WASHINGTON D.C. - A well-known industry executive at the center of the policy debate surrounding indecency regulations has been added to the April 8 Progress & Freedom Foundation Congressional Seminar on Capitol Hill. Preston Padden, executive vice president for government relations at The Walt Disney Company, will be part of the PFF Congressional Seminar "The Indecency Debate: Should Congress Extend Broadcast Rules to Other Media." The luncheon panel, the first sponsored by PFF's new Center for Digital Media Freedom, takes place April 8 from 12:00 - 2 p.m. in the Rayburn House Office Building, Room B-369.

Disney owns both broadcast and cable entities, but the company differs with its cable brethren on indecency regulations. Some proposals to expand indecency regulations to cable and satellite involve creating family-friendly cable-programming tiers. Padden has been outspoken that mandated tiering would be a disaster, but agrees with Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) and House Commerce Committee Chairman Joe Barton (R-Texas) that pay-TV channels have the same ubiquity as broadcast channels and shouldn't be regulated differently.

Before assuming his current position, Padden was president of the ABC Television Network. Previously he was chairman and chief executive officer of American Sky Broadcasting (ASkyB), a satellite television joint venture between News Corporation and MCI. He also served as president, telecommunications and television, for News Corporation, having joined Fox Broadcasting Company as senior vice president, Affiliates.

Padden will join three other panelists. One will be PFF Senior Fellow Adam Thierer, director of the Center for Digital Media Freedom. The others will be Jill Luckett, Senior Vice President of Program Network Policy at the National Cable & Telecommunications Association, and Jerald Fritz, senior vice president for legal and strategic affairs of Allbritton Communications Company.

Those interested in attending the PFF Congressional Seminar "The Indecency Debate: Should Congress Extend Broadcast Rules to Other Media" should register online. Lunch will be served. Media questions should be directed to Patrick Ross at 202-289-8928 or pross@pff.org. Other questions should be directed to Eileen Goulding at 202-289-8928 or egoulding@pff.org.

The Progress & Freedom Foundation is a market-oriented think tank that studies the digital revolution and its implications for public policy. It is a 501(c)(3) research & educational organization.