NATOA Conference Report

NATOA Conference Report

by Bob Duthaler, President, JAG



Recently I had the opportunity again to represent JAG at the National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors’ (NATOA) 2021 Annual Conference, albeit virtually, both as an attendee and as the NJ Chapter President of NATOA.  NATOA’s national conference offers a comprehensive professional development learning experience and an exclusive opportunity to interact with and learn from leaders in the field and colleagues across the country.

President’s Message – September 2021

by Bob Duthaler

Executive Board Retreat
Your Board … Working Hard For You!

There are two components that help to make a great organization, its members and its board. I am happy to report that JAG has both. This organization is made up of people who really care about our industry, its future, and its impact on our community. JAG members take an active role in participating in monthly meetings, engaging in our webinars, and attending our conference. Members understand the value of JAG. In turn, the JAG Board recognizes this, and is dedicated to give members the best value for their dues, and then some.

Vendor Presentation: Upgrade to a Modern Broadcast Facility:Simplifying Production with New Tools

By Yervant Keshishian, Sales Engineer & Technical Director, Varto Technologies


Modern broadcast facilities don’t quite look like they used to, and that’s okay! As we look to upgrade and future proof there are several innovative solutions and workflows available that can drastically improve productivity and give us new opportunities to create high quality content.
Today I will dive into a few of these solutions, but I look forward to our presentation on September 29th where we will virtually demonstrate these concepts and more in our new IP-based REMI control room & studio in East Rutherford!

Fair Lawn Spotlight: Transition from Analog to Digital

by Dimitry Mikhaylov, Vice President, Fair Lawn Television

We in Fair Lawn were just dreaming to switch our old analog plant to digital. In fact, the digital upgrade didn’t begin until 2019 when our old Leightronix server was suddenly dead, and we got a chance to replace all our outdated equipment at once. As late as 2019 seems, there are some surprising advantages to coming late to a new technology. Digital workflow was a mature, robust system that was adopted by broadcasters at every level, and we had the advantage of learning from all those who were on the bleeding edge of adoption.

Editing Techniques in Story Telling: A look into the presentation at the 2021 Eastern Video Expo

   by Joshua Vorensky, Associate Producer with ESPN

Editing to me brings any story to life; the music, the pacing, the selection of shots…everything helps the viewer connect to the subject on a visceral level.
When I was asked by Rich Desimone to present at the conference this year, I was both excited and honored. Since the last time I presented a few years ago, I had the opportunity to expand my knowledge of the craft in producing longer form features for ESPN (my employer) that truly challenged me. The topic I would be discussing in the panel would be ‘Editing Techniques in Story Telling’. I could not think of a more important and appropriate topic for the two main features included in the panel – El Paso Strong and 17 Hours: The Chris Nikic Story.

Conference Review: You Never Stop Learning in This Business The Eastern Video Expo: A Personal Reflection

by Geoffrey Bellefonte, Cable Committee, Summit TV

I hate to admit it, but I’ve been in this business for almost 50 years. During that time, I have attended numerous trade show and conferences as both a potential client and as an exhibitor. Because of my experience at trade shows, I was genuinely concerned when JAG decided to stage this year’s Eastern Video Expo virtually. Of course, during the pandemic, I attended other virtual trades shows and numerous workshops on a variety of topics, but, in the few years I have been associated with JAG, I have come to really look forward to meeting with all my colleagues at the show. That said, I must confess, I was pleasantly surprised at how informative, and in some cases entertaining this year’s virtual conference proved to be.

Social Media Stats: September 2021 Based on Last 30 Days

by Doug Seidel, Social Media Manager, External Relations Committee

3..2..1..Launch. The brand new JAGonline.org is live!  You should notice some changes right away when you visit the website.  If you were familiar with the site before you should have no trouble finding what you need, the main navigation has stayed the same.  A huge difference is that things are a bit more organized.  Since the site has been around for a while we had a good amount of information and now it is just archived so it looks cleaner.  We also were able to add some plug ins that make the site look more modern, notice the difference in the old and new directions pages.