Jeffrey Katzenberg, Partner, Dreamworks USA, said Hollywood is thinking more about how global its audience has become, and how in other countries its films are "taken more literally than we do here." He predicted that studios will be turning out more family entertainment: "You will see more heroes and more heroics." At the same time, the messages of films may change, and specific elements are sure to change, such as depictions of terrorism and hijackings. "It is impossible to ignore that sensibility in today's climate," he said. "There is no denying the responsibility we have."

Stephen Case, Chairman, AOL Time Warner, USA, said media companies have an extra responsibility because what they produce "touches people's souls." His company is reviewing all of its operations to see how they can be run in a responsible way "partly because of 11 September, but also because the company is just one year old" and needs to undergo a broad survey. On the subject of digital convergence, Case said that to him the term did not mean all forms of media melding into one household box. Instead, he said, the goal was to empower people by giving them more choice and more control, whether they are using a television, a computer, a stereo or a telephone. Convergence can simplify things, for example by giving consumers one unified message point, instead of separate voice mail and e-mail boxes. Case predicts that in ten years devices such as televisions and stereos will have the same kind of parental content controls that are becoming common in Internet households.

Jean-Marie Messier, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Vivendi Universal, said that the industry's most important mission is "to produce exciting content, and that hasn't changed." But companies now realize they have a responsibility to reflect cultural diversity and global awareness, he said.

Terry Semel, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Yahoo!, USA, discussed his belief that September 11 represented a "coming of age of the Internet" as people reached out to friends and family and sought news and opportunities to respond. Users of the Yahoo! website donated $30 million through the site in the days after the attacks.

Semel and Messier said that the music industry has been too slow to respond to the popularity of the Internet and digital piracy. Messier said that artists and industry need to defend and promote intellectual property rights, but "we have to be more customer driven" and meet the obvious demand for digital music. Semel said the industry had "blown it" by filing lawsuits instead of looking at new business opportunities.