2017 CONFERENCE CALENDAR

Please let me know if you know of other conferences or gathering people should be aware of. Thank you, Ken.

APTS PUBLIC MEDIA SUMMIT

FEBRUARY 27 – MARCH 1

Fairmont Washington, DC

The APTS Public Media Summit claims to be the largest annual gathering of public broadcasting general managers and community leaders. Most of the attendees work in public television. This year’s Public Media Summit will celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the Public Broadcasting Act.

Who Will Be There: PBS TV station managers and programmers, various consultants, stakeholders from CPB and foundations who fund public TV programming. Big Bird might show up.

More information is here.

TRIPLE A NON-COMMvention 2017

MAY 17 - 19

WXPN World Café Live

Sheraton Philadelphia University City

Public media’s most enjoyable and affordable conference is turning 17 this year. Dan Reed and company will be serving music from breakfast until late night snacks. 

Conference speakers, panel sessions and live music showcases will be held at World Café Live, adjacent to the XPN studios.

Who Will Be There: Anybody and everybody from the noncom Triple A world: Station folks, music industry reps, musicians, a few WXPN listeners and, hopefully, me.

Early-bird registration will start soon. More information is here.

PUBLIC MEDIA BUSINESS ASSOCIATION (PMBA)

MAY 30 – JUNE 2

Hilton St. Louis at the Ball Park

PMBA describes itself as “an elite group of public media professionals.” Perhaps they consider themselves elite because they keep track of the money. This year’s conference willl focus on strategy, sustainability, compliance, accounting, finance, and human resources issues. 

Who Will Be There: Public radio and television general managers, CFOs, financial and business executives, HR professionals and folks from CPB and other organizations that fund public media.

Complete information can be found here.

 

PUBLC MEDIA DEVELOPMENT & MARKETING CONFERENCE (PMDMC)

JULY 6 - 7

Hilton San Francisco, Union Square

The PMDMC claims to be public media’s largest conference, the same claim is made by APTS Public Media Summit (see above). Apparently “big” is a sales point for both organizations.

PMDMC is focused on issues surrounding revenue generation, marketing, and management. There is something for development folks from all types of public media shops: Small stations, joint licensees, rural stations, border stations, news stations, music stations, etc. The emphasis is on networking and making connections.

Who Will Be There: Station managers, development directors, pledge drive directors, account executives, lots of consultants and vendors.

Check here for more information.

PUBLIC RADIO NEWS DIRECTORS (PRNDI)

ANNUAL CONFERENCE

JUNE 22 - 24

Newport Beachside Resort Miami

Andrea de Leon

The 2017 PRNDI Conference will feature panels and speeches about news industry issues. PRNDI is an important interface between station news folks and Bureau Chiefs and editors from NPR. Training sessions also will be held.

The conference culminates on Saturday 6/24 with the annual PRNDI Awards banquet and the presentation of the Leo C. Lee Award.   

This year’s recipient is NPR's Northeastern Bureau Chief and long-time PRNDI member Andrea de Leon. Congratulations to Andrea!

Who Will Be There: Public radio station News Directors, reporters, editors and newsroom folks from NPR.

For more information, click here.

COLLEGE BROADCASTERS, INC.

COLLEGE MEDIA MEGA WORKSHOP

JULY 13 -16

University of Minnesota, Minneapolis

CBI, in conjunction with the College Media Association, Associated Collegiate Press abd College Media Business & Advertising Managers, will be hosting the College Media Mega Workshop. The workshop is a four-day intensive training event, designed to improve the management skills of student media leaders, faculty, advisors and managers. CBI is presenting the Broadcast Management track.

Who Will Be There: College students, media advisors, faculty, college radio staff and management.

Lodging and parking will be available at University of Minnesota residence halls for a fee. See more information here. 

NFCB COMMUNITY MEDIA CONFERENCE

JULY 17 – 19

Embassy Suites by Hilton Denver Downtown Convention Center

This looks like a great conference.  I am very impressed by the work of NFCB CEO Sally Kane – she has the organization humming. At this year’s conference the focus is on sustainability and reinforcing core values. The crowd at the NFCB is the friendliest of any public media conference I’ve attended.

Who Will Be There: Managers, programmers, volunteers from community radio stations nationwide. The diverse attendees include Latino broadcasters and journalists, Native radio voices, inner city radio people, LGBTQ folks.

Learn more here.

PUBLIC RADIO PROGRAM DIRECTORS (PRPD)

PUBLIC MEDIA CONTENT CONFERENCE

AUGUST 14 - 17

Washington Marriott Marquis

The annual PRPD conference usually meets in September.  This year, for reasons I am not aware of, the conference will be in mid August. Perhaps hotel rooms are cheaper then in steamy DC. 

Pre-Conference Sessions begin August 13^th.

No conference information is available at this time. For updates, check here.

CHRISTIAN MUSIC BROADCASTERS (CMB)

MOMENTUM 2017

SEPTEMBER 6 – 9

Royal Pacific Resort at Universal Orlando™

Christian radio’s best and brightest programming and music folks host MOMENTUM, a very sophisticated gathering that is packed with takeaway ideas. In some ways MOMENTUM is the noncom cousin of the PRPD conference.

CMB claims MOMENTUM represents 700 radio and record industry professionals dedicated to the success of Christian music broadcasting.  

Who Will Be There: The Christian Contemporary Music radio and music community, including the power brokers who make CCM happen.

For more information click here.

AMERICANA FEST

SEPTEMBER 12 – 17

Nashville

“The coolest music scene today.” – The New York Times

For five nights, AmericanaFest will feature 215+ live performances at 14 of Nashville's most prominent venues. Americana and bluegrass radio folks, music industry pros will gather for seminars, panels and networking opportunities.

Who Will Be There: Kind-hearted people who love acoustic music, particularly when it is performed live. You’ll meet fans, execs, musicians and digital media folks late at night in some of Nashville’s hottest, sweatiest clubs.  There is a good chance you will get laid.

More information is here.  

ERPM SUPER REGIONAL MEETING

SEPTEMBER 26 -28

Intercontinental Hotel, St. Paul

Way back in the 1980s and 90s, the most important public radio conference was the Public Radio Conference (PRC).  Every other year, the PRC was held at Washington Hilton (the “Hinkley Hilton”).  The primary function of the PRC was to be an interface with public radio stations and NPR, CPB and other key organization.

Over time, the PRC lost focus.  The PRPD became the “conference of record” for public radio. PRPD was an independent organization and NPR ran the PRC.

Since the end of the PRC in the early 2000s, regional groups of stations have become the interface. Many of the regional groups merged.  So now we have the Eastern Regional Public Media (ERPM) conference in St. Paul, Minnesota.

EPM promises another content-rich, highly informative and lively gathering. Lively in downtown St. Paul?

Who Will Be There: Probably the manger of your local public radio station.

More information is here.

   

CBI National Student Electronic Media Convention

NOVEMBER 2-4

Hyatt Regency San Antonio

Watch for more information here.