for WHBF-TV in Rock Island, Illinois, he joined WHEC-TV in Rochester, New York in 1986 as a correspondent covering business, politics and local government. He also taught courses on media and politics as an adjunct faculty member at Nazareth College and St. John Fisher College.
Scully received an undergraduate degree with honors in communication and political science from American University in Washington, D.C. During his degree he completed a study abroad program at the University of Copenhagen, interned for Sen. Joe Biden and served as a staff assistant in Sen. Ted Kennedy’s media affairs office. Scully then earned a Master of Science degree in journalism from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, graduating magna cum laude.
Scully was the 2009 recipient of the Fitzwater Center for Communications Award, for exemplary journalism and public service, and in the same year was recognized by The Washingtonian as one of the capital's "50 Top Journalists".
Scully and his wife, Katie, reside in Fairfax Station, Virginia with their children. Scully serves on the board of both the CJ Foundation for SIDS, which raises money for sudden infant death syndrome research, and First Candle, which aims to increases public awareness of SIDS.
Neil Smit
Neil Smit serves as President and Chief Executive Officer of Comcast Cable Communications and Executive Vice President of Comcast Corporation, one of the world's leading media, entertainment and communication companies. In this role, Mr. Smit is responsible for all business aspects of the Company's cable operations.
Mr. Smit joined Comcast in March, 2010 from Charter Communications where he served as Chief Executive Officer and Director since 2005. Prior to joining Charter, Mr. Smit was the President of Time Warner's America Online Access Business overseeing Internet access services, including America Online (AOL), CompuServe and Netscape ISPs. He also served at AOL as Executive Vice President, Member Services, and Chief Operating Officer of MapQuest. Mr. Smit also was a regional president with Nabisco and served in a number of management positions at Pillsbury. For five and a half years, Mr. Smit served on active duty with the Navy SEAL Teams and retired from the service as a Lieutenant Commander.
Mr. Smit serves on the boards of CableLabs, the research and development consortium for the cable industry, and C-SPAN. He is also a member of the Board of Visitors for Nicholas School of the Environment at Duke University, and previously served on the board of the National Cable and Telecommunications Association (NCTA).
Mr. Smit earned a bachelor's of science degree from Duke University and a master's degree from Tufts University's Fletcher School. He resides in Philadelphia with his wife and sons.
