Digital Promise Forum

July 18, 2001

Carnegie Corporation of New York and its president, Vartan Gregorian, recently hosted the third in a series of Carnegie Forums, which are aimed at bringing important issues to the nation's attention. The Digital Promise Forum focused on a proposal put forth by Lawrence K. Grossman, former president of NBC News and PBS and Newton N. Minow, former chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), PBS, the RAND Corporation and Carnegie Corporation of New York. Their proposal calls for the establishment of a Digital Opportunity Investment Trust aimed at stimulating innovative and experimental ideas and techniques to enhance learning; broaden knowledge; encourage an informed citizenry and self government; make available to all Americans the best of the nation's arts, humanities and culture; and teach the skills and disciplines needed in an information-based economy. The Trust would be financed with revenue from auctions of licenses to the publicly owned electromagnetic spectrum and would be governed by a board of distinguished and diverse citizens from many fields. Also speaking at the forum was Susan Ness, former FCC commissioner.

You can read more about the proposal at the project's web site, www.digitalpromise.org

Photos from the Digital Promise Forum:

Vartan Gregorian	Newton N. Minow and Lawrence K. Grossman
Jay Kernis, Senior Vice President for Programming, NPR	Robert Pepper, Chief, Office of Plans and Policy, FCC
Henry Stern, Commissioner, NYC Department of of Parks and Recreation	Susan Ness, Former Commissioner, FCC and Newton N. Minow
Susan Ness, Newton N. Minow and Lawrence K. Grossman	Vartan Gregorian