2007 NAMME Annual Conference Highlights

Conference Content drives thought-provoking, career-inspiring sessions

Mix strategy with some how-to sessions, sprinkle in some fun and you have a content-rich, interactive and worthwhile conference. Here are some highlights:

Boston Globe Publisher Steven Ainsley endured an eight-hour flight to say that he wishes more guys who look like him 'got it'. That 'it' meaning embracing diversity.
DiversityInc's study of The Nation's Best Diverse Companies revealed that media companies are lagging many Fortune 100s in developing comprehensive and well-funded diversity programs. Tying compensation with diversity hiring and promotion was a common thread for our panelists from Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Deloitte and Touche and Sodexho. You can download a copy of the Diversity Inc. slide presentation here.
The report on affinity groups ("Divide - and Prosper? How Media Companies Can Use Affinity Groups to Promote Diversity") conducted by NAMME and Larry Olmstead's Leading Edge Associates, mirrored the DiversityInc's findings, showing that more media companies should consider creating affinity groups to promote better working relationships, generate new revenue ideas and improve community ties. NOTE: Stay tuned for an upcoming Webinar hosted by Larry to discuss this report and offer suggestions on how media companies make the most of these groups. You can download a copy of this report here.
This year's series of “Executive Toolkit" Sessions addressed several core needs: fine tuning your career building skills, becoming more organized and surviving during periods of great transformation. The "Speed Dating: Get the Career "Hook Up" session was a huge success. Participants rotated through a series of roundtables where you got help with your resume, cover letter, your 'elevator pitch', and how to leverage your diversity as an asset. Peggy Duncan helped you better organize your time, particularly in managing your email. Veteran newspaper executive Larry Olmstead outlined several of the key skills needed to become a more effective leader of change; and, Pamela Mitchell of The Reinvention Institute™ offered valuable advice on how to recombine your expertise, talents and accomplishments to advance your career in ever-changing work situations.
Dean Baquet, the New York Times' assistant managing editor, eloquently explained the crisis of budget cuts, their impact on daily journalism and the continued need for more public service journalism.
There wasn't a dry eye in the house after the viewing of Carolyn McDonald's "P.N.O.K." [Primary Next Of Kin], a 20-minute film that featured heart-tugging vignettes about two U.S. Army soldiers making their daily rounds to notify families of loved ones killed in the War on Iraq. That was followed by Fox Searchlight's "La Misma Luna", a poignant profile of an immigrant mother and son separated by the U.S./Mexico border and their quest to reunite. The Silent Auction, organized by the event's sponsors Fox and News Corporation, generated $7,900 for the NAMME Foundation.
At the first Capitol Hill Briefing Breakfast, sponsored by NAB and NABEF, Congresswoman Hilda Solis (D-CA) described how her mainly East Los Angeles district is a perfect example of how residents can't afford internet access - dial-up or broadband - and could be left out of the DTV transition. FCC Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein shared his concerns about the need for more minority employees in the broadcast industry and his on-going concern about media consolidation. Adelstein asked that groups like NAMME become more involved and vocal in calling for greater oversight, studies and action on this issue.
Rob Curley of Washingtonpost.Newsweek Interactive crammed three-hours of information in 80-minutes, including a sneak preview of the newspaper's new hyper-local portal for Loudoun County, a D.C. suburb - Loudoun Extra. Curley stressed the importance of using web content that caters to local interests.
The Digital Spin's Mario Armstrong dazzled as usual, displaying several gadgets to help business executives work more efficiently, including an online tool that allows callers to leave you a voicemail that becomes a text file that's emailed to you.
NAMME Board member Shabnum Norling moderated an extremely practical panel on the ins and outs of the mobile market in which all the presenters pointed to real-life examples of how they are using cell-phones to build audience and loyalty among younger listeners/viewers. Download Shabnum's primer on mobile lingo here.
Gov. Howard Dean, chair of the Democratic National Committee, closed out our conference with an inspiring - and fiery - speech about the need for the Dems to get younger voters more engaged in political process.

To view photos of the 2007 NAMME Annual Conference, go to http://harleelittle.com/NAMMEconf07/.