Corrects blog post to show Buffett was talking about YouTube, not Facebook.

Attention YouTube: Warren Buffett wants to give you money.

That’s the word from Liberty Media Chairman John Malone, who sat on a panel about digital media at the Allen & Co confab in Sun Valley on Tuesday.

Malone told reporters on the sidelines of the event that billionaire investor Buffet, aka the Oracle of Omaha, had told him privately that he would be willing to pay $5 a month to use YouTube, the popular video site owned by Google.

YouTube, of course, is a free Web service which makes its money through advertising. But other popular social media like Twitter have yet to generate revenue, and monetizing social networks is a big topic of discussion among the media and tech executives gathered for the conference.

“Sooner or later people are going to get addicted to some of these services and they’ll be willing to pay for it. The question is really the economics,” Malone said.

Google CEO Eric Schmidt, or founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page, have yet to turn up at the event.

If one of them does, they might want to have a chat with Buffett.

(Photo: Malone talks to reporters as he arrives at the Sun Valley Inn, July 8, 2009. REUTERS/Rick Wilking)

Allen & Co’s Sun Valley media and technology conference forbids journalists from attending the morning sessions that executives and other media power players attend before they go out to play and talk about deals in the afternoon. That means the last, best hope they have is to get the low-down from a journalist who was invited.

There’s no pride in it, but at least you hear what happened from a reliable source.

In this case, that’s Ken Auletta, New Yorker media writer and author of several books about the media business. He moderated a panel about surviving in the digital age.

The answer? No answer, Auletta said.

Among the big minds pondering the issue were IAC/InterActiveCorp CEO Barry Diller, Walt Disney CEO Robert Iger (who on Tuesday told reporters that he’s not worried about how to get people to pay for content) and Liberty Media Chairman John Malone.

Questions asked at the session, Auletta said: How do you “monetize” on the Web? Can you? Is your “brand” an advantage?

Twitter, which is one of the media-anointed darlings of this year’s session, was also up for discussion, Auletta said. According to him, Diller said he was pessimistic about Twitter’s chances of making money. Auletta quoted Diller as saying it’s about “how to advertise in a way that doesn’t feel like an interruption.”

Interestingly, Twitter co-founder Evan Williams was in the audience at the session, Auletta said.
In keeping with the spirit of gloom and economic recession hanging over the 27th year of the Sun Valley conference, Auletta also told reporters about a session on finance hosted by CNBC anchorwoman Erin Burnett. The mood? Glum as well, he said.

Who was the most bearish guest there? Billionaire investor Wilbur Ross, Chairman and CEO of WL Ross & Co. Does that mean asset values are improving, leaving Ross fewer banks and other distressed properties to chase? Or is he just reflecting the spirit of the age?

Judging by the tenor of the conversations at this conference, it’s the latter.

(Photo: Ken Auletta, via Reuters)

Reuters reporters Robert MacMillan, Yinka Adegoke and Alexei Oreskovic will be sending live updates from the Sun Valley gathering. Read their updates below or follow us on Twitter.

The Bald Mountain resort in Sun Valley offers moguls for advanced skiers all winter long. Media reporters show up every July for the other kind of mogul, who lands among the picturesque Idaho mountains on a private jet and has a name like “Rupert Murdoch” or “Barry Diller.”

Reporters are supposed to be part of the scenery — not part of the conference itself.* They must stand around and hope that one of the more than 200 invitees decides to speak to them, and hopefully dispense a few nuggets of news. Fortunately, this week’s weather is supposed to be sunny, dry and warm during the day, and comfortably chilly at night.

For a Sun Valley freshman like this Reuters reporter, it sounds scary terrifying, despite the clement weather forecast. I asked New York Times media columnist David Carr, who covered the conference in 2007, for some advice. Here are some excerpts from our phone conversation;

Why did you go to the Sun Valley conference?

I was sent because (NYT deals columnist) Andrew Ross Sorkin was getting married. I was actually on vacation at the time, (but) Andrew is somebody at the paper who, whatever he asks for, we have to do. I was actually happy to step into the breach.

What kind of reporting do you do?

You’re arguing over real table scraps and taking deep meaning from people sitting physically
adjacent to each other by the duck pond, but you can’t hear what they say… I got a big get. I saw Rupert Murdoch in a parking lot walking and talking to somebody. I can’t remember who he was talking to, but that constitutes a huge get in the context of Sun Valley. (Was it CNN’s Anderson Cooper? We don’t know.)

Where does a reporter fit in to the Sun Valley pecking order?

Your status there is non-status. When people say you spend your time jumping out of the bushes, they’re not kidding. … You’re all confronted by the same miserable circumstances. … The Allen people make it clear that no accommodation at all will be made, and that you are not invited. They’re not nasty about it, they’re not pernicious about it, but they’re very clear about it. (Read about Carr’s close-up shot with a burly security guard if you want proof.)

How do you make news there?

At Sun Valley, you’re more or less handed some lint balls, a couple of twigs and some rocks and told to make a narrative out of that. It can get ugly and it can lead to some fatuous journalism. … If you’re willing to leave your dignity at the door, keep your expectations under control and make sure to manage your editor’s expectations, you’re going to get your moguls in frolic. There’s worse things than that.

We’re not above asking for some avuncular, reporterly advice about how to handle Sun Valley. Leave your comments here!

* Some journalists do get invited, and this year’s elite include CNBC anchorwoman Erin Burnett, interviewer of the high-and-mighty Charlie Rose, New Yorker media writer Ken Auletta, longtime NBC news anchorman Tom Brokaw, New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman, Huffington Post Senior Editor Willow Bay and Washington Post columnist David Ignatius.

(Photo: The sign says it all for reporters and photographers covering last year’s Sun Valley media and tech conference. Reuters/Rick Wilking)

Allen & Co’s Sun Valley media and technology conference have included tennis pro Mats Wilander, Chicago singer Peter Cetera, actors Clint Eastwood and Demi Moore and Egyptian billionaire Mohamed al-Fayed.

With so many rich and famous media and technology tycoons hanging out at the Idaho retreat, now in its 27th year, it’s natural that other friends of Herb Allen from the financial and deals world are showing up.

Here’s a list of expected attendees from the world of capitalism — including financial company executives, portfolio managers, venture capital investors and private equity chieftains, to name a few. Keep in mind that this list might not be complete.

• Paul Vogel, senior vp, global sector head - consumer, AllianceBernstein LP.
• Kenneth Chenault, chairman and CEO, American Express Co.
• Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz.
• Alexandre von Furstenberg, chief investment officer, Arrow Capital Management LLC. (Son of Diane and Egon von Furstenberg. Stepson of Barry Diller. Split from heiress wife Alexandra Miller. That story is here.)
• David Corkins, Arrowpoint Partners.
• Stephen Pagliuca, managing director, Bain Capital Partners LLC. (Also co-owner of the Boston Celtics basketball team, and a potential bidder for The Boston Globe if The New York Times Co sells it, our sources tell us.)
• Seth Klarman, president, the Baupost Group LLC. (Earlier this year, he bought part of the holding company that owns the Boston Red Sox baseball team, just as The New York Times is trying to sell its own stake.)
• Warren Buffett, chairman, Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (You know who he is. His son Howard Buffett of Buffett Farms is expected to come. So is daughter Susie.)
• Michael Larson, chief investment officer, BGI. (He oversees investments for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. He also oversees Gates’s personal portfolio.)
• John Griffin, president, Blue Ridge Capital.
• Justin Tang, general partner, Blue Ridge China.
• Roberto Mignone, president, Bridger Capital LLC.
• William Pappendick, managing director, Brookside Capital LLC.
• James Rothenberg, chairman and principal executive officer, Capital Research and Management Co.
• Gordon Crawford, senior vp, Capital Research Global Investors. (Big Yahoo investor.)
• Susan Tolson, senior vp, Capital Research Global Investors.
• Jennifer Foster, managing director, Chilton Investment Co.
• Peter Thiel, president, Clarium. (Early investor in Facebook, co-founder of PayPal with Max Levchin, who also is expected to attend. He also invested in Slide, LinkedIn, Friendster, Yelp and others. He is a self-described libertarian, and is quoted as saying that increasing welfare and offering the vote to women in the United States have made the notion of “capitalist democracy” an oxymoron.)
• Dan Moskovitz, president, D.M. Operations Management Inc.
• Christopher Davis, portfolio manager, Davis Advisors.
• Julius Gaudio, managing director, DE Shaw & Co.
• Jeffrey Van Harte, senior vp, chief investment officer of Focus Growth, Delaware Investments.
• Ricky Sandler, Eminence Capital LLC.
• Eli Jacobs, chairman, Essex Management Co.
• Fayez Sarofim, president and chairman, Fayez Sarofim & Co.
• Will Danoff, portfolio manager, Fidelity Management & Research.
• Tommy Frist, principal, Frist Capital LLC.
• W. Whitfield Gardner, CEO, Gardner Lewis Asset Management.
• Thomas Giovine, president, Giovine Capital Group LLC.
• David Shell, managing director and chief investment officer, Goldman Sachs Asset Management.
• David Herro, partner and chief investment officer, international equity, Harris Associates LP
• Blake Krikorian, id8 Group Holdings. (Also Sling Media co-founder.)
• Danny Rimer, partner, Index Ventures.
• Nathan Myhrvold, CEO, Intellectual Ventures LLC. (Former Microsoft chief technology officer.)
• Brian Demain, portfolio manager, Janus Capital Management.
• James B. “Jimmy” Lee, vice chairman, JPMorgan Chase & Co. (Longtime Rupert Murdoch associate.)
• Judd Weinberg, chairman, executive committee, Judd Enterprises Inc.
• David Weinberg, chairman, CEO, Judd Enterprises Inc.
• Michael Karsch, founder, portfolio manager, Karsch Capital Management LP
• Michael Lowenstein, general partner, Kensico Capital Management.
• Lord Clive Hollick, senior adviser, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co.
• Bill Miller, chairman, chief investment officer, Legg Mason Capital Management Inc.
• Mala Gaonkar, managing director, Lone Pine Capital LLC
• John Canning, chairman, Madison Dearborn Partners.
• Morris Mark, president, Mark Asset Management Corp.
• Lee Ainslie, managing partner, Maverick Capital.
• Michael Pausic, partner, Maverick Capital.
• Dennis Lynch, managing director, Morgan Stanley Investment Management.
• Vivi Nevo, NV Investments Inc. (Said to be the largest private investor in Time Warner Inc.)
• Marc Baylin, portfolio manager, Oppenheimer Funds.
• Jonathan Nelson, CEO, Providence Equity Partners Inc.
• Kenneth Shen, adviser to the CEO, Qatar Holding LLC.
• James Pallotta, chairman, managing director, Raptor Capital Management.
• James D. Robinson III and IV, general and managing partners, RRE Ventures.
• Scott Bommer, managing partner, SAB Capital Management LP.
• Haim Saban, chairman and CEO, Saban Capital Group Inc.
• G. Staley Cates, president, Southeastern Asset Management.
• James Williams, retired chairman, SunTrustBanks Inc.
• Brian Rogers, chairman, T. Rowe Price Associates. (T.Rowe is one of the larger shareholders in The New York Times Co.)
• Eric Semler, president, TCS Capital Management LLC.
• David Barse, CEO, Third Avenue Management.
• Paul Allen, Microsoft co-founder, chairman, Vulcan Inc.
• Wallace Weitz, president, Weitz Funds.
• David Winters, chairman and CEO, Wintergreen Advisers LLC.
• Wilbur Ross, chairman and CEO, WL Ross & Co LLC.
• Jonathan Dolgen, principal, Wood River Ventures.
• Ian McKinnon, managing partner, Ziff Brothers Investments.
• Mark Pincus, founder and CEO, Zynga Inc.

(Photo: Two symbols of corporate America — Warren Buffett and a can of Coca-Cola, both spied at the 2007 Sun Valley conference. Reuters/Rick Wilking.)

Allen & Co’s annual Sun Valley media conference attracts more than moguls, technology executives and money managers. Of the more than 200 people on the invitation list, there are plenty whose connection to the conference’s themes are tangential at best.

This is a perennial feature, previous attendees told me, but they usually don’t get as much attention because reporters are trying to break news on the big media guys. Many of them come because they have ties to banker and conference organizer Herb Allen. Others come because they’re just plain interesting people.

Also, you can detect what likely themes will emerge in panel discussions. We’re guessing a host of generic discussions that usually mark high-level meetings: world health, making U.S. children more competitive in math and science so they’ll “innovate” and start tech companies, the United States’ export of “soft power” through which it influences other nations through its cultural and media exports, how sports and media can continue to get rich off each other, how to make big money in poorer countries and various other topics that we mention below. The “huh” category is reserved for pure guesswork.

P.S. Here is one other observation we discovered while researching all 250+ names on the invitation list that we obtained: A far higher-than-expected number in their official biographies list the interviews they gave to Charlie Rose on his show as one of their top accomplishments. Rose, as you might expect, is expected to attend.

P.P.S. We heard that there are one or two “special guests” scheduled to come, but have no idea who they are. Any guesses? I’ll start with Apple CEO Steve Jobs and director Steven Spielberg.

Sports:

• Jerry Reinsdorf: Owner of the Chicago Bulls basketball team and the Chicago White Sox baseball team.
• Peter Ueberroth: managing director, the Contrarian Group Inc. (But better known as the former commissioner of Major League Baseball)
• Francis (Fay) Vincent, chairman, Vincent Enterprises. (Former MLB Commish.)
• Stan Kroenke, chairman, The Kroenke Group. (Real estate magnate, married to Wal-Mart heiress Anne Walton. Owns the Denver Nuggets basketball team and is majority shareholder of the U.K. Arsenal soccer team. He also owns way too much other stuff to list.)
• Allan “Bud” Selig, commissioner, Major League Baseball.
• David Stern, commissioner, National Basketball Association
• Roger Goodell, commissioner, National Football League
• Gary Bettman, commissioner, National Hockey League
• Jeffrey Wilpon, COO, New York Mets, and Fred Wilpon, chairman, Sterling Equities Inc., who also owns the Mets.
• Ted Leonsis, principal owner, Washington Capitals Hockey team. (And former AOL executive.)
• Daniel Gilbert, chairman, Quicken Loans. (He is the majority owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers NBA team and bought an American Hockey League franchise in Erie, Pennsylvania. He also is a venture capitalist, and has invested $4 million in the social networking and style tips website StyleCaster)
• Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James. (The Chosen 1!)

Washington, D.C. types and other politicians:

• Ambassador Henry Crumpton. President, Crumpton Group LLC. (Former CIA agent in a variety of rather high-up positions. His company, according to a now-defunct version of his website, identifies ways for other companies to make profits in parts of the world that might not seem all that friendly at first.)
• David Kilcullen, partner, Crumpton Group LLC.
• Montgomery Meigs, visiting professor, Georgetown University. Also General, U.S. Army (Ret.)
• Luis Alberto Moreno, president, Inter-American Development Bank.
• Michael Bloomberg, mayor of New York City. (He is not on our latest version of the list, but you never know.)
• Cory Booker, mayor of Newark, New Jersey.
• Sam Nunn, former Georgia Democrat senator and head of the Nuclear Threat Initiative. (With this much starpower in Sun Valley, one hopes the missiles are aimed somewhere else for a few days.)
• Manuel A. Roxas, senator, Philippines.
• Raymond Chambers, secretary-general’s special envoy for malaria. (After all, if Bill and Melinda Gates are coming…)
• Michael O’Hanlon, senior fellow, The Brookings Institution
• Martin Indyk, director, Saban Center for Middle East Policy, Senior Fellow, foreign policy, The Brookings Institution
• Michael Berman, president, The Duberstein Group. (Lobbyist for some big companies, including Comcast, General Motors and Goldman Sachs. He was counsel to former Vice President Walter Mondale during the Carter administration.)

Doctors:

• Delos Cosgrove, president and CEO, Cleveland Clinic.
• Donald Stein, department of emergency medicine, Emory University School of Medicine.
• Joseph Vacanti, chief of department of pediatric surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital.
• Denis Cortese, president, CEO, Mayo Clinic
• David Snow, chairman and CEO, Medco Health Solutions Inc.

Teachers:

• Michelle Rhee, chancellor, District of Columbia Public Schools.
• Joel Klein, chancellor, New York City Department of Education.

Huh?:

• Daniel Lamarre, president and CEO, Cirque du Soleil. (For night-time entertainment?)
• Mark C. Taylor, chair, department of religion, Columbia University. (For morning prayer?)
• Muhtar Kent, chairman, CEO, The Coca-Cola Co. (For light refreshments?)
• Jonathan Oppenheimer, head of chairman’s office, De Beers Group. (For impromptu Sun Valley marriage proposals?)
• Andrew Liveris, CEO, chairman, Dow Chemical Co. (Widely considered to have taken a big M&A deal in the wrong direction, maybe he’s hanging out somewhere where he’s unlikely to run into company shareholders.)
• Yousef al Otaiba, Embassy of the United Arab Emirates. (The U.A.E. has investments in various media properties, making al Otaiba a fairly logical attendee.)
• Donald Robert, CEO, Experian. (These guys know your credit rating.)
• Richard Riordan, former mayor, Los Angeles. (A natural for movie studio guests, we’re guessing.)
• Louis Simpson, president and CEO, capital operations, Geico Corp. (In case one of us reporters crashes a rental car?)
• Heather Nolin of Heather Nolin Consulting. (We swear we couldn’t find anything about her online.)
• Michael Fux, president and CEO, Lifestyle Innovations LLC. (This man ran the company that brought you memory foam mattresses, mattress toppers and pillows.)
• Andrew McKenna, chairman, McDonald’s Corp. (Lunchtime sponsor?)
• Simon Johnson, professor of entrepreneurship, MIT Sloan School of Management. (We are guessing that he is moderating a session that every crusty old media mogul should consider attending.)
• Philip Knight, chairman, NIKE Inc. (Sun Valley promises lots of hiking.)
• Ronald Sugar, chairman and CEO, Northrop Grumman Corp. (Most of us are flying to Sun Valley.)
• Nassef Sawiris, CEO, Orascom Construction Industries S.A.E. (We’re st

Allen & Co’s 27th Sun Valley media and technology conference starts on July 7 and ends on July 12. In the meantime, expect media writers to breathlessly report, blog, tweet, photograph and record the event. Why the fuss? There are literally hundreds of people coming who are known to do nothing else than run the universe when it comes to TV shows, movies, telecoms, the Internet and all sorts of other electronic communications. We have lists of all the people who bankroll them as well, along with a list of other interesting people you will find there.

Here, meanwhile, are the big men and women of media and technology who justify the travel budgets that increasingly hard-up news organizations have to put out for your favorite folks in the press corps to hide behind the hedges and hope for a handout that will break news, move markets and excite our editors. Keep in mind: this list is not a guarantee that these people are showing up; it’s just an invitation list (arranged alphabetically by company). We’ll update it as we learn more. (Our boldface names indicate some general viewpoint that they’re the stars of the stars.)

• James McCann, CEO, 1-800-flowers.com.
• Bobby Kotick, CEO, Activision Blizzard Inc. Also Brian Kelly, co-chairman.
• Jeff Bezos, CEO, Amazon.com Inc.
• Tim Armstrong, chairman and CEO, AOL
• Michael Ovitz, AMSEF LLC, former uber-talent agent at Creative Artists Agency and former Walt Disney Co executive.
• Gerhard Zeiler, CEO, RTL Group, Bertelsmann AG.
• Bill and Melinda Gates, of the foundation of the same name. Bill, of course, co-founded Microsoft Corp.
• Mark Vadon, executive chairman, Blue Nile Inc.
• James Dolan, president, CEO, Cablevision Systems Corp.
• Leslie Moonves, president, CEO, CBS Corp. Also Neil Ashe, president, CBS Interactive. Also Quincy Smith, CEO, CBS Interactive. (And a former Allen & Co man.)
• Charlie Rose, interviewer and anchor on the Charlie Rose Show
• Anthony Bloom, Cineworld plc
• Richard Parsons, chairman, Citigroup Inc. Former CEO, Time Warner Inc.
• Lowry Mays, chairman, Clear Channel Communications Inc.
• Ralph Roberts, founder, chairman emeritus, Comcast Corp. Also Stephen Burke, president and COO, Comcast Cable.
• Patrick Condo, president, CEO, Convera Corp.
• Jimmy Hayes, CEO, Cox Enterprises Inc.
• Richard Lovett, president, Creative Artists Agency Inc. Also Bryan Lourd, managing partner.
• Michael Dell, chairman and CEO, Dell Inc.
• Richard Rosenblatt, chairman and CEO, Demand Media. He used to work at MySpace’s parent company before News Corp bought it.
• Chase Carey, former DirecTV CEO and Rupert Murdoch’s new No. 2 man at News Corp.
• John Hendricks, founder and chairman, Discovery Communications. Also president and CEO David Zaslav.
• Jeffrey Katzenberg, CEO, DreamWorks Animation SKG.
• John Donahoe, president and CEO, eBay Inc.
• Dara Khosrowshahi, president and CEO, Expedia Inc.
• Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg. (We’ve heard conflicting reports about whether he’ll show. Either way, he’s still on our list.)
• Tom Freston, principal, Firefly3 LLC. Former Viacom executive.
• Martin Varsavsky, CEO, FON
• Jeff Immelt, chairman and CEO, General Electric Co.
• Jeff Zucker, CEO, NBC Universal. (GE)
• Ronald Meyer, president and COO, Universal Studios. (GE)
• Eric Schmidt, chairman and CEO, Google. Also co-founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page.
• Juan Luis Cebrian, CEO, Grupo Prisa. Also Ignacio Polanco, chairman.
• Emilio Azcarraga, chairman and president, Grupo Televisa. Also Alfonso de Angoitia, executive vp.
• Christopher Schroeder, CEO, HealthCentral. Also former CEO of Washingtonpost.Newsweek Interactive.
• Cathleen Black, president, Hearst Magazines.
• R. Todd Bradley, executive vp, personal systems group, Hewlett-Packard Co. Also CEO Mark Hurd.
• Barry Diller, chairman, CEO, IAC/InterActiveCorp. Also chairman, Expedia Inc. Also Victor Kaufman, vice chairman, IAC/InterActiveCorp.
• Lachlan Murdoch, executive chairman, Illyria Pty Ltd. Son of News Corp CEO Rupert Murdoch.
• Craig Barrett, former CEO, chairman, Intel Corp. Also Sean Maloney, executive vp, chief sales and marketing officer.
• Jeffrey Berg, chairman and CEO, International Creative Management. Also president Christopher Silbermann.
• Michael Volpi, formerly of Cisco Systems Inc and Joost.
• Eric Eisner, L+E Pictures. Son of former Walt Disney Co. CEO Michael Eisner.
• Kevin Reilly, CEO, Lamar Advertising Co.
• Michael Fries, president and CEO, Liberty Global Inc.
• John Malone, chairman, Liberty Media Corp. Also Greg Maffei, president and CEO.
• Reid Hoffman, chairman, president of products, LinkedIn Corp.
• Sam Altman, co-founder and CEO, Loopt Inc.
• Craig Mundie, chief research and strategy officer, advanced strategies and policy, Microsoft Corp. Also Robbie Bach, president of the entertainment and devices division, and Henry Vigil, senior vp, strategy and partnership.
• Rupert Murdoch, CEO, News Corp. Also with him is his second son, James Murdoch, chairman and CEO of News Corp’s Europe and Asia operations. Also Jonathan Miller, News Corp’s chairman and CEO for its digital media group. Former president and COO Peter Chernin, whose last day was June 30, is coming along too, in tow with CFO David DeVoe and new MySpace CEO Owen Van Natta.
• Gina Bianchini, CEO, Ning Inc.
• Jorma Ollila, chairman, Nokia Corp.
• Greg Wyler, founder, O3B Networks Ltd.
• Jeffrey Jordan, president and CEO, OpenTable Inc.
• Jeffery Boyd, president and CEO, priceline.com Inc.
• Maurice Levy, chairman and CEO, Publicis Groupe.
• Paul Jacobs, chairman and CEO, Qualcomm Inc.
• Robert Johnson, founder and chairman, the RLJ Companies.
• Jay Y. Lee, Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Kenneth Lowe, chairman, president and CEO. Scripps Networks Interactive.
• Mel Karmazin, CEO, Sirius XM Radio Inc.
• Max Levchin, CEO, Slide Inc.
• Sir Howard Stringer, chairman and CEO, Sony Corp. Also Kazuo Hirai, president of networked products and services group; Robert Wiesenthal, executive vp and CFO, Sony Corporation of America; Michael Lynton, chairman and CEO, Sony Pictures Entertainment; Hiroshi Yoshioka, executive deputy president, president of consumer products and devices group; and Nicole Seligman, top lawyer.
• Nick Grouf, CEO, Spot Runner Inc.
• Thomas Glocer, CEO, Thomson Reuters Corp, along with Niall FitzGerald, deputy chairman.
• Michael Eisner, the Tornante Company LLC. Former Walt Disney Co CEO.
• Lars Buttler, CEO, Trion World Network Inc.
• Evan Williams, co-founder and chairman, Twitter Inc.
• David Levin, CEO, United Business Media plc.
• James Berkus, chairman, United Talent Agency.
• Brad Grey, chairman and CEO, Paramount Pictures Corp (Viacom).
• Sumner Redstone, chairman, Viacom. Also Philippe Dauman, president and CEO.
• Jean-Bernard Levy, CEO, Vivendi.
• Robert Iger, president and CEO, Walt Disney Co. Also Thomas Staggs, CFO.
• Edgar Bronfman Jr, chairman and CEO, Warner Music Group.
• Donald Graham, chairman, CEO, The Washington Post Co.
• Casey Wasserman, chairman and CEO, Wasserman Media Group LLC.
• Harvey Weinstein, co-chairman, The Weinstein Co.
• Shelby Bonnie, CEO, Whiskey Media LLC.
• Jim Wiatt, William Morris Endeavor.
• Terry Semel, chairman and CEO, Windsor Media. Former Yahoo CEO.
• Martin Sorrell, CEO, WPP.
• Anne Mulcahy, chairman, Xerox Corp.
• Jerry Yang, chief Yahoo.
• Mark Pincus, founder, CEO, Zynga Inc.

Allen & Co’s annual Sun Valley media conference is all about deals, the Internet, media and technology, but it’s good for a few laughs as well.

Here’s the first one:

We’re waiting for various executives and moguls to show up at the entrance to the Sun Valley Lodge. It’s a gorgeous day, and we’re talking to folks as they arrive. Robert Johnson, founder of Black Entertainment Television, arrives in an SUV. Right after him comes Universal Studios chief Ron Meyer.

They both go and check in. Meyer comes out first, gets in Johnson’s car and drives away.

Johnson comes out, looks at us, looks for his car. We tell him what happened. Just then, Meyer circles around the duck pond and comes to a stop. They shake hands, smile, switch cars.

If this were a gathering of auto chiefs, this wouldn’t happen, right?

(Photo: An in-game screenshot of Grand Theft Auto IV)

Reuters reporters Robert MacMillan, Yinka Adegoke and Alexei Oreskovic will be sending live updates from the Sun Valley gathering. Read their updates below or follow us on Twitter.

Nearly every powerful media and technology executive you can think of will be camping out in the idyllic and affluent ski resort town of Sun Valley this week. They have aimed their Gulfstreams squarely at Idaho so they can show up at the 27th edition of Allen & Co’s media and technology conference, which investment banker Herb Allen holds every summer here.

That means nearly every media reporter you can think of will be hovering among the hedgerows and parking lots (and in the bar, naturally), waiting to get a few precious seconds with super-wattage movie executives from DreamWorks’s Jeffrey Katzenberg to Paramount’s Brad Grey, technology heavyweights such as Michael Dell and Bill Gates, media kingpins Philippe Dauman and Rupert Murdoch and fresh-faced startup darlings like Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg, Twitter’s Evan Williams and Ning’s Gina Bianchini.

Reuters, of course, will be among the press crew at the scene. Reporters Yinka Adegoke and Alexei Oreskovic will show up, as will I, and photographer Rick Wilking will be shooting the pictures that at Sun Valley often tell a more eloquent story than any text dispatch can.

We and a bunch of other journalists will be working around the clock (literally) to get these powerful, and often reclusive bigs to tell you what the next stunning media and technology deals will be. We’ll also be asking them how they are keeping their companies in business amid big changes in the ways people inhale their news and entertainment, as well as how they are dealing with the fallout of an economic crisis last year that nearly capsized the financial system.

Also, keep an eye out for the glamorous or the unusual. Sun Valley guests typically show up with their families, and the whole affair is supposed to be casual. That means there’s always the possibility that Murdoch could lose more than his wedding ring. And celebrities, such as investor Vivi Nevo’s wife, actress Zhang Ziyi, are often part of the program.

Check back with us at MediaFile, and remember to read Reuters’s dispatches from Sun Valley. Allen & Co might keep the press outside, but we’ll be working hard to bring you the inside story.

(Photo: Designer Diane von Furstenberg and her husband, IAC/InterActiveCorp CEO Barry Diller at last year’s conference. They are the kind of media star-power that cruises around Sun Valley, Idaho, for a few days every summer. Reuters/Rick Wilking)