I have been increasingly impressed with the caliber of the participants at this conference. We are witnessing the giants of the communications industry.
The general session on the final day of the 23rd Annual NAMIC Conference really impressed me. I was moved by the dynamic energy generated from the talented panel, which featured top authorities in the digital arena representing an impressive roster of networks and corporations.
Until I attended this conference, I did not know the industry was so populated by people with such a focused dedication to their jobs and multi-ethnic inclusion. Seeing these great minds at work, makes me realize that the commitment to foster diversity in communications is resolute…this industry hums with it. The conference has for me, anyway, expanded my perspective of diversity, and what it means to the overall workforce.
Not only is there representation from many cultures, but also from the almost endless wealth of knowledge and varying opinions from these dedicated professionals and business leaders.
And amid the common goal of fostering diversity, there is a unity born of dedication to providing quality content in as many ways as possible in one of the fastest-moving industries imaginable. In addition to their collective goal of promoting greater inclusion, what this illustrious panel has in common is the desire to do their jobs well and to stay at the forefront of digital media and new technology.
Thomas Reed, a former attorney, currently serving as the Federal Communications Commission’s director of Communications Business Opportunities, reminded us that “people want to see themselves accurately depicted” in the media, and that the job of the communications industry “is to seek to give them themselves.” And to do that, we must understand what resonates with our audiences.
Moderator Brian Santo, editor of CED Magazine, said he felt he didn’t merit all the accolades from Mike Lee, vice president, Commercial Services, Time Warner Cable, who introduced him.
“I never feel like I deserve that because I never feel like I’m the smartest person in the room. That’s definitely the case here.”
Santo and the panel discussed the state and goals of the “TV Everywhere” concept. Panelists included Albert Cheng, executive vice president, Disney-ABC Television Group; Jamie Howard, president and CEO, Imagine Communications; Yvette Kanouff, chief strategy officer, Sea Change International, Inc.; Derrick Frost, founder and CEO, Invision.TV, and Mark Garner, senior vice president, Distribution, Marketing and Business Development for A&E Television Networks and chairman of the NAMIC Board of Directors.
Opinions varied widely, and were emphatic across the board. Kanouff repeatedly urged her colleagues to act as quickly as possible to deliver “TV Everywhere,” through one provider on multiple platforms, before someone else beats them to the punch.
She said the technology is there, but issues including content, legalities, business models, security, user regulation and how providers are paid for access, must also be dealt with.
I liked Kanouff’s focus-on-solutions attitude, versus the focus-on-problems stance. Still, the technology doesn’t exist in a vacuum and these issues are real.
“The nature of the content is changing,” Howard noted comparing the way broadband access affects the cable industry to the way color changed the nature of content in the movies in the 1940s and 1950s.
This session persuaded me that the industry is on the right track. Seeing such great communication between different sectors of the industry, despite their varying opinions and viewpoints, gave me confidence that consumers and companies alike will benefit from this conscientious approach to expanding the industry’s digital horizon.
Robyn Mayer - NAMIC Blogger
The general session on the final day of the 23rd Annual NAMIC Conference really impressed me. I was moved by the dynamic energy generated from the talented panel, which featured top authorities in the digital arena representing an impressive roster of networks and corporations.
Until I attended this conference, I did not know the industry was so populated by people with such a focused dedication to their jobs and multi-ethnic inclusion. Seeing these great minds at work, makes me realize that the commitment to foster diversity in communications is resolute…this industry hums with it. The conference has for me, anyway, expanded my perspective of diversity, and what it means to the overall workforce.
Not only is there representation from many cultures, but also from the almost endless wealth of knowledge and varying opinions from these dedicated professionals and business leaders.
And amid the common goal of fostering diversity, there is a unity born of dedication to providing quality content in as many ways as possible in one of the fastest-moving industries imaginable. In addition to their collective goal of promoting greater inclusion, what this illustrious panel has in common is the desire to do their jobs well and to stay at the forefront of digital media and new technology.
Thomas Reed, a former attorney, currently serving as the Federal Communications Commission’s director of Communications Business Opportunities, reminded us that “people want to see themselves accurately depicted” in the media, and that the job of the communications industry “is to seek to give them themselves.” And to do that, we must understand what resonates with our audiences.
Moderator Brian Santo, editor of CED Magazine, said he felt he didn’t merit all the accolades from Mike Lee, vice president, Commercial Services, Time Warner Cable, who introduced him.
“I never feel like I deserve that because I never feel like I’m the smartest person in the room. That’s definitely the case here.”
Santo and the panel discussed the state and goals of the “TV Everywhere” concept. Panelists included Albert Cheng, executive vice president, Disney-ABC Television Group; Jamie Howard, president and CEO, Imagine Communications; Yvette Kanouff, chief strategy officer, Sea Change International, Inc.; Derrick Frost, founder and CEO, Invision.TV, and Mark Garner, senior vice president, Distribution, Marketing and Business Development for A&E Television Networks and chairman of the NAMIC Board of Directors.Opinions varied widely, and were emphatic across the board. Kanouff repeatedly urged her colleagues to act as quickly as possible to deliver “TV Everywhere,” through one provider on multiple platforms, before someone else beats them to the punch.
She said the technology is there, but issues including content, legalities, business models, security, user regulation and how providers are paid for access, must also be dealt with.
I liked Kanouff’s focus-on-solutions attitude, versus the focus-on-problems stance. Still, the technology doesn’t exist in a vacuum and these issues are real.
“The nature of the content is changing,” Howard noted comparing the way broadband access affects the cable industry to the way color changed the nature of content in the movies in the 1940s and 1950s.
This session persuaded me that the industry is on the right track. Seeing such great communication between different sectors of the industry, despite their varying opinions and viewpoints, gave me confidence that consumers and companies alike will benefit from this conscientious approach to expanding the industry’s digital horizon.
Robyn Mayer - NAMIC Blogger
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