Soundbites from NAB 2022 | Magazine TALKERS
By Holland Cooke
Consultant
LAS VEGAS — No matter how good the agenda is, I’ve always found that the most valuable part of a convention is… getting together, reuniting with old friends and making new ones. And being the first NAB Show in three years, this year’s event was OH-so-quotable.
“I know what transformative moments look like, and now we’re at one…the dawn of the best time for radio and for the sound.
Ex-AOL, ex-MTV exec Bob Pittman, now iHeart CEO
“‘R&D’ stands for “Rip-Off and Duplicate…”
Jeff Schmidt, originator of an insightful session “Small and Medium Markets Engage”
“There’s nothing like the connection that’s formed when a single voice beams through a kitchen or a car or through a set of headphones. NPR has taught us that something very unique happens when a listener and a voice lock together.
Alisa Chang, co-host of “All Things Considered,” as her program was inducted into the NAB Radio Hall of Fame.
“I don’t want to hear anything from afar. I want to hear someone talking about what’s happening in my city, in my community where I live.
FCC President Jessica Rosenworcel: “Your power is that you’re not like everyone else. What makes you unique is that you are local. And what’s even more amazing is that you’re trusted because of it. And that’s a rare thing in today’s #media environment.
“Yes, the media landscape is changing rapidly but the programs broadcast remain important touchstones in our culture.”
NAB Hall of Fame inductee and NBC Nightly News anchor Lester Holt: “It’s important that none of us forget where we came from, or who was there to help us succeed. None of us walked through this door of opportunity alone, our footprints were on the shoulders of others.
“In a world increasingly beset by an attack on the truth, it is our responsibility to respond to this situation.”
Levar Burton, accepting the 2022 Insight Award from the Library of American Broadcasting. He calls broadcasting “the most powerful tool ever invented to achieve cultural societal change”; and insists that “representation matters, y’all”.
“There is nothing more threatening to our democracy than the failure to agree on fundamental truths.”
Audacy CEO David Field: “We need to stand up for the truth, and the facts are what they are, not twist them. It’s more difficult on our news/chat stations. We have to keep a close eye that the facts are not misused.
“Now that the pandemic is over…”
Heard in various conversations at the NAB Show, as another variation spreads.
“Definition of ‘Entrepreneur’: someone who jumps out of a window and on the way down finds a way to land.”
TV host, rapper, actor and comedian Nick Cannon: “Just looking at where the media has gone, even in the last five to ten years, is groundbreaking. I’m just trying to keep up. I love trying to figure out the sequel. I always have a lot of irons in the fire, but I never know which one will be the hottest.
” I do not deserve this. I don’t deserve arthritis either, but that’s better.
Former NAB President and CEO Gordon Smith in tears accepting Distinguished Service Award: “There’s still a lot to do.”
Holland Cooke is the author of the e-book “Multiply Your Podcast Subscribers, Without Buying Clicks”, available at Talkative books and “Spot-On: Commercial Copy Points That Earned The Benjamins,” a FREE download here. HC is a consultant working at the intersection of broadcasting and the Internet. Follow him on Twitter @HollandCooke
Category: Analysis