Media was the Message
Today, I was apart of a panel at the Canadian Media Directors' Council annual conference. George Stroumboulopoulos was moderating, and there were four of us on stage. It was fun: any time I get to speak to a room full of people and dispel the myth of convergence (for young people, media wasn't divergent in the first place) is going to be a good time.
What wasn't so great was the luncheon keynote. These people have a difficult time, putting on a conference: 800 or so media buyers and planners in the audience can be a difficult group to please. I was sitting at the head table (ooh, fancy) but it was a bit awkward: there were twenty of us stretched across the stage, which meant we were a big line of people on display. Would that I had a photo. Oh, and they served chicken. What will conference attendees eat when Avian Flu hits?
But the real kicker was the lunch keynote by Pierre-Karl Péladeau, C.E.O. of Quebecor. This guy is a legend, and his company owns half of everything: newspapers, televsion stations, printing presses, ISPs, whatever (they print the Spanish phone book, for God's sake, and invented American Idol/Survivor hybrid Star Académie, which was the most successful televion show in Québec in a decade). The thing is, I think most of us there were sort of...underwhelmed...by Mr. Péladeau's speech. It's not that he wrote it himself, or that there were any issues with his delivery, or his pedigree, or his brain, but I think his speechwriter missed the boat. There was nothing particularly forward-thinking or controversial; nothing that is going to change the way anyone in the room goes about their business. I wanted to hear about the future, about risks, and about something new. Instead, we got safe. Where's Hugo Powell screaming "fire all the handlers" when you need him?
What wasn't so great was the luncheon keynote. These people have a difficult time, putting on a conference: 800 or so media buyers and planners in the audience can be a difficult group to please. I was sitting at the head table (ooh, fancy) but it was a bit awkward: there were twenty of us stretched across the stage, which meant we were a big line of people on display. Would that I had a photo. Oh, and they served chicken. What will conference attendees eat when Avian Flu hits?
But the real kicker was the lunch keynote by Pierre-Karl Péladeau, C.E.O. of Quebecor. This guy is a legend, and his company owns half of everything: newspapers, televsion stations, printing presses, ISPs, whatever (they print the Spanish phone book, for God's sake, and invented American Idol/Survivor hybrid Star Académie, which was the most successful televion show in Québec in a decade). The thing is, I think most of us there were sort of...underwhelmed...by Mr. Péladeau's speech. It's not that he wrote it himself, or that there were any issues with his delivery, or his pedigree, or his brain, but I think his speechwriter missed the boat. There was nothing particularly forward-thinking or controversial; nothing that is going to change the way anyone in the room goes about their business. I wanted to hear about the future, about risks, and about something new. Instead, we got safe. Where's Hugo Powell screaming "fire all the handlers" when you need him?
3 Comments:
Now this is MUCH better. We've just got to find some way of getting people to actually read your posts now.
This is strange, despite having left you a comment, there are still no comments listed on the main page. Technical glitches confound me.
Oh no, Mike: I am reading. Reading and watching. Watching you ALL THE TIME.
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