“Modern Media and Communication: Getting The Right Message to the Armenians, Non-Armenians & Elected Officials”
08 September 2011 @ 7:30PM, Merdinian Auditorium, Riverside Dr. Sherman Oaks, CA 91403
Abstract: As the landscape of journalism, public relations, and Internet-driven social media communications change at an exponential pace, what can the Armenian-Americans do to engage and mobilize one another and our communities? How do we communicate, using the tools of modern communication technology, such as Facebook, Twitter, e-mail, etc., with non-Armenian media, elected officials and other key stakeholders to make tangible progress in breaking out of our silos and connecting to the greater American reality in which we live? How can past lessons in the Armenian-American community help inform what we are doing today and what we need to do to prepare for the future? We are standing before a critical moment in the history of our community and the status quo is inadequate. As a new generation of Armenian-Americans, what must we do to harness our collective potential and how must we evolve?
Panelists:
1) Peter Musurlian has toiled as the Station Manager & Senior Producer at The Burbank Channel for 13 years, and is an eight-time RTNA Golden Mike winner. Among his duties, is producing, shooting, writing, editing, and hosting Burbank Magazine, the twice L.A. Emmy-nominated public affairs program. He has been nominated for Emmys four times. In the late 1990s, he reported from Hungary, Croatia & Bosnia, while serving as a U.S. Army television journalist for American Forces Network.
2) Maria Armoudian is the author of Kill the Messenger: The Media's Role in the Fate of the World, the host and producer of the Pacifica Radio programs The Scholars Circle and The Insighters, which are heard on 15 cities in the US, and a doctoral candidate at the University of Southern California. Her articles have been published by the New York Times Syndicate and the Los Angeles Times Syndicate and have appeared in Salon.com, Alternet, the Los Angeles Daily News, the Progressive, Inc., Huffington Post, Grist, Daily Variety, and Billboard. She is also a songwriter & musician. Her CD is titled Life in the New World.
3) Zanku Armenian has 24 years of experience leading communications strategies for major corporations and high-profile issue campaigns. He is a senior communications executive in the corporate communications department of Southern California Edison and managing their smart meter and smart grid communications. Armenian has in-depth experience in public affairs and crisis communications working with major corporations and
industry coalitions. He has also been very active on media and political issues in the Armenian community. Mr. Armenian is a graduate of George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia with a Bachelor of Arts in mass communication and a secondary concentration in government and politics.
Moderator:
Osheen Keshishian was born in Jerusalem and lived in Lebanon until in 1956. He graduated from the AGBU Hovaguimian-Manoogian High School and then came to the US. He served two years in the US Army as a medic, working in Madigan General Hospital. He graduated from Cal State Los Angeles and the University of La Verne, majoring in Anthropology/American Studies and Counseling. Osheen is a founding editor of Zartonk Sports weekly in Beirut, Lebanon. He served as the editor of El Vaquero, the Glendale Community College newspaper. From 1968 to 1970 he was the editor of Nor Or, the Armenian semi-weekly newspaper. In 1970 he started publishing his own newspaper, The Armenian Observer, which continues until today. Mr.
Keshishian?s articles have appeared in many newspapers and he has participated in several international symposia on Armenian culture and civilization. He has been on the faculty of Glendale Community College for 27 years, since 1985.
