‘Freakonomics’ author Stephen Dubner to deliver 2012 NAB Show keynote

Stephen Dubner, author, journalist and radio and TV personality, will deliver the 2012 NAB Show keynote address during the convention’s opening session, Monday, April 16.

Co-author of the international bestsellers "Freakonomics" and "SuperFreakonomics," Dubner will share his insight on today's media ecosystem, which is undergoing massive changes in strategies, players, technologies and expectations.

Through forceful storytelling and wry insight, Dubner shows how economics is, at root, the study of incentives — that is, how people get what they want, or need, especially when other people want or need the same thing. Dubner will discuss how this incentive system is reflected in the economics of today's media and entertainment business.

Originally published in the United States in 2005, "Freakonomics" became a cultural phenomenon, spawning multiple media platforms, including "Freakonomics Radio," which Dubner hosts, the Freakonomics blog, which can be found on The New York Times website and a feature-length documentary, which was released theatrically as well as via iTunes.

"Freakonomics" and "SuperFreakonomics" are primarily based on research by co-author and University of Chicago economist Steven Levitt, whom Dubner originally profiled for The New York Times Magazine. Dubner spent several years at the Times as an editor and writer and has also written for The New Yorker, Times and elsewhere.