My POV of the JAG 2024 Conference

by Bob Nicholson, Station Manager, West Milford WM77 Television

I attended the JAG 2024 Conference with anticipations of acquiring information particularly about new products from suppliers and of course the workshops. Checking in was smooth and efficient unlike some previous years. My complaint was the printing on back of the badges for the workshops. It was difficult for this old guy to read. I understand the cost of printing can be prohibitive. Since COVID the conference has gone from 3 days to 1 full day. Costs have escalated and vendors are doing less events and thus there are fewer exhibits. Only the major JAG sponsors seem to be exhibiting and many are looking for buyers rather than browsers.

For the most part the conference was “mission accomplished” however, I was disappointed in the lack of vendors. The ones that were there were excellent and relevant to what I was seeking. My prime objective was to visit TelVue and DeSisti Lighting and they both offered deals galore. My station was also interested in another camera however there was no representation from Panasonic, Canon or Sony which was disappointing. On a positive note, the info I received from Varto Technologies and LiveU was very helpful for future reference. Although their products are among the best among the competitors, WM77 is a small volunteer station and our budget doesn’t allow us to spend much money at this time.

The workshops were the jewel of the conference. There was plenty to choose from. As a matter of fact they were all excellent choices. I wish there were notepads provided at the tables so I could of have taken notes. There were two of us that attended from West Milford so we split up the workshops among us. The information will help us make decisions going forward. Actually, there were so many good workshops, we could have had another person attend with us. That brings me to the pricing of the conference. We had the Township pay for our attendance. We could have had one more but the funds came directly from our operating budget and we would have to choose between adding equipment or having another attendee. The full conference costs $225 per person and $675 for three and because we are a small station, it would have seriously impacted the amount of equipment we could purchase. I won’t justify or criticize the price, that’s not the purpose of my review nor do I know all the facts involved. However, for some our independent members and I’m sure even for other JAG municipal members, the registration fee is just too steep, which presents a dilemma for JAG.

The dinner and awards were well managed—although I was a little confused about the difference between first, second and third place and the silver and gold excellence awards. I did realize first place was a statue that we received for single camera meetings category. There was no entertainment this year, I guess due to budget considerations, which I thought was fine. After a long busy day, it was good not to lengthen the show. This allowed for wonderful testimonials and the multiple category awards presentations and to move the evening forward quickly and efficiently. Not wanting to leave early and miss anything, we were able to hit the road for the long ride home at a decent hour. Summing it up, all in all I enjoyed JAG’s Conference despite some of the inadequacies I mentioned. The positives far outweighed the negatives. Nothing is perfect. It’s an ongoing work in progress. That said, I look forward to the 2025 JAG Conference being bigger and better