Broadcasting is hard. And yes…it’s always been hard.
You don’t do it because it’s easy. You do it because you truly believe in the public service you provide to your local communities and your fellow Wisconsinites.
But right now, it’s especially hard. We know that the pandemic and the recent protests have placed an incalculable toll on your ability to do your jobs and stay on the air. Many of you are taking tremendous risks to perform your jobs that you probably never anticipated when you joined this field…broadcasting.
That said, you’re still here and you’re still broadcasting.
In my 25 years with the WBA, I have never (ever) been prouder of our industry. We’re fortunate each day to see the positive energy you bring to your communities and we do our best to shine a spotlight on those amazing examples.
Your WBA is here for all our broadcasters. We are your go-to resource. If you visit the WBA website you’ll find a compilation of resources to help with the pandemic and responding to civil unrest along with all the resources you already rely on, like our legal hotlines, and modified resources, like our virtual Summer Conference (keep reading for more on that).
If all you need is for someone to listen, we’re here for that too.
Now, a few more items of note for you:
Summer Conference goes virtual
As you know, your WBA called off its in-person Summer Conference which would have been held a few weeks ago in La Crosse, but we know your need for professional development has likely grown during this challenging time, so we’ve compiled a series of exciting events in July to help you. We have a two-day virtual sales and management media summit called “Rising Above” on July 22-23, two separate two-day journalism workshops with Al Tompkins from Poynter on July 20-21 and July 27-28, and a Virtual Job Fair that will run the week of July 20-24. You can learn about all of these events on your WBA website.
In June, as part of our WBA Assistance Action for EEO Compliance, we held an EEO session with David Oxenford. We hope those who attended found it enlightening.
Planning underway for Broadcasters Clinic
We are so very proud of our Broadcasters Clinic that draws broadcast engineers from throughout the country. This year’s Clinic is scheduled for Oct. 13-15 at the Madison Marriott West. An agenda will come soon but early bird registration is open now! Learn more here.
Congratulations to WBA Award winners
It was a competitive year for the WBA Awards and while we couldn’t celebrate your amazing work in person, we hope you all got a chance to participate in the online recognition. If you haven’t already, please send us photos with your awards so we can share with everyone else! Email contact@wi-broadcasters.org.
All the award winners are available here and here [PDF] and in the most recent print WBA newsletter. Your WBA Awards Committee is already working on plans for next year. A special thank you to American Awards and Promotions which shipped all the awards directly to the stations this year. It was a huge task.
And…congratulations again to all the winners!
WBA ships about 6,000 face masks to members
Your WBA recently got a shipment of face masks from Wisconsin Emergency Management and FEMA and shipped about 6,000 to station managers that requested them. We hope the masks are helpful in keeping everyone safer as they bravely serve their communities.
More responses needed for bylaws vote
Station managers should have received notice from your WBA of the need for your stations’ votes on changes to the WBA bylaws. To make a valid vote, we need to hear from at least 80 percent of member stations. If you haven’t responded, please do. If you have questions, please contact Kyle Geissler at kgeissler@wi-broadcasters.org.
Take pride in the role you serve!!
I would be remiss not to draw attention to the truly amazing efforts you continue to give to help your communities through this pandemic. We have some of the latest examples here, but these are just the stories that we’re aware of. We know there are many, many more.
It’s an extraordinarily busy time for all of us, but please take a moment this week to reflect on your role and take pride in it. It doesn’t matter what your job is. Everyone at your station is contributing and everyone should take the same measure of pride.
When we reflect on this time from sometime in the future, I’m confident we will see it as a moment that set a new standard for future broadcasters.
We need you. Your communities need you. Stay safe.
