ProfNet Experts Available on Genocide Awareness, Panama Papers, More

NEW YORK, April 20, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Below are experts from the ProfNet network that are available to discuss timely issues in your coverage area.

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EXPERT ALERTS

• Genocide Awareness and Prevention Month: History and Current Situation in the Middle East
• Patent Litigation Plummets in Eastern District
• Panama Papers: New Evidence for Past Cases?

MEDIA JOBS

• News Producer – KRNV-TV (NV)
• Reporter/Photographer – Lebanon Enterprise (KY)
• Tourism/Business Reporter – Sentinel-Record (AR)

OTHER NEWS & RESOURCES

• Q&A With Scott Goldberg of ABC News Radio
• Media 411: Preparing for a TV News Live Shot
• Upcoming Twitter Q&A: The Rise of Online Video Personalities

EXPERT ALERTS:

Genocide Awareness and Prevention Month: History and Current Situation in the Middle East
Judith Mendelsohn Rood
Professor of History and Middle Eastern Studies
Biola University
"The U.S. nearly failed to designate the slaughter of Christians, Yazidis, and other minorities by ISIS as genocide. War-weariness and Islamophobia shaped the debates over recognizing the Assyrian Genocide and justifying military intervention based upon the 'Responsibility to Protect' doctrine. The debate over the refugee crisis in the U.S., a country that began as a refuge for religious refugees, has, to our national shame, focused instead on closing the doors to those fleeing Syria and Iraq. One hundred years since the Armenian Genocide, we still do not know how to respond to the slaughter of unarmed civilians by their own governments."
Rood received her Ph.D. in Modern Middle Eastern History from the University of Chicago and her M.A. in Arab Studies from Georgetown University. She earned her B.A. at New College, an experimental liberal arts college modeled on the Oxford University curriculum, and did undergraduate and graduate work at Hebrew University in Jerusalem. Rood was the first woman ever permitted to undertake research in the Islamic Archives in Jerusalem, and was the first American since 1967 to do so. Her specialization is the Muslim community in Jerusalem during the Ottoman period. She is especially interested in the relations of Muslims, Christians, and Jews from an historical perspective. Currently she is working on writing a history of world civilizations. Rood is based in Los Angeles.
Bio: https://www.biola.edu/directory/people/judith_rood
Website: http://www.biola.edu
Contact: Jenna Loumagne, [email protected]

Patent Litigation Plummets in Eastern District
Michael C. Wilson
Patent litigator
Munck Wilson Mandala in Dallas
After a record-breaking year for patent litigation filings in 2015, federal courts in the Eastern District of Texas have experienced a nearly 50 percent drop in new patent infringement claims so far this year. While a number of factors have led to the drop, much of the decline can be traced to a ruling handed down by Judge Rodney Gilstrap last year that dismissed 168 patent infringement cases filed by Plano-based eDekka and ordered the company to pay $390,000 in legal fees for claims that the judge found to be "obviously weak" and meritless. "Judge Gilstrap's ruling certainly has caused many patent holders to rethink which cases to file and where, particularly since the ruling came out of the Eastern District of Texas. Prior to eDekka, the U.S. Supreme Court's Alice decision already was having a negative impact on many patents covering computer-implemented inventions. Judge Gilstrap's ruling made clear that non-practicing entities and other patent holders must carefully consider those types of validity issues before filing an infringement lawsuit."
Contact: Robert Tharp, [email protected]

Panama Papers: New Evidence for Past Cases?
Thomas Fox
FCPA attorney and consultant
Advanced Compliance Solutions in Houston
The Panama Papers, a treasure trove of leaked information about secret offshore accounts, are getting a look from the U.S. Department of Justice for possible crimes involving the U.S. financial system. The DOJ likely will review past settlements to see if there was more going on than met the eye at the time. For example, BHP Billiton - the Australia mining and oil giant with offices in Houston - paid the Securities and Exchange Commission $25 million last year to settle charges that it violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). The company was accused of sponsoring foreign government officials at the Beijing Summer Olympics. The Panama Papers reportedly reveal BHP's links to "high-risk" offshore accounts. "Was the SEC aware of that when the settlement was approved? For every bribe that is paid, there is corresponding money-laundering as the bribe receiver hides ill-gotten gains. The Panama Papers will provide the U.S. with information on who is forming these shadow corporations to hide money."
Contact: Mary Flood, [email protected]

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MEDIA JOBS:

Following are links to job listings for staff and freelance writers, editors and producers. You can view these and more job listings on our Job Board: https://prnmedia.prnewswire.com/community/jobs/

• Segment Producer – Univision Communications (FL)
• News Reporter/Anchor – iHeartMedia (AZ)
• Executive Editor – Idaho Statesman (ID)

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OTHER NEWS & RESOURCES:

Following are links to other news and resources we think you might find useful. If you have an item you think other reporters would be interested in and would like us to include in a future alert, please drop us a line at [email protected].

• Q&A WITH SCOTT GOLDBERG OF ABC NEWS RADIO. Elizabeth Yekhtikian of InkHouse shares her interview with Scott Goldberg, anchor at ABC News Radio. She sat down with Goldberg to find out about what a typical day is like for him, the resilience of radio, and how storytelling in this medium must be adaptable. You can read the interview here: http://prn.to/1NiY01E
• MEDIA 411: PREPARING FOR A TV NEWS LIVE SHOT. If you want a career in TV news in front of the camera, you'll need to be comfortable with live shots. If you've never done one and are just starting out in the news business, here is some excellent advice: http://prn.to/1pbACHU
• THE RISE OF ONLINE VIDEO PERSONALITIES. A professionally-trained chef who debuted on YouTube fewer than three years ago now commands a larger audience than television stations in some of the nation's more competitive broadcast markets. Gemma Stafford is the host of Bigger Bolder Baking. More than 778-thousand people subscribe to her channel. By comparison, Austin, Texas (a top 30 broadcast market) is home to 745,640 television households. http://prn.to/20Xd2fP

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