Friday, August 31, 2007 | 8:30 AM
After a whirlwind of activity last night, I woke up late and went to the gym. Will, my trainer back home, is going to love me! Not as many people were there this morning. I was surprised I was there myself.
Friday, August 31, 2007 | 10:15 AM
After making myself look pretty, I finally make it downstairs. The hotel staff are beginning to clear up the food but I have enough time to grab a quick bowl of Wheaties and an orange juice. As I am eating, I am approached by a young man named Casey who tells me that he is writing for Insight, the NLGJA conference's daily newspaper, and asks if I mind being interviewed. Seeing as I am already late for yet another session, I agree.
Casey asks me all these questions about whether I plan to come to the 2008 conference and what motivates me to do so. I explain to him that I come out of sense of community and how the NLGJA helps me to grow as a gay professional. I continue to explain that I believe that all business is built on relationships and that this conference helps to nurture those relationships.
Since I didn't eat breakfast yet, I was also in a bit of a snarky mood. Hopefully that is not reflected in whatever Casey writes about though.
I also told Casey that I am amazed at the job that the students are doing putting together the daily newspaper and also at the job the NLGJA staff are doing to make this conference such a success for us. They are putting in countless hours for us and I want to go on record so that they know that we all appreciate it!
Friday, August 31, 2007 | 11:00 AM
By this time, I realize that I am waaaay too late to attend the sessions, so I mosey on up to the exhibit hall. I'm once again taken in by the charming guys at GM who convince me to go on a test ride of one of their cars. Although I should be in session, I agree. About five us head to the parking lot and while the car is really nice, I change my mind last minute because I want to hold out for a ride in the sports car instead of the sedan. (Clearly, I've been in Hollywood too long!)
On my way out of the parking lot, I run into my friend from Fox News and we start talking about Larry Craig once again and other news stories of the day. A few moments later, we run into my friend Malcolm from Equality Forum who talks about their new project LGBT History Month, which celebrates the achievements of one LGBT leader for every day during the month of October. To me, this is fascinating and relevant because it is similar to the work we are doing here – building community and working toward finding relevancy in the mainstream.
While I may have missed some wonderful discussions that I would have liked to attended on the different generations in the workforce and other relevant topics, what makes this organization and the people who attend this event so freaking awesome is moments like this when one can stand in front of a hotel and create your own panel on the importance of recognizing the contributions made by other LGBT's.
Friday, August 31, 2007 | 12:20 PM
Before making my way to lunch, I swung by the Career & Community Expo to get some face time with the conference sponsors. The exhibit hall was very warm and even the glitter-clad Las Vegas boys were glistening from the heat.
After picking up my rainbow striped rubber duckie (quack! quack!) and strutting through the room, I had the opportunity to speak with Mary Czarnecki from Fleishman-Hillard about the benefits of working at a large communications firm. Given that most of my experience has been with small to medium non-profits or public relations firms, it was interesting to hear Mary's perspective on the layers of how big agencies and how they operate.
Czarnecki recommended that public relations professionals focus their careers on becoming specialists instead of remaining generalists. Specialists are in higher demand and get paid more money than generalists and tend to advance more quickly. Her booth in the Career & Community Expo is located in the back row for anyone interested in discussing their communications careers with her.
Friday, August 31, 2007 | 1:35 PM
After slowly meandering through the Career & Community Expo, I eventually made my way to lunch. The lunch panel discussed how to get your start as a gossip columnist – a topic that has little to no interest to me. That's why when I ran into NLGJA Board Member Javier Morgado, I asked him if he would mind being interviewed after I finished eating. He agreed.
Friday, August 31, 2007 | 1:50 PM
I must admit that I was excited to sit down with Morgado because in addition to being a phenomenal newsperson, he is also one of the nicest, most charismatic people that I have ever met. When Javier told me that he discussed dirty words in a panel earlier today, I was a little worried and excited at the same time. Little did I know that this was newspeak for words that cannot be said in print or on air (like Voldemort for all you Harry Potter fans out there).
For the next twenty minutes or so, Morgado and I were engaged in a discussion about how some publications have lists of “dirty” words that are not to be published but said publications might not update the lists often enough to keep them current. We discussed the differences of in-groups and out-groups and the appropriateness of language use within each.
Javier repeatedly emphasized the importance of taking responsibility for our work and what we put out. He encouraged people to question our word choices and to be sensitive about what we say and how we say it. He also believes that a proactive dialogue between NLGJA and the diversity groups in the various news organizations is important.
Friday, August 31, 2007 | 2:10 PM
After wrapping up with Javi, I was able to sit in on a session about how to negotiate your broadcast personal services contract. Not being in the broadcast industry, I realized fast that this session was not really relevant to me. However, I stayed for the sake of enlightenment.
What I learned was this:
- Make sure your contracts are spelled out as much as possible.
- Non-competes are difficult to avoid in the broadcast world but you are able to negotiate the terms of them. For example, if you are terminated, the term could be smaller than if you leave of your own will.
- The future of sportscasting is in cable television or in local markets where high school sports matter.
- If you have an agent, trust them.
Friday, August 31, 2007 | 3:45 PM
After the negotiation session, I went to the bank because I needed some air and made my way back to my chair in the main lobby where I've been stationed for most of the day. I began to type furiously with the hope at getting this posted for you promptly. (The best laid plans, eh?) I felt like Schroeder from Peanuts using my laptop instead of a piano to compose a symphony of music for everyone to enjoy. While I was preparing my opus, award-winning author Bob Smith, sat down next to me for a chat.
Smith made me feel comfortable almost immediately. He told me about his first NLGJA conference experience in Las Vegas in 1998. His book, Openly Bob, just came out and he decided to come to promote it. He was also the first author to do this. He brought two boxes of books and gained a ton of press out of it from both the gay and mainstream media. He explained that one thing that separates NLGJA from other organizations is that we are one of the few organizations that has a unified board.
Smith said, “They deal with the workplace, they get young people involved and mentor them, people can network and apply for jobs here, et cetera. As a professional organization, it is great.”
This year, Smith was asked to moderate a panel on how to get published. This panel will take place tomorrow from 11:00 AM to 12:15 PM in Plaza Room B on the second floor of the hotel. He says about the panel, “What's great about it is everyone has a slightly different angle on how to get published so the audience will get to hear many different perspectives, not just my own.”
Smith also noted how important General Motors sponsorship was to him and how important it is for people to come out in the workplace. Coming out in the workplace is as important to Smith as coming out in your private life, and he feels that it has as a big of an impact on the people around you because it is hard to maintain stereotypes and homophobia if you like the guy/girl standing next to you.
According to Smith, “A lot of homophobia is based on people who claim that they know no gay folk around them. When you have face-to-face contact with LGBT people, it makes it harder to maintain a homophobic attitude.”
I found Smith very engaging and was glad that I had the opportunity to speak with him. Check out his panel tomorrow, should you get the chance.
Friday, August 31, 2007 | 4:30 PM
I spoke to nationally recognized media relations expert Cathy Renna about doing an interview with us. More to come on that.
Five minutes later, convention-goer Curtis Tate started snapping my photo with his camera telling me that he was taking my portrait for the class he was in. (By now, you know what I'm thinking, right?) His question makes me realize that I missed yet another session that I have been looking forward to for some time – the hands-on photography workshop by David Poller.
I have a moment where I realize that time does fly when you are having fun. As this thought goes through my head, I see Marilyn Pittman and Eric Jansen walk through the front door laughing as they always do. Pittman and Jansen are the hosts of “Out in the Bay,” a weekly half-hour radio show broadcast on NPR affiliate KALW, 91.7 FM and streamed live worldwide on KALW.org Thursdays at 7:30 PM and Sundays at 2:00 PM PST. On their show, they interview community leaders, newsmakers, authors, artists and interesting personalities.
After meeting them at one of the receptions last night and seeing them enjoy themselves so much, I thought nothing of asking them to sit down with me for a moment. It was difficult to stay on topic with such a jovial duo. After a lot of laughter and jokes, they shared with the following, “Gay themed radio interviews are appealing to the mainstream now that gay issues are part of the mainstream dialogue. People are more open and more curious about what we are like. We are here to show them that.”
Translation: “Honey, we know we're fab! We know you're fab. Why can't we be fab together?” Okay so that may not be exactly what they said but that's what I heard, because after spending ten minutes with these characters, you realize quickly why they make great radio personalities – they are unafraid to speak their minds and are able to those around them feel at ease quickly.
Friday, August 31, 2007 | 5:05 PM
After I had a few laughs with Marilyn and Eric, LGBT Media Summit Co-Chair Matthew Bajko joined me for a discussion about the conference.
Bajko has been an active part of NLGJA for a number of years and has been planning Thursday's LGBT Media Summit with Co-Chair Libby Post since last December. When asked how he thought things went, Bajko explained that overall he thinks it went well but that he would have liked to have seen more diversity.
While gender representation was pretty equal amongst the panelists, there was not very much diversity along racial lines. If you do not have people who represent every segment of the community, you are missing out on people who know every portion of the community. In order to get every segment of our community represented, we need to do a better job with diversity outreach. As such, Bajko stated that he is going to make diversity a priority for the 2008 Media Summit. He feels that building diversity is something that we need to get better at doing community-wide.
According to Bajko, “The beauty of the NLGJA Media Summit and Convention is when you get all of us in a room and an issue comes up, a week later, a month later, something happens outside of the convention that has impact in our jobs and you meet people who become sources down the road. The point of this convention is not about sitting about in a room listening to people talk about things. It is about coming and finding the things you need to solve issues you deal with in your newsroom.”
Bajko offers the following advice to conference newbies, “Build-in breaks for yourself. This is our one chance of the year to dish the dirt and really debate what is going on in the newsrooms around the country. However, given the nature of the conference, some sessions will not be relevant to you. Don't feel guilty taking a break when you need it.”
If you are interested in speaking at the 2008 LGBT Media Summit or would like to suggest a topic, stayed tuned to nlgja.org for the call for proposals announcement.
Friday, August 31, 2007 | 5:55 PM
Although I didn't go to many of the planned conference events, I seemed to have created my own agenda of topics to discuss. It is great being around so many wonderful, intelligible people and having the opportunity to discuss things that matter instead of debating the history of why Posh Spice doesn't smile for the camera. Oy!
As I packed up my laptop and headed up to the diversity reception, I ran into someone that I have been hearing quite a lot about throughout the day. She is a member of the right wing media whom I will not name since we engaged in a conversation as individuals, not as representatives of the press. She came to our conference to do some research. Being young and optimistic (and possibly a little naïve), I find this courageous and encouraging that someone whose socio-political ideologies differ so much from most of ours would come to engage in dialogue to understand how we think.
She and I stood in the lobby for a good thirty to forty-five minutes discussing everything from the impact that Pedro Zamora's death had on my generation to how I came out as a result of Matthew Shepard's death. We discussed creationism and emotional intelligence, and had a fascinating dialogue about the everyday battles that I face as a gay man.
While I admire her courage, I also worry since I am in an “official” role as the conference blogger and she knew it. I explained to her that I was offering my personal opinion and not the opinion of the organization, but I've also been burned in the past. We'll see how it turns out.
Friday, August 31, 2007 | 8:00 PM
I've been editing and rewriting for awhile when my colleague Calvin convinces me to go to dinner with him. He walks down the street to Horton Plaza to the food court because Calvin wants something “cheap and easy.” (No comment.) We pass one of those photography booths that you put money in and you get four photos back. Every time I see them, I think of Beaches. We go in and make funny faces. They are hysterical. Another cheap thrill courtesy of a work trip. Ha ha.
Friday, August 31, 2007 | 10:01 PM
I'm about to finish my blog for the night and head out to Hillcrest for the first time ever. I'm sure there'll be stories. Until tomorrow. Sweet dreams.
