Tiananmen revisited

With the 20th anniversary of Tiananmen Square , College of Communication broadcast Professor Anne Donohue reflects on how the uprising has impacted (or not) young Chinese journalism students she taught recently in Beijing.

Contact Anne Donohue, 617-353-3418, adonohue@bu.edu

Battle over derivatives regulation

Trading in complex derivatives, financial instruments like credit default swaps, in large part sparked the current economic crisis.  Now the debate has shifted to how to regulate derivatives and where to trade them.  School of Law Professor Charles Whitehead, a securities law expert and long-time Citigroup counsel, can offer some guidance as to where the battle between Wall Street and Washington is headed.

Contact Charles Whitehead, 617-2212, ckw@bu.edu

GM files for bankruptcy

It's official:  Industy icon General Motors has filed for bankruptcy (as Chrysler prepares to emerge from it).  Former Ford Motors executive Louis Lataif, now dean of the BU School of Management, can put the upheavals into context.

Contact Louis Lataif, 617-353-2668, lelataif@bu.edu

U.S.-Israel settlements rift widens

President Obama and Secretary of State Clinton are pressing Israel to freeze the building of settlements on Israel's West Bank.  Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu insists any freeze would only be part of an end-game peace solution with the Palestinian government.  College of Communication journalism Professor Robert Zelnick, a former ABC News Middle East correspondent and author of "Israeli Unilateralism: Beyond Gaza" can put the stalemate into context.

Contact Robert Zelnick, 617-353-5007, bzelnick@bu.edu

Learning to “Bing” it

In its effort to better compete with Google, Microsoft is rebranding its search engine.  Microsoft's "Live Search" (which used to be "MSN Search") is now officially called "Bing" -- or as Microsoft says, "the sound of found."  School of Management marketing Professor C.B. Battacharya can discuss the challenges of rebranding and retaining brand loyalty.

Contact C.B. Battacharya, 617-353-5710, cb@bu.edu

Sotomayor could “shake up” SCOTUS

Sonia Sotomayor, President Obama's nominee for the Supreme Court, was a politically wise choice, says School of Law Professor Jack Beermann, an authority on high-court politics.  In a BU Today interview, Beermann says Sotomayor could "shake up the dynamics" of the court if confirmed by the Senate.

Contact Jack Beermann, 617-353-2577, beermann@bu.edu

Pequot Capital Management hedge fund closes

Under the shadow of an insider-trading probe, pioneering hedge fund Pequot Capital Management is shutting down forever.  School of Law Professor Tamar Frankel, an authority on securities law and legal ethics, says this is another lesson in why hedge funds should not be exempt from regulation.

Contact Tamar Frankel, 617-353-3773, tfrankel@bu.edu

Time Warner to spin off AOL

After a 9-year marriage, media conglomerate Time Warner confirms it will spin off its poorly performing AOL division which will become an independent, publicly traded company.  School of Management Professor N. Venkat Venkatraman, chairman of the Information Systems Department, can offer some look-back and look-ahead commentary.

Contact N. Venkat Venkatraman, 617-353-7117, venkat@bu.edu

Measuring radiation levels on the moon to later visit Mars

To determine the lunar radiation environment on the Moon, as a prelude to going to Mars, NASA will launch, on June 17th, the Lunar Reconaissance Orbiter with a Cosmic Ray Telescope developed by Harlan Spence, professor of astronomy. The instrument will include plastic "skin," to study how the Moon's radiation levels affect humans over time.

Contact Harlan Spence, 617-353-7421, spence@bu.edu

Jay hands “Tonight” to Conan

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As host Jay Leno hands over NBC's "Tonight Show" to Conan O'Brien, late night television continues to evolve.  College of Communication Professor Cathy Perron, who heads the school's TV department, can discuss the ever changing nature of television programming.

Contact Cathy Perron, 617-353-4976, cperron@bu.edu