A Modest Proposal for the NAB
Written Sep. 28, 2007 by Tom Webster in with 3 Comments
I am sitting right now in a meeting at the Podcast and New Media Expo in Ontario, California. When I got in last night near midnight, the lobby of the hotel was buzzing with activity--conversations were happening in hallways, at the bar, on the floor--everywhere. Though podcasting is still in its nascent phase as far as monetization, there was a palpable excitement and optimism in the air, and a true culture of ideas.
Now, I am not going to make a value judgement on this, but the atmosphere at the NAB was a bit different. On the one hand, I was very encouraged by the commitment many broadcasters were showing (and were enthused about) for expanding their digital platforms. But there weren't those late night crowds of people huddled around the conference floor gushing enthusiastically about the future of the platform. I think a big part of that has to do with the maturity of the platform, of course, but also the nature of the differences between the attendees for the two meetings. I went from being one of the youngest attendees at the NAB...to the 'old man' of the PME. But there are plenty of bright young people in radio, as we saw at this year's 30 Under 30.
Now, before I hear any cries of my being ageist, let me state loud and clear that this is simply not the case. The issue is not one of age, it is an issue of what one's 'investment horizon' is, and I hope my distinction is clear and not misinterpreted. While many of the folks at the PME are just starting their careers in podcasting, what I heard a lot of at the NAB was "just give me 5 good years." But there are a lot of people in radio who want more than five good years, they want great careers in audio entertainment. They just aren't at the NAB, mainly for budget reasons.
Let's get those folks to the NAB. My modest proposal--sell individual lunch tickets to cover and predict those costs, but let stations bring up to five staffers for the current price of a single ticket. Given that broadcasters just don't have the budget to get their music director, or promotions and marketing staff, to the NAB--let's put some skin in the game and broaden the attendance a bit. The attendees of this year's NAB represent only a small fraction of the total contributors to our industry--I'd love to see the NAB do more to broaden attendance and get a more representative attendance.
Reader Comments
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Tom is NOT over-selling the Podcast & New Media Expo. 2000+ attendees, all CHARACTERS. Real mojo. So I second his idea for NAB. The-more-the-merrier. PROGRAM DIRECTORS are conspicuously missing from NAB's Radio Show. Heck, from radio in general...
Many of the attendees of the PNME are just average folks with day jobs, doing podcasting as a hobby, or as a side business. They have a commitment to their medium that is as great as anyone working in radio. If these people can pay their own way to a convention, radio groups should be sending their young talent to NAB without a doubt. Those are the people who will shape the industry for many years to come.
--*Rob
The NAB Radio Show is a profit center. It is not designed to be accessable by everyone. I have often attended on my own dime. I don't go every year now because the main reason I like to go is to mix with people, get new ideas and get recharged. There usually just aren't many programming people there, other than vendors(no offense Holland). The NAB used to have student discounts, and groups of college students attended. Why not now? The high cost of the convention is not really in the fee to the NAB(although it is a big expense to most programming people who would like to attend), it is in hotel and transportation expenses. I've always been able to find much more reasonable hotel and flights than offered by the NAB, often at the same hotels and on the same airlines. If the meeting is truly designed to be a gathering of ideas, instead of a large profit center for the NAB, many things about the Radio Show would be different.