The Keith Davey Forum on Public Affairs: Is Social Media Good for Democracy?

September 11, 2012

Wednesday, October 17, 2012
5:00 – 6:30 p.m.
Isabel Bader Theatre
Victoria University
93 Charles St. W., Toronto

GENERAL SEATING – Doors open at 4:45 p.m.

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Speakers:

• Jesse Hirsh, President of Metaviews.ca and Co-founder of the Academy of the Impossible
• Lee Rainie, Director, Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project
• Steve Paikin, Moderator, Anchor and Senior Editor, The Agenda with Steve Paikin

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Jesse Hirsh is an internet strategist, researcher, and broadcaster based in Toronto. He has a weekly nationally syndicated column on CBC Radio analyzing the latest trends and developments in technology. He owns and operates two companies: Openflows Networks Ltd., which specializes in using free and open source software for advanced interactive platforms, and Metaviews Media Management Ltd., which focuses on research and consulting around new media business models. Jesse is also involved with MacLaren McCann as a member of their Idea Council, which serves as an advisory board and think tank for the agency. Educated at the McLuhan Program at the University of Toronto, his passion is educating people on the potential benefits and perils of technology.

Lee Rainie is the Director of the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project, a non-profit, non–partisan “fact tank” that studies the social impact of the internet. Lee is a co-author – with University of Toronto sociologist Barry Wellman – of Networked: The new social operating system, which was released this spring. He also has co-authored four books about the future of the internet that are based on project research. Prior to launching the Pew Internet Project, Lee was managing editor of the newsmagazine U.S. News & World Report.

Steve Paikin is the anchor and senior editor of TVO’s flagship current affairs program The Agenda with Steve Paikin. Prior to The Agenda, Paikin co-hosted TVO’s Studio 2 and the weekly foreign affairs series, Diplomatic Immunity. In addition to his hosting duties, Steve has produced several documentaries for TVO. His 1993 effort, Return to The Warsaw Ghetto, won the Silver Screen Award at the U.S. International Film and Video Festival, as well as awards at Canada’s Yorkton Film Festival and China’s Shanghai Film Festival. Paikin is the author of four books, the latest one published in 2007 called The New Game, which takes a look at the history of hockey, and the changes that have shaped the game.

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This event is co-sponsored by: Victoria University, the Department of Political Science, and the Association of Political Science Students (APSS)