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 By Dave Ferrara, HRTS Executive Director
Ahhh. Mid-summer. That quiet time when the sun is warm, traffic has lessened, and the TV and media business takes its annual summertime siesta. At least that’s the way I remember it! I typically take this “slow” time to sit back and take stock of the state of the HRTS. Our fiscal year ends on June 30th, and by mid-July I have wrapped up the books, and I report to the HRTS board just how well (hopefully!) we’ve done in the previous year. And normally, at this time of year my Society Views column focuses on these same issues. I would be informing the membership that, as an organization, the HRTS has never been in better health. We are growing steadily (almost 14% membership growth last year!) Corporate membership is now up to 38 (with 4 new corporate members coming aboard later this month!) Our reserves are growing, putting the organization on firm footing looking forward into the future. Our event attendance continues to climb. And the quality of our content is becoming more and more newsworthy and noteworthy with every luncheon. We’ve launched a broadband channel, a new electronic newsletter, and so much more…All in all its a very exciting time to be involved with HRTS and this is normally my time to crow about it...(okay, so I just crowed a little! J)
Of course, that’s what I normally do at this, the mid-summer siesta time. But as we all know, this summer seems to be just a bit busier than those in the past. We pushed our annual “State of the Industry panel to July this year and, if you were in attendance, you know moderator Dick Wolf pushed the panel to confront what’s coming up, not what we’ve been doing. Labor strife, the continued diversification of distribution channels for our valuable content, challenges to the status quo and traditional methodologies of measurement and compensation…all were on the table and if the varied responses from the esteemed group of industry leaders was any indication…it doesn’t look like it’s going to get any less busier any time soon! With so much change afoot in our industry, it’s becoming harder and harder to “slow down” during the summer, let alone anytime during the year. (Okay, we do still shut down over the December holiday break-but our families deserve at least that!) As we all are discovering, this business is truly year round because the challenges that we face don’t seem interested in waiting for us to catch up.
Within that context, I have to tell you our mid-summer HRTS Board meeting was truly exciting this year. Of course we went over the results from the previous fiscal year (see first paragraph above), but after that, the entire focus of the meeting shifted to the question of “How can HRTS help the industry address the challenges that confront us going forward?” HRTS events are still the only place in our industry where the entire business gathers under one roof multiple times a year to talk about “the business” and we recognize how important that simple fact is.
HRTS membership represents the top leaders in our business and right now, and in the weeks and months ahead we have the opportunity to make profound changes in the way we as an industry stride into the future. To re-write the playbook as it were and look at the industry and the way we do business in an entirely new light. Yes there are a lot of differing viewpoints on how to get there….but at least we all can agree that we HAVE to get there. All of us at HRTS, the board, staff, volunteers and corporate partners are committed to making sure that everything that we do going forward will be focused on facilitating the conversations necessary to make those changes come to fruition.
HRTS members can look forward to a slate of Newsmaker Luncheons that will be more provocative and stimulating. More in-depth information and analysis from industry experts in our monthly Society Views on-line publication as well as some new ways to view current and archived HRTS content on-line. We’ll also continue and expand the popular “Member Profiles” in our publications as we all realize that it’s the people of HRTS that will drive all of the changes forward and getting to know them and their viewpoints is key to understanding how all the parts will fit together in this brave new world! And of course we will continue our very successful efforts to grow the membership of the organization to reflect the changing face of our business, reaching out to the many companies and individuals that tread outside the traditional realm of television but will be key players in the future of entertainment creation, distribution and consumption.
For sixty-one years the HRTS has been “that place” where the future of the business is debated, either up on-stage or over a plate of rubber chicken, (although I’d like to think we’ve pretty much done away with the rubber chicken part!) This year, with all the challenges looming, that debate holds so much more importance. I, for one, feel extremely lucky to be part of an organization that will figure so prominently in the conversations that will shape our industry for years to come. As the debate rages on, rest assured that HRTS members will be right in the middle of it. And we’ll be here to provide a forum for the conversations.
Anyone who knows me will realize I can go on for days about this stuff, but you’re in luck…according to my Outlook calendar, I'm supposed to squeeze in my 15 minute mid-summer siesta right about now.
See you at the next luncheon!
Dave Ferrara
Respectfully,
Dave Ferrara, Executive Director
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