4 My 2¢ November 2026 One job will be needed for sure: that of independent journalists The views are contrasting. Some say that time solves everything, while others affirm that time brings hardship. In my case, time vindicated the role of journalists. In the early 2000s, at the peak of NATPE’s international revival, I asked Dick Lippin — then the communications strategist of the organization (which stood for the National Association of Television Program Executives) — if I could be considered for a board position. His answer was a clear-cut, “It’s never gonna happen.” I assumed it was because journalists were not allowed to serve on trade association boards. I had confronted the same situation in the early years of the International Council, the international arm of the Emmys’ associations (NATAS in New York City and ATAS in Los Angeles), which was later rebranded as the International Academy. At that time, running the Council was Viacom founder Ralph Baruch who did not change the Council’s statute excluding journalists, but somehow allowed me to join the board anyway (and, for years, VideoAge published the Council members’ directory). Fast-forward 10 years, and NATPE became part of Brunico, a Canadian publishing company, while its related trade show was run by... journalists. Then came Content Americas to compete with NATPE. Content Americas was — and still is — organized by C21, a British publishing company, and its TV trade event is run by... journalists. A new entrant in the TV trade business, Stream TV (which offers two events, one in Europe, the other in the U.S.) is run by Questex, a “publisher of brands,” in New York City. So, in this case, time proved me right, and the original NATPE’s refusal to allow a journalist onto its board proved disastrous. Somehow, the same fate awaited the International Academy. The organization — which during my time on the board staged the most sought-after international event in New York City — became a shadow of its former self. Naturally, journalists still run the Golden Globe Awards, which were organized for many years by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. The Globes are now under a complex structure run by the publishing companies of Jay Penske (Variety) and Todd Boehly (The Hollywood Reporter). Then, we can look at the Critics Choice Awards, run by the journalist-led American-Canadian Critics Choice Association, and the Television Critics Association’s TV event. Finally, regarding AI, Elon Musk — one of AI’s major proponents — stated, “There will come a point where no job is needed.” Well, one job will be needed for sure: that of independent journalists (not reporters who want to be influencers, meaning financed by sponsors) who can balance news stories with publishers’ commercial requirements. Otherwise, can anyone imagine another Trump-like U.S. president without checks and balances? Dom Serafini Journalists used to be discredited, discarded, and dismissed in the TV trade show business, but they ended up running major international TV fairs and awards shows (such as the Golden Globes). Who’d a thunk it?
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTI4OTA5