Book Appointed to N.C. Telecommunications Board

Connie Book, associate dean of the School of Communications, was sworn in as a board member of the Agency for Public Telecommunications (APT) Jan. 9 by Town of Elon Mayor Jerry Tolley. North Carolina Governor Mike Easley appointed Book to the board.

APT was founded in 1979 to serve as the media production house for state government. APT works to increase citizen access to government and services, open the lines of communication between state leaders and the public, and improve government efficiency through telecommunications.

The APT board and its committees are charged with all management functions of the agency. While the Department of Administration provides fiscal and personnel management oversight, the board establishes APT's governing policies. It ensures that APT offers balanced, nonpartisan and high quality professional services to its clients through live, interactive programming, satellite-based teleconferences, and broadcast-quality media productions.

Book is the author of "Digital Television: DTV and the Consumer," the first book to focus on consumers' needs during the nation's transition to digital television and the emerging digital TV technologies.  She received four grants from the National Association of Broadcasters to study consumers' digital TV habits, and studied the transition to digital television for eight years, working with Capitol Broadcasting in Raleigh, which pioneered the development of high definition technology.