Plenty of RTDNA No-Shows At EIJ 2013

The third annual Excellence in Journalism 2013 conference drew 1,665 individuals Saturday through Monday (Aug. 24-26) in Anaheim, Calif. — nearly twice as many as last year — but only about 160, or 10%, of the attendees were members of the Radio Television Digital News Association, one of the three sponsoring journalism groups.

The two other sponsors, the Society of Professional Journalists and the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, each accounted for 30% of the attendance, according to Chris Vachon, associate executive director of SPJ and lead planner of the conference. The remaining 30% were exhibitors, speakers and others unaffiliated with any of the groups, he says.

This was the first year that NAHJ participated in the conference and its presence was chiefly responsible for the jump in attendance and in exhibitors and recruiters.

“We never had a lot of recruiters who wanted to buy booths,” says Vachon. In 2012, EIJ had around 30 exhibitors. This year, it had more than 50.

Outgoing RTDNA Chairman Vince Duffy said he was disappointed by his organization’s showing — RTDNA has about 1,000 members. “It’s a surprising number, but it is what it is,” he says. “The goal is to increase the numbers. I know that those members who came had a great time.”

On a positive note, Duffy reports that the organization is no longer in the red. “Mike Cavender [executive director] went through all our expenses and found ways to save money without hurting the quality of services to our members,” he says. “We have finished this year well into the black. The line of credit paid off was more than $200,000.”

Joining forces with the other organizations has “created a better value and venue for sponsors and exhibitors,” Duffy says. “The difference this time is that many of the exhibitors are actually recruiting and interviewing for open jobs. Neither RTDNA nor SPJ focused on job fairs, a steady staple at NAHJ. Before, it was more for exhibitors to use their services, become affiliates, not recruiting or looking at resumes.”

At the conference, Duffy turned the chairman’s gavel over to Chris Carl, director of news and programming for WDEL-AM Wilmington, Del. Duffy remains involved as chairman of the Radio Television Digital News Foundation.

RTDNA also announced the results of its board elections.

Amy Tardiff, station manager and news director of WGCU-FM Fort Meyers, Fla., was elected chair-elect for 2013-14. In that role, she will serve as the executive producer of Excellence in Journalism 2014 in Nashville, and succeed Carl as chair during that conference.

Two at-large directors were re-elected: Dan Shelley, SVP, Interactive Local One, Radio One, and Sean McGarvy, assignment manager, Fox News in Washington.

Four regional directors were re-elected: Brandon Mercer, consultant; Jam Sardar, news director, WLNS Lansing, Mich.; Bill Roswell, director of digital news and media, KYW-AM Philadelphia; and Mark Kraham, news director, WHAG-TV Hagerstown, Md.

Like Duffy, Carl says he understands that he has work to do. “I’m very aware that many news radio and television station news directors weren’t here at the convention. This coming year we’ll send a broad message to members about why they should come and continue to look for reasons to bring them back.”