Dan Cox is on special assignment for FishbowlLA, covering the 2008 Sun Valley Media Conference. You can read all of his posts here.

The conference claims as attendees many of the world's most influential media and tech executives, welcoming them to the Idaho back country to mingle and make deals. It is where the deal was sparked for Google to buy YouTube.

A reporter covering the event can only hope to get a candid quote on a hot topic from an executive away from his office, cadre of PR people and possibly a few drinks deep. Here are some that Cox gathered.

Former Microsoft chair and founder Bill Gates asked if he cared to comment on the pending Microsoft/Yahoo! discussions: "No thank you. No."

NBC Universal head Jeff Zucker on the company possibly unloading assets at the conference: "No, there's nothing like that," Zucker said. "I'm just here watching."

Sony chairman Sir Howard Stringer: "Many of the people we're doing deals with are here," he said. "They're all in one place and accessible."

Google CEO Eric Schmidt on the ongoing Microsoft / Yahoo saga: "We took the position that the world is better off with an independent Yahoo!"

Also, Rupert Murdoch lost his wedding ring.