Elizabeth M. Ellis, Vice President, & Corporate Counsel for Emmis Communications, and Traci Thomson, the company’s Vice President of Human Resources, will lead a discussion of the top legal and workplace issues currently facing media companies at the Media Financial Management Association’s (MFM’s) 2018 CFO Summit. The Summit will be held March 8-9, at the Fort Lauderdale Beach Hilton.
Scheduled for 3:40 – 4:40 p.m. on Thursday, March 8, the opening day of the CFO Summit, the presentation by Ellis and Thomson will review guidelines along with recommended processes and procedures for addressing copyright infringement, FTC endorsement requirements, and workplace violence and safety, among other pressing matters. Their discussion will also highlight common legal missteps by media properties and suggest best practices to avoid those risks.
“In addition to FCC regulations, broadcasters and other media enterprises must comply with regulations under the purview of the FTC, the Copyright Office and other regulatory bodies as well as the SEC, EEOC and other agencies that regulate general business practices,” said Mary M. Collins, President and CEO of MFM and its BCCA subsidiary, which serves as the media industry’s credit association. “With the legal and HR experience of Elizabeth Ellis and Traci Thomson, our CFO Summit attendees will not only leave with industry-specific guidance to avoid the steep fines that can accompany regulatory violations, they will also benefit from real world examples of ways to create and maintain the best possible reputation among consumers, advertisers and other stakeholders.”
About the Presenters:
Elizabeth M. Ellis serves as Vice President and Corporate Counsel of Emmis Communications Corporation and its subsidiaries. In this role, Ellis is responsible for a wide variety of legal issues arising from the day-to-day business operations of Emmis’ radio and publishing divisions. Her primary areas of legal responsibility at Emmis include risk management, contract negotiation, employment matters, intellectual property protection, and litigation.
Ellis joined Emmis as a lawyer in 2015; she had previously worked in the company’s legal department for more than five years prior to attending law school. Ellis earned her undergraduate degree from Indiana University Bloomington with a dual major in criminal justice and psychology and graduated summa cum laude from the Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law. Following graduation, she practiced employment law at Ice Miller LLP and then practiced primarily business litigation for four years at the law firm of Clapp Ferrucci. Ellis also served as an Administrative Law Judge for the Indiana State Department of Health. She is active in the Indianapolis legal community, having served as guardian ad litem on behalf of Kids’ Voice of Indiana and as a volunteer attorney for Indiana Legal Services, Inc.
Traci Thomson SPHR, SHRM-SCP, HCS, is Vice President of Human Resources for Indianapolis-based Emmis Communications, which was named “Best Places to Work in Indiana” and "Best Companies to Work For" by Fortune magazine. In this role, Thomson has led initiatives that support the company’s unique culture and focus on leveraging the company’s competitive advantage around attracting and developing top talent in the industry. Additionally, she has played an integral role in leading the company through a period of significant transition over the last several years.
Thomson joined Emmis in 2004 and served as Compensation & Benefits Manager and Director of Employee Services before being promoted to her current role. She started her career at First Indiana Bank, and received her degree in Human Resources/Business Management with minors in Economics and Psychology from Indiana University. She currently serves on the Board of Directors Greater Indy Habitat for Humanity.
About the MFM CFO Summit:
Now in its 12th year, MFM’s annual CFO Summit provides an exclusive forum for a no-holds-barred dialogue focused on the most important issues facing CFOs and media executives who deal directly with financial management processes. The 2018 event will feature the latest intelligence and facilitated discussions on cyber-security, economic and media consumption trends, workplace issues, digital media rights requirements, connected cars, the IoT, and managing big data, among other pressing matters.
MFM is registered with the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) as a sponsor of continuing professional education on the National Registry of CPE Sponsors. Eligible attendees can obtain an up to 9.5 CPE Credits over the two-day summit.
Additional information about the CFO Summit and an online registration form may be found on MFM’s website, at http://www.mediafinance.org/cfo-summit.
About MFM and BCCA:
Media Financial Management Association (MFM) is the premiere resource for financial professionals for media industry education, networking, and information sharing throughout the U.S. and Canada. More information about MFM is available on its Web site: http://www.mediafinance.org and via its updates on Linkedin, Facebook and Twitter. Its BCCA subsidiary serves as the media industry’s credit association. BCCA’s revenue management services encompass a variety of credit reports on national and local media advertisers and agencies, including Media Whys, a credit report for media businesses which offers a credit score based on industry-specific aging combined with trade data from Experian or D+B. More information about BCCA is available at http://www.bccacredit.com as well as its updates on Linkedin, Facebook and Twitter.
