The Elephant in the Room

The Elephant in the Room

So far this year, the HRTS has presented luncheons featuring hitmaking producers, broadcast network presidents, reality producers and programmers, cable network chiefs, and the estimable NBC News anchor Brian Williams.   Conversation amongst these panels of industry leaders broached a vast array of topics of interest to the many members of the HRTS in attendance.  Throughout all these luncheons however, looming in the corner of the room, was an inescapable “elephant� that continuously touches us all.  That elephant is the spectre of increased regulation from the federal government in the area of indecency.   Throughout our Newsmaker season the topic came up whether the question was asked or not.  In the latest issue of Society Views, our quarterly newsletter you can see the theme recurring, both in the event recaps as well as our POV letters.

In this issue of Views, Granada America’s Stephen Davis eloquently puts the above topic on the table for discussion, and calls on the HRTS and its members to acknowledge the “elephant in the room� and to begin real, substantive conversations addressing this very important topic. I couldn’t agree more.  I consider this an opportunity for the HRTS to live up to its reputation as our industry’s premiere networking and information forum, and hope that Stephen’s call-to-arms strikes a chord with our readers. 

As the HRTS represents members from all facets of the television business, we are uniquely positioned to promote this discussion and encourage a frank and earnest discourse on this issue.  The Society has numerous forums available to members to address this, or other important issues.  There are discussion forums and individual blogs available on our website at www.hrts.org which can provide an effective, informal environment to promote ideas and pov’s and I encourage our members to take advantage of them.  Should you want some guidance on how to best utilize these venues, please feel free to contact me directly at dave@hrts.org and I’ll do my best to assist.

That said, I want to thank our ever-expanding membership for reminding us, as an organization and as an industry to not look past the elephant in the room, whatever the current elephant happens to be.  I look forward seeing what the next step will be and commit myself and the HRTS staff to doing our best to assist in the process.