The Los Angeles Loyolan, Volume 77, Issue 28 - May 8, 1999

Features _ Are Catholic universities becoming more secular? Page 10 A&E The women of A&E on hot summer films. Page 12 Sports Pilots crash land on Lions baseball team. Page 22 NBC CEO to Speak at Commencement ■ Graduation : Media industry leader Bob Wright stresses accom¬ plishments of twen- tysomethings. by Jasmine Marshall Managing Editor, ’99-’ 00 The 1990s have been called “The Age of Media.” With the proliferation of cable televi¬ sion, the advent of “the new media,” including on-line reporting, and controversies over coverage of events includ¬ ing the Simpson trial and mur¬ der of JonBenet Ramsey, Bob Wright, CEO of NBC, is a nat¬ ural choice to address the class of 1999. у ' ; - ; Wright will deliver the com- m e n cement speech to an a s s e m b 1 e d audience of approximately 16,000 gradu¬ ates, their fam- ~ _ _ ily and friends in the Sunken Gardens during L о у о 1 a M a г у m о u n t University's 87th annual undergraduate commencement exercises today. He will also be awarded a honorary Doctor of Laws degree by LMU during the commencement ceremony. The focus of the media giant's address will be the myr¬ iad of opportunities for today's generation in both the job mar¬ ket and their communities. “These are very good economic times for young people,'' Wright said in an interview this past week. “You can accomplish a great deal in your twenties, as opposed to prior times when that wasn't really possible. There was a belief for a long time that you couldn't do anything truly significant until your thirties. I plan to draw upon examples which defy that stereotype throughout history, from the man who founded the Jesuit order to Bill Gates.” Since taking the helm of NBC in 1986, Wright has guid¬ ed the broadcasting giant through the creation of CNBC, the cable NBC network, and 'MSNBC, a partnership with Bill Gates' Microsoft corpora¬ tion giving news and business ‘You can accomplish a great deal in your twenties, as opposed to prior times when that wasn’t really possible.” — Bob Wright CEO, NBC reports updated every 15 min¬ utes for internet browsers. Under Wright's leadership, NBC has continued to hold the top position in the Nielsen rat¬ ing index in both prime time entertainment and news venues with hit sitcoms such as “Seinfeld” and “Friends” and the creation of the hugely suc¬ cess f u 1 n e w s m a g a z ine “Dateline NBC.” Wright, the longest-serving president of a television broad¬ casting company in history, has also led NBC to several presti¬ gious industry awards, among them record numbers of emmy wins for both broadcast news and entertainment program¬ ming, including hit series such as “E.R.” and “Seinfeld.” He was awarded a Gold Medal Award for industry leadership in 1997, from the International Radio and Television Society Foundation. In 1996, Wright accepted LMU's Hal Roach Award on behalf of NBC, an honor previously bestowed u p on Bob Hope, A ud rey Hepburn and Henry Mancini. Wright credited the domi¬ nance NBC has enjoyed in the news department to the cre¬ ation of a strong partnership >■ ■■■ '■■■'• ■ ' between hard news reporters and television producers. “We made a с о n cer t e d effort to include news and informa- __________ tion into prime time program¬ ming, which was a real break¬ through. We sought people who had a great sense of hard news, but also people who were great television producers. The television producers were key because of their great under¬ standing of the visual, which is evident in programs such ‘Today' and ‘Dateline NBC,”' Wright said. He noted that he plans to mention “Today” show Commencement: page 3 PHOTO COURTESY OF NBC STUDIOS Bob Wright, CEO of NBC, will deliver today's undergraduate commencement address. He will also receive an honorary Doctor of Laws degree. PHOTO COURTESY OF HOWARD LAVICK Film professor Ian Conner, who died of a heart attack on Friday, April 30. Conner was known for his dedicated interaction with film students. Film Professor Ian Conner Dies by Sean Chavel Asst. News Editor, ’99-’00 “For me, art has to be three things — it has to be powerful, it has to be mysterious and it has to give some indication that there’s grandeur in being human, or else what's the point?" — - Tony Witzel, Poet, 1946-98. Room 3 15 in the Communication Arts building is now decorated with poems, letters, photographs and flowers, honor¬ ing associate professor of film Ian Conner, who died last Friday, April 30. Conner came to LMU in 1980, and for 19 years, taught beginning and intermediate film, film history and cinematography. Conner was 17 when he left his family in Scotland and arrived at Ellis Island, New York with no family or contacts. He attended the New York School of Photography before moving to the west coast to attend UCLA, where he earned his bachelor's degree in 1972 and his master's degree in 1974. “Ian was a working profession¬ al that made some order out of the cinematography program,” said communication arts professor Don Zirpola. When Zirpola hired Conner in 1979, the LMU film department was searching for a film equipment supervisor who was qualified to teach a cine¬ matography course. “It was one of the simplest decisions the [Communication Arts Department! has ever made.” Conner presented his thesis film from UCLA, “Third Generation,” a film which Zirpola praised as “pro¬ foundly beautifiil.” Thus, the deci¬ sion was easily made. “We hired him within a few hours,” said Zirpola. A proficient director of com¬ mercials and public service announcements, Conner acquired an American Film Institute Independent Filmmaker Grant before applying at LMU. It did not take long for Conner to land a tenure position as a professor. Conner was named the “Teacher of the Year” for his first three years Conner page 3 : ч\-,л INDEX News 1 Perspective 4 Arts & Entertainment 7 Features 10 Classifieds 14 Sports 20 О n t he Web www.lmu.edu/stuaff/loyolan