Joanna Drake Earl will deliver the keynote address at the nextMEDIA conference, talking about the growth of user-generated content and Current TV. Earl, who is president of new media at the San Francisco-based company, is credited as a pioneer in collaborative TV, and will provide an ‘insider’s look’ into its out-of-the-box business model, according to the festival, which returns to Banff in June.

‘Current TV is revolutionary, creatively empowering a new generation of TV producers,’ said organizer Mark Greenspan in a release. ‘We are very excited to have Joanna Drake Earl.’

The Current TV site is aimed at 18-34s and is made up entirely with short-form programming, much of which comes from viewers. It formed in 2005 following the buyout of Newsworld International, previously co-owned by CBC, by former U.S. VP Al Gore and entrepreneur Joel Hyatt.

NextMEDIA is the digital media sister to the Banff World Television Festival, and runs June 8-10.