Contributors
Main speakers
Danny CohenIn October 2010 Danny Cohen was made Controller of BBC One, the most watched channel in the UK. He is also a member of the BBC Vision Board. Prior to this, Danny was Controller of BBC Three for three years. Under Cohen's leadership, BBC Three was named Digital Channel of the Year at the Edinburgh TV Festival in 2008 and 2010. Before joining the BBC Danny was Head of E4 and Head of Channel 4 Factual Entertainment.
Elaine Storkey- Keynote address
Elaine Storkey is a broadcaster, theologian and writer of many books including What's Right with Feminism? Alongside her work as Director of Training for Church Army Elaine is Chair of the Church and Media Network and President of TEAR Fund. She has been a member of the General Synod of the Church of England since 1987.
Jason Gardner- A beginners guide to gaming
Jason heads up Fuse, a think tank focussed on helping organisations connect relevantly with emerging generations. Prior to this he led the youth work project at the London Institute for Contemporary Christianity. He's also the author of Mend the Gap: Can the church reconnect the generations, and has been a volunteer youth worker all his adult life.
James Poulter- How and why... social media
James is a Digital Consultant at Lexis PR, working with brands such as Coca-Cola, Unilever, Boots, DHL and many others. He is an active member of St Mary's Bryanston Square in the heart of Marylebone, London and won the award for "Best Newcomer ? at the Christian New Media Awards 2010.
David Wilson- Olympics
Dave is the CEO of More Than Gold, which is coordinating the churches' response to the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Gaames.
Elizabeth Hunter- Should the internet be regulated?
Liz Hunter was appointed Director of Theos, the public theology think tank, in 2011. Prior to that she worked at the BBC as a researcher on The Moral Maze and other religious programmes. She was the Development Worker for theMediaNet, building the network during its first two years.
Dame Catherine Wybourne- Keynote address
Dame Catherine is a cloistered Benedictine nun and Prioress of the Holy Trinity Monastery in East Hendred, Oxfordshire. Formerly a banker, she now blogs on the iBenedictine website as Digitalnun. She also offers online retreats to people who would otherwise be unable to spend time at a monastery.
Tim Suter- Who Owns the Media... and why does it matter?
Tim started his media career with 15 years of programme making in the BBC, then joined the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and as Head of Broadcasting Policy he oversaw the 2003 Communications Act. In 2003 he joined Ofcom as its founding Partner responsible for all aspects of content regulation. Now an independent consultant, he advises major broadcasters, media and communications companies, regulators and governments on media policy and regulation.
Mike Thornton- How and Why... Podcasting
Mike is a freelance sound designer and audio producer who works in radio, TV sound and digital media. His clients include BBC Religion & Ethics, BBC News & Current Affairs and Astra Zeneca. He is also a tech journalist and an NVQ Assessor, and leads The Wellspring Arts Trust working in Christian arts and music He is married to Sally and they have two teenage daughters.
Peter Weil- How and Why... Turning Ideas into Commissions
Peter has been CEO of the pioneering independent production company CTVC since 2009. His 30 years in production started as a researcher at Granada TV. He went on to edit primetime BBC shows including Wogan, That's Life and Children In Need and produced programmes for Panorama and Newsnight. Moving to the US, Peter became Senior Vice President of Discovery, before returning to the UK in 2007 to run the Media Trust's Community Channel.
Hayley Matthews- Conference Chaplain
Hayley Matthews is the first chaplain to MediaCityUK in Salford. She is developing The Anchor, a spiritual base from which to serve local people, schools, the media and business communities. She was formerly curate at Lancaster Priory and trained as a Signaller and Combat Infantryman through the Territorial Army.
Pete Philips- Social Media
Pete is a Methodist minister and theologian. He is Secretary of the Methodist Church's Faith and Order Committee and also Director of Research for Centre for Biblical Literacy which is part of CODEC, the centre for Christian Communication at St John's College, Durham. CODEC aims to explore the interrelationship between Christianity and the media, spirituality and the internet.
Toby Scott- How and why... smart phone apps
Toby Scott joined the Methodist Church as lead press officer in 2004 after more than a decade as a business journalist, specialising in the TV, film and video games industries. He became Director of Communications in 2008 and is responsible for overseeing the Methodist Church's media, internet and events teams, as well as communications policy issues. He is a lifelong Blackburn Rovers supporter, is married with two children and plays bass in the music group at his local Anglican church.
Bex Lewis- Social Media
Bex Lewis has wide ranging interests and expertise, having taught history, media studies and design for Digital Media. Bex is the University of Winchester's Blended Learning Fellow and is the leading expert on Second World War propaganda posters. She blogs as DrBexL runs a social media consultancy called Digital Fingerprint and is Project Manager for the Big Bible project.
Gary Hoogvliet- Religious media... the next ten years
Gary Hoogvliet has worked in a variety of broadcast and marketing roles, as a radio sales manager, television news reader and sports commentator and is now Head of Broadcasting at United Christian Broadcasters (UCB.) He has considerable international experience, having worked with UCB in New Zealand, Australia and Canada. Hoogvliet has a degree in Broadcasting and Communication and is married with one daughter.
Kubi Springer- Religious media... the next ten years
Marketing and media specialist Kubi Springer has over 14 years' experience in the international marketing, media and entertainment industry. Kubi has delivered campaigns for some of the biggest brands in the world including Nike, MTV and The Brit Awards. Today she is the Director of Brand Communications & Commercial Development at OHTV (Sky channel 199) and hosts a weekly business talk show The Kubi Springer Show.
Tim Plyming- London 2012 Olympics
Tim is the BBC's Project Executive for the London 2012 Digital Olympics. His previous projects for the BBC include the Africa Lives season in 2005 and the Electronic Proms. He is a member of All Souls' Church, Langham Place, where he is involved in workplace ministry.
Roger Darlington- Should the internet be regulated?
After a period as a Special Adviser to the Home Secretary Roger worked for 24 years as a policy adviser for The Communications Union. He was the first independent Chair of the Internet Watch Foundation, a body established by British Internet service providers to combat illegal content, especially child abuse images, on the UK Internet. He is the Member for England on the Communications Consumer Panel - formerly the Ofcom Consumer Panel - which is the statutory consumer body for broadcasting and telecommunications issues, a position he has held since February 2004.
Claire Fox- Should the internet be regulated?
Claire Fox is the director of the Institute of Ideas, which she established to create a public space where ideas can be contested without constraint. A former mental health social worker and lecturer, Claire is a panellist on BBC Radio 4's The Moral Maze and is regularly invited to comment on developments in culture, education, politics and the arts across the whole range of media outlets.
Simon Broad- Platform alterations
As head of the BBC's Service Development team Simon leads the corporation's platform strategy and "development roadmap". He is also a Director of Digital Multiplex Operators Ltd, a joint venture with ITV, Channel 4 and transmission provider Arqiva that is responsible for the technical operation of Digital Terrestrial TV.
Andrew Graystone- Conference host
Andrew is Director of the Church and Media Network and a regular presenter of Radio 4's Daily Service and Sunday Worship. He worked for BBC Religion for over a decade as a producer and Development Executive. He produced many TV and radio programmes including The Heaven and Earth Show for BBC1. He is often asked to train and advise Christian groups on how best to engage with the fast-changing media environment.
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