Cox president to discuss echo boomers, media’s future during UF visit

August 8, 2006

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Cox Communications President Pat Esser will discuss the echo boom generation’s impact on the future of media and broadband, among other related topics, when he visits the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications Sept. 19.

Hosted by the college’s Department of Telecommunication, Esser will hold a question-and-answer session with students and address the public in Weimer Hall’s Gannett Auditorium at 3 p.m.

“Our students will hear about how their generation is driving the media landscape and what that means for the future of their profession from the head of one of the most dynamic communications companies in the United States,” said the department’s chair, Dave Ostroff. “They will be able to better plan their future course work, internships and other experiences as a result of what they learn from Mr. Esser.”

Sponsored by the Denver-based Cable Center, the daylong event is part of the Mavericks lecture series, which brings leaders in the cable industry to campuses around the country to present business perspectives and offer career advice. This fall’s lineup of seven insiders includes Tony Fox, Comedy Central’s executive vice president for corporate communications, who will speak at the University of Southern California; and Geraldine Laybourne, Oxygen Network’s founder and CEO, who will speak at UCLA.

The Mavericks series “has become a runaway hit with students and faculty in the areas of business, entertainment and journalism,” said Jana Henthorn, The Cable Center’s vice president of programs and education. “A real day-in-the-life perspective is imparted from entrepreneurial executives.”

UF’s college is a national leader in the professional education of future journalists and other communications practitioners. Nationally accredited, it has programs in advertising, print and broadcast journalism, public relations, and telecommunication production and management, as well as graduate-level programs in science/health communication, documentary, media law, political communication, international communication, and other specialties.