HRTS eNews - 06/17/2007 (Plain Text Version)
In this issue:
News & Announcements
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HRTS "State of the Industry" Luncheon Rescheduled to July 17th
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HRTS Kids Day set for August 15th!
Features
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From The Executive Director
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Member Profile: Dick Askin
Member News
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Corporate Member: Starz Media
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Jay Bernstein
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Corporate Member: Hallmark Channel
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Welcome new HRTS Members
JHRTS
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JHRTS News
About The HRTS
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Officers, Board of Directors, Staff
From The Executive Director
What? I'm supposed to actually think?
By Dave Ferrara
It's June. That month on the calendar when we in our industry try to steal a few hours, days, or weeks to relax and recharge the batteries before we dive back in to production for the new year. And I've been doing a lot of trying to relax lately. Doing some reading. Watching a little TV. Things I typically do to relax during these lazy days of June... I just finished the Al Gore book, The Assault on Reason and I have to say, I don't feel all that relaxed. Also caught the final episode of the Sopranos...After I stopped cursing at my plasma, Time Warner cable, and ultimately David Chase...once again... not so relaxed. As that revered late-night pundit Stephen Colbert might say..."a wag of the finger" to Mr. Gore and Mr. Chase for challenging my American right to not exercise my brain. What??? I'm supposed to actually think?
Okay...the above might be just a little tongue in cheek, but both examples got me...drum roll please...thinking about what we do here at the HRTS. Whatever your opinion on the Sopranos ending, or non-ending, David Chase succeeded in one major respect. It got us thinking. The next day, it was difficult to avoid debate about just what we had witnessed when the screen went black. Instead of being told what happened to our favorite wiseguy, we were challenged to fill in the blank ourselves. (I frankly fantasized about Tony ending up in witness relocation in Hollywood, running a major broadcast net, but I digress....)
Same goes for the former veep's book. No matter your politics, there did seem to be a basic truth emerging... A lot of times, we as a society have made choices not to think about issues, challenges, responsibilities... All those pesky things that get in the way of our latest Paris Hilton newsflash.... In fact, many of the systems and institutions designed to allow for reasoned debate and discussion have slowly slipped into disuse and many folks haven't even noticed! Which brings me back to my point about what the HRTS is and does.
Since 1947, we here at the HRTS have been priviledged to provide a venue that not only allows for discussion and debate, but actually provokes it as a needed and wanted part of the entertainment business landscape. Whether discussing the dizzying array of revenue models and distribution trends at our annual State of the Industry luncheon, breaking down broadcast net successes and failures at the Network Chiefs luncheon, or hearing the trials and tribulations of showrunners trying to get the next hit on the air at the Hitmaker's panel, an HRTS luncheon can be counted on to be a venue for informed, reasoned discussion about topics key to the ongoing success of our little business we have here in sunny southern California. Gathering the best and brightest of our industry under one roof multiple times a year to hash out the challenges ongoing as our industry evolves on a daily basis is what we do.
Additionally, we bring in top-level newsmakers like Al Gore, Hillary Clinton, Colin Powell, Ted Turner and others to share their viewpoints and insights on our business and the world in general, not only live at the luncheons, but also through the pages of this very publication and now online at our new broadband site, HRTS TV. Because of this, the HRTS has been a valuable industry resource since 1947 and it is our charter to keep this venue of reasoned debate and discussion alive and kicking for another 60+ years (and then some!)
So what will we be thinking about in the coming year at the HRTS? I'll answer it with another question. What do we need to think about? Have an idea for a luncheon topic? Let me know. We'll bring it to the board for consideration on future luncheon plans. Want to express an opinion on something that you feel has import to the broader HRTS membership? Submit an article for the monthly HRTS Society Views e-newsletter and let your voice be heard. The leadership and staff of your HRTS are committed to making this oganization the premiere information and networking forum in town, dedicated to that fading notion of reasoned debate and discussion of important topics. That's why the HRTS was founded and why it's stronger than ever sixty-one years later.
Now back to my version of Tony's ending. He's gone into hiding in California, but can't resist the challenge of taking over a network and bringing it back to life. (Humor me...he's Tony Soprano. If he wants to take over a network he will!) I can see it now... He leans in over his big desk in his office in Burbank...Gazing thoughtfully at the room full of young execs awaiting his New Jersey street wisdom. Tony's booming voice..." The boyz and I gotta show, wit da biggest star in the world... It's gonna turn this place around and all of youz are gonna make more money than you ever seen in your life...and all I want is my taste..." Tony smiles. "The show's called....." and then the screen goes black.
OK. Maybe Chase was on to something....
Respectfully,
Dave Ferrara, Executive Director