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Radio's Citizen Journalists Recap The Conclave
July 24, 2012
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It's important for our industry to hold events that get us together and serve as a way to talk with each other -- to learn and grow as a group. No one person has the answers -- but together we can try and navigate around this complicated age of radio.
Last week was the 37th annual Conclave Learning Conference. The Conclave started with Jacobs Media's Summer School 3 – and for a recap of Summer School, Fred Jacobs captured the "citizen journalists" at Conclave in his blog.
As for the rest of the conference, this is for my colleagues who weren't able to make the trek to Minneapolis. Here are sound bites (in 140 characters or less) of #Conclave37.
Following the well-attended Summer School, All Access' Joel Denver moderated a panel that included WAPL PD Joe Calgaro called "Climbing The Ladder," – how to realize your radio career dreams:
Across the hall, Valerie Geller and panelists were talking about managing air talent to help them achieve the station's goals:
It's tricky to keep these shows/summits running on time – and isn't it ironic that the first session to run late was "Time Management for Dummies." Michael Brandvold was first to point it out via Twitter:
Across the hall, Arbitron's Jon Miller, Vallie Richards Donovan Consulting's Harv Blain and others touched on the "ins and outs" of how ratings surveys are conducted and how the data are generated and reported:
Other panels on Wednesday included career insights from top radio voice-over talents such as Pat Garrett, as well as Gregg Skall with Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice on "How To Scare The Daylights Out Of Your Lawyer":
In the middle of all of this learning – All Access' Perry Simon unwittingly became too familiar with the "Conclave Bouncers":
Thursday morning kicked off with former Arkansas governor, political commentator and radio and television host Mike Huckabee with a keynote interview:
Another well attended session featured radio stars like Todd Schnitt, Host of "The Schnitt Show" along with George Noory, host of "Coast To Coast AM,"offering insights into the path to success via syndication:
The panel got a little weird when Andy Dean lashed out at the panelists and radio in general and even looked like he would nod off when it wasn't his turn to talk:
Speaking of syndication platforms (and basic voice tracking,) the next session touched on the best ways to make voice tracking work for a local station:
Other sessions included "Applying PPM Knowledge To Diary Markets," with panelists that included Saga's Steve Goldstein, Coleman Insights' Chris Ackerman, along with a workshop that focused on advertising, "what works and what doesn't" - featuring Johnny Molson, Creative Director, Mid-West Family Broadcasting/Springfield, and Valerie Geller on talent – is it born or created?
There were other sessions featuring Doug Harris, Alan Burns' "Here She Comes" research webinar, and Cumulus' Mike McVay who was a hit on a panel talking about PPM success:
Jacobs Media's Paul Jacobs moderated a panel on how radio is generating revenue beyond the traditional model of selling spots. It featured Federated Media's James Derby, Hubbard's Rob McCracken, Northern Lights Broadcasting's Sam Elliot, and Good Scout's Maureen Carlson. It was a very different Conclave panel, and it worked:
Friday morning was a highly entertaining and informative interview with the head of the RAB, Erica Farber featuring Coleman Insights' President/COO Warren Kurtzman.
Farber talked about her views on radio's role in the changing media landscape and shared great stories about her career path:
Following Erica, RAIN's Kurt Hanson hosted a series of sessions and presentations that addressed many of the challenges and opportunities digital media presents to radio:
Kurt interviewed legendary air talent Steve Dahl on his experience as a self-employed podcaster and his efforts to move the "Steve Dahl Show" to the digital age:
The big Conclave 37 finale was set aside to honor the 2012 Rockwell Award recipients, Jacobs Media's Fred Jacobs and Intel Airplay's Rich Meyer:
As Fred Jacobs has said, "The Conclave is the most unique of radio get-togethers, serving a very important need – the education and nurturing of talent. While 93% of Americans may listen to the radio every week, a shrinking number of young people want to make it their career. The industry should do everything it can to encourage kids to pursue radio, and in the process, help us grow the business."
So, because The Conclave is about educating and nurturing talent, it was ironic to me that as we were celebrating these young folks one of radio's potential stars was actually a victim in the Aurora, Colorado shootings on Friday.
You may have heard about Jessica Redfield.
Jessica once interned at Sports KTKR (760 The Ticket)/San Antonio before moving to Colorado to pursue her sportscaster career.
Jesse Spector of The Sporting News described this aspiring broadcaster.
"Jessica Redfield was going to be a sportscaster, and she was going to be a good one. She was sharp, funny, enthusiastic, and had the kind of passion for sports and journalism that makes people succeed."
This look back at Conclave 37 is dedicated to Jessica Redfield.
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