Networking in Texas Media: 2007 Event Calendar

The following is a rough 2007 calendar of Media Industry Events in Texas.

Here are some websites to use in order to stay up to date on scheduled events around the state:

• American Women in Radio and Television (AWRT) - http://www.awrt-dfw.org/
• The Dream Fund - http://dreamfund.org/
• The Dallas Ad League - http://www.dallasadleague.org/
• Texas Association of Broadcasters – http://www.tab.org/
• Houston Ad Federation - http://www.haf.org/
• Austin AWRT - http://www.awrtaustin.org/index.html
• Austin Ad Federation - http://www.austinadfed.com/
• San Antonio Media Alliance - http://www.awrtsa.org/

Monthly events (DALLAS)

• Dallas Ad League monthly luncheon
• AWRT-DFW monthly luncheon
  

Texas Media Events:

February 8: DALLAS – Dallas Ad League 2007 Addy Awards

• This annual event presents awards to great creative produced in Dallas. I went to this event several years ago and it was primarily creative services people that attend. Some good work is show-cased, but it wasn't well-attended by media professionals on the buying or selling side of the business. None of my media clients were involved nor were clients.
• Recommendation: As a media networking opportunity, skip it.

February 17: HOUSTON – Houston Ad Federation 2007 Addy Awards

• This annual event presents awards to great creative produced in Houston. It is less exciting than the Dallas version and less attended.
• Recommendation: For media, definitely skip it.

February 23: AUSTIN – Austin Ad Federation 2007 Addy Awards

• Haven’t been to this one, but I have heard it is not well attended.
• Recommendation: Again, marginal media value - Skip It.

March 7: SAN ANTONIO – Ad League 2007 ILA Honors Luncheon

• Honoring AT&T for their innovation and leadership in advertising, this event sounds interesting. I haven't been to an ILA Luncheon before, but on the basis of who potentially might attend, it might be interesting as a networking opportunity and as a way to learn more about AT&T as a potential client.
• Recommendation: Deserves more investigation.

March 22: DALLAS - AWRT Awards Gala

• A well-attended, annual event, there are actually two simultaneous events. One is inside the ballroom during the long presentation of media-industry awards and the other is at the bar outside the ballroom.
• Recommendation: Should Attend (and work both parties).

March 29: DALLAS – Ad League All Fools Golf Tournament

• I have never participated. I am curious about other events surrounding the golf like awards ceremony, lunch, dinner, etc. There might be some good networking opportunities, but I am not familiar enough with the event to say.
• Recommendation: Deserves more investigation.

April 10: DALLAS – Ad League Ad Roast (2007 Roastees Barbara and Stan Levinson)

• A well-attended, annual event, but it is truly painful to endure it. Advertising and Media professionals attempt, usually badly, to roast like the Friar’s Club. It goes from extreme boredom to amazingly insulting. However, it is a big event and everybody goes.
• Recommendation: Should Attend (even though you probably won’t enjoy it)

April 19: AUSTIN – Austin AWRT Trailblazer Awards

• 2nd Annual and I have not been previously. The Trailblazer awards are where the media community honors people in the community who have been visionaries when it comes to media. The worth of the event as a networking opportunity depends a great deal on whom is being honored. A good honoree means A-list attendees on both the agency and client side of the business plus all the sellers.
• Recommendation: More Investigation Needed

April 26: DALLAS – Texas Showdown 2007

• A well-attended, annual event, which is attended by television stations, radio stations, media mavens, buyers, planners, and assistants. It is an experience. It starts at the hotel with a suite-crawl from one sponsor party to another. After jello shots and fourteen flavors of beer, you take the shuttle out to the ranch. Frozen margaritas and beer are the constant background to events like riding the mechanical bull, getting your butt sketched, line dancing, calf roping, and carnival games.
• Recommendation: Should Definitely Attend. This is a great networking event and a unique media experience in Texas.

April 27: DALLAS – AWRT Mournin’ After Golf Tournament (Showdown)

• I have worked this event as a sponsor for several years. You can sponsor a team or sponsor a hole. As a team sponsor, you play in the tournament. As a hole sponsor, you set up an table at the tee-box with Bloody Mary’s, Mimosas, snacks, cokes, freebies, etc. There is usually alcohol and free stuff on every other hole.
• Recommendation: Maybe Attend. (Please note that this is the morning AFTER Showdown. Pace yourself if you intend to tee off at 8am.)

August 9: AUSTIN – Texas Association of Broadcasters 2007 Annual Convention

• This is a great event with good sessions. It is mainly attended by Texas broadcast television stations and the numerous companies that call upon them. The sessions are great even though more of them focus on the technical side of broadcasting. The legislative affairs session is always good and the broadcaster panel discussions.
• Recommendation: Should attend if you are a Texas Broadcaster or sell to them.

October TBD: DALLAS – Dream Fund Night in Monte Carlo

• A well-attended, annual event with casino table games played for chips. This is a great networking event attended by media industry buyers and sellers. There is a silent auction and at the end of the night, there is a live auction where you use your poker winnings to bid on prizes. People cheat at the live auction so don’t get your hopes up, but it is a good event.
• Recommendation: Should Attend this great event for a great cause.

October TBD: HOUSTON – Houston Media Classic Golf Tournament

• A well-attended, annual golf tournament. I have never been, but I am told it is one of the better events in Houston. As with all golf events, I would like to know more about networking opportunities like lunch or awards presentations.
• Recommendation: Maybe Attend

October-November TBD: DALLAS – AWRT Battle of the Media Stars

• This is a strange event, but typically well-attended by the station and agency people in Dallas. The idea is that there are teams and they compete in odd events like Battle of the Network Stars. If you are interested in competing, then you have to go to the Battle Team Lottery Happy Hour to try and get on a team. More people watch than compete so it is worth attending either way. Over the last few years, I have started to feel that the attendees have become more and more junior people rather than senior people.
• Recommendation: Maybe Attend.

November TBD: Dallas – Dream Fund Chili Cook-off

• I have never been to this event, but everybody that goes says it is great. I don’t know how well-attended it is personally, but it sounds like a relatively large event and the nature of the event lends itself to easy networking.
• Recommendation: Should Attend

November TBD: HOUSTON – Trailblazer Gala

• This is the Houston Ad Federation’s annual gala where they recognize and award Trailblazer in Houston media. The quality of the event really depends on who the award recipient is scheduled to be. This is a well-attended event with relatively inexpensive sponsorship opportunities and it is attended by agencies and clients.
• Recommendation: Maybe Attend

December TBD: DALLAS – SBR / AWRT Christmas Party

• This is a well-attended event by all Dallas media. Party dresses and dancing, this event is every sales assistant's first opportunity to make bad professional decisions. This event brings out almost everybody and is an excellent networking opportunity.
• Recommendation: Should Attend
  
  

TBD Events:

• AUSTIN AWRT Battle of the Media Stars
• AUSTIN AWRT Bachelor Auction
• SAN ANTONIO AWRT (Media Alliance) SAMA Awards Gala

--Carter Cathey

(c) 2007

Reduction in Force

Ann S. Moore, Chairman and CEO of Time Inc., announced today that Time Inc. will be cutting more than the 250 expected jobs. The total was 289 mostly editorial jobs.

Why should those of us outside of print media care? I addressed this question in a related entries Decline of Print Media Sales and What Walks Out the Door (when great senior people are let go).

Time Inc. has 150 titles (as of September 2006) with a several up for sale at the moment. They are owned fully by Time Warner, Inc. Four of their magazines were on Adweek's "Hot List" in 2006: People (#1), Real Simple (#3), In Style (#7), and Cooking Light (#8).

Culled from the Time Warner website about Time Inc.:

• Time Inc. magazines are read 340 million times each month worldwide by 173 million adults over 18 years of age.
• Two out of every three U.S. adults read a Time Inc. publication every month.
• As of June 2006, Time Inc. earned 22.8% of all domestic magazine advertising spending.
• Time Inc. ended 2005 with three out of the top four magazines in both advertising revenues and pages.
• People remained the #1 magazine in advertising revenue for the 15th consecutive year.
• Seven of the top 25 magazines in advertising revenues in 2005 were Time Inc. titles.

The problems facing Time Inc. are the same problems facing the entire magazine industry and the broader media industry. All of these media outlets that were swallowed up by huge corporations are now expected to maintain a level of growth that is often beyond what is sustainable. Mere profitability is no longer enough. For a media conglomerate, a modest success is today's definition of failure.

So, here is how the lay offs broke down at Time Inc. today:

• 117 jobs from the business side
• 172 jobs from the editorial side (50% have been offered packages, 50% are just losing their jobs)

Other casualties:

• Time Magazine closing bureaus in Los Angeles, Atlanta, and Chicago
• People Magazine closing bureaus in Washington, Miami, Austin, and Chicago

Recent History:

• 105 people laid off in December 2005
• 100 people laid off in February 2006
• 250 more in April 2006
• Closing Teen People in July 2006
• Pending sale of Time4 Media and Parenting Group assets up for sale in September 2006 (560 jobs)
• 27 people laid off in December 2006
• Sale of Progressive Farmer Magazine

A large part of this reorganization was designed to curry favor with Wall Street. At the time I am writing this (3:16pm on 1/18/07), Time Warner's stock, (TWX), is trading at $22.98 which is:

• Today's Open: $22.89 -- up $0.09 (~0.4%)
• Seven Days Ago: $22.50 -- up $0.48 (~2.0%)
• One Month Ago: $21.50 -- up $1.48 (~6.4%)
• One Year Ago: $17.00 -- up $5.98 (~26%)
• Today's High: $23.03
• Highest Point in Four Years: Today $23.03

--Carter Cathey
© 2007

What Walks Out the Door (when great senior people are let go)

Is the gold watch for thirty years of service something that is gone now forever? Are jobs now like winter hats that you wear for a few years and then trade in on a new one? Is every employee an interchangeable cog to be pulled and replaced without consequence?

As discussed in Decline of Print Media Sales late last week, 250 time staffers continue to wait for the announcement of their layoff. It was announced today that five senior staffers are already gone through early retirement, layoff, or leaving to pursue other interests.

As, Lucia Moses reports in Mediaweek:

--Fred Nelson, VP of digital media for Entertainment Weekly, whose job was eliminated when EW adopted a new management structure. He had been at Time Inc. about 10 years in various positions. His last day was Jan. 8.

--Art Berke, in mid-February after 18-plus years as head of communications for Sports Illustrated. A search for a successor is underway.

--Time magazine's Michele Stephenson, who took early retirement Jan. 5 after 19 years as director of photography and before that, serving as deputy picture editor. Picture Editor MaryAnne Golon was named to succeed her.

--Carrie Welch, vp of communications for the Time Inc. Business and Finance Network, who is leaving Jan. 19 after 25 years at Time Inc. for Lowe Worldwide as executive vp in a communications role. No word yet on a successor.

--And Fortune's executive editor Bob Safian, who left for Mansueto Venture's Fast Company, where he'll be editor and managing director.

I am reminded of an old adage that an agency president once said, “100% of my inventory goes home at 5pm.” The people were his product. He had no widget to sell. The product of his agency was the quality and experience and ability of its people.

Time Inc. may well have been overstaffed and the trimming of these jobs and the hundreds more to follow may well be prudent. It might also have made excellent sense for the board in their duty to the stockholders to maximize profitability and curry wall-street favor. It might even eventually lead to better magazines.

But, I can’t help but wonder what walked out the door with Carrie Welch, VP Communications, after 25 years of service. What knowledge is she taking with her that they will not even miss until silence follows a question she would once have answered? What insights left the building with Michele Stephenson after 19 years as Director of Photography for Time Magazine? What did she know after two decades of selecting photographs for the pages of Time Magazine that wasn’t written in the Monster.com job description?

Perhaps the more profound question is whether or not anybody cares? Is a 25-year veteran easily and instantly replaceable by a 25-year-old college graduate? Can we just move everybody up a chair and a title without impact? And, with the revolving door of celebrity CEOs and the average tenure of a CMO at 22 months, is there anybody that really knows the impact to the magazines?

I am reminded of a story about a woman that was laid off by a Fortune 100 company after a decade of service. Her specialty was that she knew more about the physical configuration of their stores than anybody else. She knew the depth of the shelves, the height of the racks, the clearance of the ceilings, etc. And, since there were dozens of store designs, across dozens of states, this was quite a challenge.

She was well-compensated and managed the group that produced in-store signage and coordinated and negotiated with external print vendors. She was laid off along with dozens of other employees in a cost-reducing move. Some time later, there was a print job that was produced to incorrect specs. Nobody caught the fact that it wouldn’t fit inside the stores because everybody relied on her for such details and she was no longer there. That one mistake with reprinting, reshipping, reinstalling, etc. cost more than ten times her annual salary.

It would be an excellent moral of the story to say that the company discovered their mistake in letting this valuable resource go and hired her back. Perhaps even saying that they hired her back to HELP in their efforts to reduce costs. It would be nice to envision Richard Gere climbing her balcony, a la Pretty Woman, and begging her to return.

As you might have guessed, this was not the case. In fact, the company had already recognized the benefit on wall-street for the layoffs and they just couldn’t seem to find anyone to blame for the mistake. After all, it wasn’t anybody’s fault. Nobody could be expected to know the dimensions of all the different store designs, could they?

In this movie, the Pretty Woman took her severance package, spent some time emotionally recovering from getting canned in her forties for the first time, then got her next job making more money and moved on with her career.

As our peers at Time Inc. might tell us, perhaps in today’s corporate environment, if you want a gold watch, you should go ahead and buy it for yourself.

--Carter Cathey
© 2007