CEO, Borrell Associates, Inc
Gordon Borrell is a sought-after speaker for conferences and company meetings and one of the media industry’s leading analysts. He is ranked in the top 2% among Gerson Lehrman Group’s 150,000 consultants worldwide and is quoted frequently in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Ad Age, Forbes and other publications. He has appeared on CNN and other TV and radio programs discussing trends and forecasts for local media. Prior to starting Borrell Associates, Gordon was vice president for new media for Landmark Communications, where he worked for 22 years. He started his career as a reporter and editor for The Virginian-Pilot in Norfolk, Virginia. In 1989 he began pioneering interactive ventures and helped establish the first TV, newspaper, cable and network TV websites. Mr. Borrell conceptualized and helped create InfiNet, an Internet access and hosting company later split up and sold to Earthlink and to Gannett Co. He is a member of the executive board of the Local Media Association and is past president of the Newspaper Association of America’s New Media Federation. He is married, has five children, and lives in Portsmouth, Virginia, where he has been active on boards and organizations supporting public education and community sports.
Professor of the Practice of Economics, Duke University
Michelle P. Connolly is Professor of the Practice in the Economics Department at Duke University. She was the Economics Director of Duke in New York: Financial Markets and Institutions Program for 2007-2009 and the Director of EcoTeach for several years. She currently serves as the Director of the Honors Program in Economics and a member of the Duke Alumni Association Board.
In 2011, Professor Connolly won the Howard D. Johnson Trinity College Teaching Prize and was named among the top five percent of Duke University Undergraduate Instructors in 2009, 2010 and 2011.
Professor Connolly previously served as Chief Economist of the Federal Communications Commission in 2006-2007 and 2008-2009, and as an Economist for the International Research Function for the Federal Reserve Bank of New York from 1996 to 1997. She graduated Phi Beta Kappa and Summa Cum Laude from Yale University in 1990, and went on to earn her M.A. and M.Phil in economics. Professor Connolly received her Ph.D. in economics from Yale University in 1996.
Professor Connolly’s research and teaching focus specifically on international trade, telecommunications policy, media policy, education, growth, and development. She has received funding for her research from the National Science Foundation, the Duke Arts and Sciences Research Council Grants, the Spencer Grant, and the Teagle Grant.
Professor Connolly has published in numerous journals, including the American Economic Review, the American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, the Journal of Development Economics, the Journal of Economic History, the Journal of Economic Growth, the Review of Industrial Organization, and Current Issues in Economics and Finance.
In 2011, Professor Connolly testified before Congress and participated in a White House panel on Spectrum Issues. She has been presenting her work at university seminars and international conferences since 1996. Some of her appearances were at the ACLP Advanced Communications 2009 Summit, where she was a panelist and moderator, at the conference on “Wireless Technologies: Enabling Innovation and Economic Growth”, where she served as a keynote panelist, and at the Martin H. Crego Lecture in Economics, an all college Lecture at Vassar College. In 2013 Professor Connolly was awarded a National Science Foundation Secure and Trustworthy Cyberspace Grant, “Dollars for Hertz: Making Trustworthy Spectrum Sharing Technically and Economically Viable.”
Vice President, Policy & General Counsel, The National Hispanic Media Coalition (NHMC)
Francella Ochillo leads the National Hispanic Media Coalition’s policy and government affairs office in Washington, D.C. and is responsible for developing policy and legal strategies that encourage open and affordable communications, innovation, competition, and diversity. Francella represents NHMC in meetings with decision makers in Congress and at federal regulatory agencies. Her expertise and advocacy have been featured in outlets including USA Today, Law 360, and ColorLines Magazine.
Francella coordinates organizational responses to regulatory proposals that threaten to widen the digital divide and has co-authored several notable filings documenting opposition to the FCC’s Net Neutrality repeal, proposals to gut Lifeline, and further media consolidation. Francella has expertise elevating the public dialogue and developing Congressional outreach strategies. For example, she has organized and moderated briefings to educate House and Senate staffers on a range of issues related to Lifeline, media diversity, the extreme vetting immigration initiatives. Francella also supervises NHMC’s legal fellowship program, which provides an opportunity for select students throughout the country to experience media, technology, and telecommunications law and advocacy.
In her prior role at NHMC as policy counsel, Francella analyzed and helped implement communication policy initiatives for the National Hispanic Media Coalition, while coordinating government outreach and public engagement efforts that bring Latinos online and on the airwaves. She developed strategic relationships with organizational allies to amplify the voices of Latinos in Washington and was a critical part of the team analyzing the more than 50,000 consumer complaints received from the FCC in response to NHMC’s Freedom of Information Act requests that drew renewed attention to the importance of preserving the 2015 Open Internet Order.
Francella earned a B.S. in Marketing from Morgan State University and a J.D. from John Marshall Law School in Chicago, Illinois. During her studies, she excelled as a moot court competitor and went on to represent the city of Chicago in administrative hearings. Before joining the National Hispanic Media Coalition, Francella worked on securities fraud investigation teams at the Department of Justice where she helped prosecute banks for corporate misconduct under the False Claims Act and Financial Institutions Reform Recovery and Enforcement Act.
Founder and CEO, Connoisseur Media
Founder and CEO, Jeff Warshaw is a lifelong broadcaster. He built his first station while still a student at the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. In 1993 Jeff founded Connoisseur Communications Partners LP, a 39 station group which he later sold to Cumulus Broadcasting in 2000 for $258MM. In 2004 Jeff formed Connoisseur Media which now operates 31 radio station brands and digital assets in 8 markets. Highly respected and celebrated industry wide for his outspoken candor, Jeff’s spirit of innovation and long held principles of integrity, accountability and improvement remain core values of the company and guide its team members. Jeff serves on the Board of Directors of the National Association of Broadcasters, the Radio Advertising Bureau, and is a member of the Nielsen Advisory Board.
CEO, Borrell Associates, Inc
Gordon Borrell is a sought-after speaker for conferences and company meetings and one of the media industry’s leading analysts. He is ranked in the top 2% among Gerson Lehrman Group’s 150,000 consultants worldwide and is quoted frequently in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Ad Age, Forbes and other publications. He has appeared on CNN and other TV and radio programs discussing trends and forecasts for local media. Prior to starting Borrell Associates, Gordon was vice president for new media for Landmark Communications, where he worked for 22 years. He started his career as a reporter and editor for The Virginian-Pilot in Norfolk, Virginia. In 1989 he began pioneering interactive ventures and helped establish the first TV, newspaper, cable and network TV websites. Mr. Borrell conceptualized and helped create InfiNet, an Internet access and hosting company later split up and sold to Earthlink and to Gannett Co. He is a member of the executive board of the Local Media Association and is past president of the Newspaper Association of America’s New Media Federation. He is married, has five children, and lives in Portsmouth, Virginia, where he has been active on boards and organizations supporting public education and community sports.
Professor of the Practice of Economics, Duke University
Michelle P. Connolly is Professor of the Practice in the Economics Department at Duke University. She was the Economics Director of Duke in New York: Financial Markets and Institutions Program for 2007-2009 and the Director of EcoTeach for several years. She currently serves as the Director of the Honors Program in Economics and a member of the Duke Alumni Association Board.
In 2011, Professor Connolly won the Howard D. Johnson Trinity College Teaching Prize and was named among the top five percent of Duke University Undergraduate Instructors in 2009, 2010 and 2011.
Professor Connolly previously served as Chief Economist of the Federal Communications Commission in 2006-2007 and 2008-2009, and as an Economist for the International Research Function for the Federal Reserve Bank of New York from 1996 to 1997. She graduated Phi Beta Kappa and Summa Cum Laude from Yale University in 1990, and went on to earn her M.A. and M.Phil in economics. Professor Connolly received her Ph.D. in economics from Yale University in 1996.
Professor Connolly’s research and teaching focus specifically on international trade, telecommunications policy, media policy, education, growth, and development. She has received funding for her research from the National Science Foundation, the Duke Arts and Sciences Research Council Grants, the Spencer Grant, and the Teagle Grant.
Professor Connolly has published in numerous journals, including the American Economic Review, the American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, the Journal of Development Economics, the Journal of Economic History, the Journal of Economic Growth, the Review of Industrial Organization, and Current Issues in Economics and Finance.
In 2011, Professor Connolly testified before Congress and participated in a White House panel on Spectrum Issues. She has been presenting her work at university seminars and international conferences since 1996. Some of her appearances were at the ACLP Advanced Communications 2009 Summit, where she was a panelist and moderator, at the conference on “Wireless Technologies: Enabling Innovation and Economic Growth”, where she served as a keynote panelist, and at the Martin H. Crego Lecture in Economics, an all college Lecture at Vassar College. In 2013 Professor Connolly was awarded a National Science Foundation Secure and Trustworthy Cyberspace Grant, “Dollars for Hertz: Making Trustworthy Spectrum Sharing Technically and Economically Viable.”
Vice President, Policy & General Counsel, The National Hispanic Media Coalition (NHMC)
Francella Ochillo leads the National Hispanic Media Coalition’s policy and government affairs office in Washington, D.C. and is responsible for developing policy and legal strategies that encourage open and affordable communications, innovation, competition, and diversity. Francella represents NHMC in meetings with decision makers in Congress and at federal regulatory agencies. Her expertise and advocacy have been featured in outlets including USA Today, Law 360, and ColorLines Magazine.
Francella coordinates organizational responses to regulatory proposals that threaten to widen the digital divide and has co-authored several notable filings documenting opposition to the FCC’s Net Neutrality repeal, proposals to gut Lifeline, and further media consolidation. Francella has expertise elevating the public dialogue and developing Congressional outreach strategies. For example, she has organized and moderated briefings to educate House and Senate staffers on a range of issues related to Lifeline, media diversity, the extreme vetting immigration initiatives. Francella also supervises NHMC’s legal fellowship program, which provides an opportunity for select students throughout the country to experience media, technology, and telecommunications law and advocacy.
In her prior role at NHMC as policy counsel, Francella analyzed and helped implement communication policy initiatives for the National Hispanic Media Coalition, while coordinating government outreach and public engagement efforts that bring Latinos online and on the airwaves. She developed strategic relationships with organizational allies to amplify the voices of Latinos in Washington and was a critical part of the team analyzing the more than 50,000 consumer complaints received from the FCC in response to NHMC’s Freedom of Information Act requests that drew renewed attention to the importance of preserving the 2015 Open Internet Order.
Francella earned a B.S. in Marketing from Morgan State University and a J.D. from John Marshall Law School in Chicago, Illinois. During her studies, she excelled as a moot court competitor and went on to represent the city of Chicago in administrative hearings. Before joining the National Hispanic Media Coalition, Francella worked on securities fraud investigation teams at the Department of Justice where she helped prosecute banks for corporate misconduct under the False Claims Act and Financial Institutions Reform Recovery and Enforcement Act.
Founder and CEO, Connoisseur Media
Founder and CEO, Jeff Warshaw is a lifelong broadcaster. He built his first station while still a student at the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. In 1993 Jeff founded Connoisseur Communications Partners LP, a 39 station group which he later sold to Cumulus Broadcasting in 2000 for $258MM. In 2004 Jeff formed Connoisseur Media which now operates 31 radio station brands and digital assets in 8 markets. Highly respected and celebrated industry wide for his outspoken candor, Jeff’s spirit of innovation and long held principles of integrity, accountability and improvement remain core values of the company and guide its team members. Jeff serves on the Board of Directors of the National Association of Broadcasters, the Radio Advertising Bureau, and is a member of the Nielsen Advisory Board.
Ownership Limits in an Increasingly Competitive Audio Marketplace: Is Now the Time For a New Tune?
Gordon Borrell, Michelle P. Connolly, Francella Ochillo, Jeffrey D. Warshaw
Telecommunications & Electronic Media Practice Group
On June 25, 2019, the Federalist Society's Telecommunications & Electronic Media Practice Group presented an...
Ownership Limits in an Increasingly Competitive Audio Marketplace: Is Now the Time For a New Tune?
Gordon Borrell, Michelle P. Connolly, Francella Ochillo, Jeffrey D. Warshaw
Telecommunications & Electronic Media Practice Group
On June 25, 2019, the Federalist Society's Telecommunications & Electronic Media Practice Group presented an...