NABA Director-General Michael McEwen had the pleasure of delivering the Keynote Speech at the Broadcast Engineering & IT Conference during the NAB Show on April 23, 2022.

Michael McEwen at NAB Show 2022
Credit – Sam Matheny

“Isn’t this grand. We are all together in Vegas for the first time since April of 2019. I want to thank and acknowledge the NAB’s hard work and tenacity in bringing us together, after many frustrating attempts, and also keeping us connected during a very long pandemic. You have done and continue to do terrific work in supporting our industry. On a personal note, one of the joys of my job is working with the wonderful professional staff of the NAB, they are true partners who have become friends over the years.

I was both surprised and delighted to be invited to address you today. Surprised because I am not an engineer nor a technologist. And delighted because I’m a content person who has always believed that technology allows us to provide better quality and more efficient collection, production, and distribution of our content.

I believe the choices we make about technology should be made with the understanding and in consultation with those in our industry who make our programs and distribute them. When technology decisions are made without truly understanding editorial requirements, the results often don’t support the goals.

This is an important consideration, along with the speed of technological change in our industry and the impact it has now and in the future. But first I’d like to walk you through a short tour of my world and what we do at NABA (the North American Broadcasters Association) to give you some context for my passion in finding common interests and identifying challenges for our industry. And how through examination, discussion, debate and on occasion good old-fashioned negotiation we often reach a consensus on contentious issues and find a way forward.”

Read the full speech here.

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