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The Texas Association of Broadcasters Convention is This Week

Taking place Aug. 10-11, in Austin, Texas, it’s TAB’s 63rd annual trade and convention show

The Texas Association of Broadcasters is holding their annual conference this week. It starts Wednesday Aug. 10, with a golf tournament and ends the next day, Thursday, Aug. 11, with TAB�s awards gala. To help describe what will be going on between those two events, Radio magazine’s Cameron Vigliano got in touch with TAB President Oscar Rodriguez.

Radio magazine:The exhibitor show floor opens up on Thursday the 11th. What type of exhibitors can visitors expect to see?

Oscar Rodriguez:TAB Convention delegates will take in 124 exhibit booths in the full-day trade show on Aug. 11th.� Exhibitors come from all over the U.S., Canada and beyond.� They�re showcasing every kind of equipment a broadcaster might need, including a wide range of cameras; editing, production, networking and transmission gear; tower equipment and maintenance services, as well as traffic management and weather forecasting software and equipment.

Radio:What type of speaker seminars can visitors expect to attend? Is there a specific theme for this year?

Rodriguez:The aggressive, business-centric agenda dissects the evolving technology landscape for Radio and TV stations, trends shaping key advertisers� spending plans, regulatory concerns influencing broadcasters� operational blueprints, and marketing and management strategies to help sales teams grow revenue.

Experts on-hand represent a �Who�s Who� of industry leaders � GSD&M co-founder Roy Spence, media strategist Fred Jacobs, NextRadio visionary Paul Brenner, digital media guru Michael Pettiette, and sales and management specialists Kelly Wirges, Brandeis Hall, Paul Weyland and Brad Deutser.

The NAB�s Rick Kaplan and DC legal eagles Scott Flick, David Oxenford and Gregg Skall cover everything from major policy battles within the FCC to copyright law, music royalties, AM revitalization and regulatory compliance.

Technology leaders Kevin Gage, Jay Adrick and Wayne Pecena are joined by FCC, FEMA and PBS experts, as well as consultants and engineers from stations throughout the state. Together, they�ll take deep dives into IP standards and troubleshooting, the spectrum repack, ATSC 3.0, cybersecurity, emergency alerting and preparedness, tower safety and HDR technology.

ABC News� chief political analyst Matthew Dowd will share his insights into political journalism during this unprecedented Presidential election season, and CBS News� Lara Logan will keynote the Annual Awards Gala where five Texas broadcasters will be presented the industry�s top honors.

Radio:TAB�s annual business meeting is also held during the two-day convention, where the organization discusses general association business, Board election results and issues facing Texas broadcasters in Austin and Washington, DC. If you don�t mind, what are some issues currently facing Texas Broadcasters?

Rodriguez:At the state level, Texas broadcasters are extremely concerned about a number of state Supreme Court rulings that compromise the public�s access to information on how public officials are making decisions and spending tax dollars. Advancing legislation to overcome some of these rulings is on our agenda.�

Defending the Texas Public Information Act and Texas Open Meetings Act is routinely one of TAB�s primary legislative interests because of their importance to broadcast journalists� reporting and investigations.� We also will be prepared to defend, if necessary, the vast body of newsroom and journalist protections we�ve succeeded in passing over the past several sessions.

In addition, averting burdensome advertising disclosure rules and monitoring business tax legislation for unintended effects on provisions related to broadcasting is always on our agenda.

The TAB Convention takes place this week, Aug. 10-11. For more information, visit the Texas Association of Broadcaster�swebsite.�

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