2008 NAMIC Conference Blog
“Around Town With Fred Brown”
9.15.08
Hot Topics: The State of the Pipeline
NAMIC DIVERSITY TOWN HALL ROCKS!
Looks like CNN Anchor Tony Harris did his thing again this year, as the moderator/host of the opening Diversity Town Hall Meeting. And, much like the one’s you see during the Presidential Debates, the meeting was interactive, sometimes heated, and mostly informational. With a star-studded panel of the leading cable industry heads, “diversity within” was the hot topic, and the pipeline is only as good as those committed to multi-cultural representation on all employment levels.
NAMIC President Kathy Johnson got the ball rolling: “Our job is to open up the pipeline to diversity. And, accountability is the true measure of our success or failure in the industry. The results speak for themselves,” stated Johnson. Johnson’s comments led into an introduction of Luke Visconti, Co-Founder & Partner of DiversityInc, who presented the results of NAMIC’s survey reflecting findings around corporate diversity initiatives and employment trends in the Cable and Telecommunications industry, from 2006-08. Details of the report are available through NAMIC, but the final analysis is flat growth rates across the board.
Visconti offered this explanation: “We did not see any real progress in the cable industry, but based on the meetings I take in other industries, yours is better than most. But you’ve got to stay on top of that, and the key is the CEO commitment. Just look at the financial industry…who is going to survive and who’s not? Blacks and Latinos were hit hardest by the mortgage crisis. The same is true in the cable industry. But it all boils down to the CEO commitment – that sets the pace.” You’re right on Luke – top down is where it begins!
Next, Tony Harris took back the mic and got the packed ballroom audience involved. In a survey, ala game show, American Idol style, Tony asked questions, and we weighed in with our votes using an electronic gadget that tallied immediate results. Here’s what the audience demographic looked like:
76% percent said race was the focus of diversity initiatives at their companies; 16% said gender.
51% of the audience defined themselves as Black; 24% Caucasian; 13% Hispanic; 5% Asian; and 7% Other.
The audience was 67% female; 95% hetro-sexual; 5% disabled.
And, the panelists had plenty to say about initiatives at their own companies. Special thanks to all panelists for their participation this morning: David Cohen, Debra Lee, John Lansing, Robert Marcus, Kyle McSlarrow, Abbe Raven, Johnathan Rodgers; and David Zaslav.
A CONVERSATION WITH SOLEDAD!
The luncheon was overflow to hear the one and only Miss CNN, who recently won awards and posted highest prime-time ratings for her series “Black in America”. Set in living-room style, Ms. O’Brien was accompanied by her colleague Lola Ogunnaike, Pop Culture correspondent for CNN’s American Morning. Punchy, funny, direct and in-your-face, like the personality we know and love on-air, Soledad expressed pride in the series, an 18-month project she described as “a labor of love.”
Soledad waxed philosophical. She talked about how this project reflects a lot of hard work on a lot of people’s part. It was her primary focus for this series to be right, and accurate. And, according to Soledad, the feedback was tremendous – positive and not so positive. Soledad said, “I mean… my Mom called me after watching and said…’Oh, you can’t do a show about Afro-Cubans?’ But the important thing is that we made it – and people are dialoging, and good stories were told.”
Soledad went on to say they wanted to present the facts that captured a range of nuances in the Black experience, and that she feels good about the series in that they accomplished that. “We shared our stories with the rest of the world, from our lens.” You go Soledad!
TAKE A BOW!
NAMIC’s Excellence in Multi-Cultural Marketing Awards (EMMAs) was last, but not least for the day. And guess who came to dinner? Remember American Idol heart-throb Jared Cotter, who wowed the crowd, and the girls, but was cut by Simon, Paula and Randy? Well, he bounced back quick, as the host of “You Rock, Let’s Roll” and “#1 Countdown” for Fuse television. Jared was on hand for this session to pass out the awards. Ok, ok, he looks even better in person. And yes, he has a great personality. And yes, he rocked a great designer vest I wanted to grab. The right choice for the right occasion where NAMIC’s Multi-cultural Marketing Committee honored the cable industry’s top performers for their creative brilliance.
“The EMMA Awards is always a special moment at the conference – it’s our Emmy’s, and we are excited about this year’s winners, and having Fuse television host Jared Cotter to help make the afternoon fun. We congratulate you all,” said Daphne Leroy, VP of Marketing Communications. Awards were followed by a panel of industry experts who discussed challenges and successes with reaching multi-ethnic audiences in the digital world. Thanks to EMMA sponsors ESPN Deportes and CableFAX.
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