WASHINGTON, D.C. – The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) and the Library of American Broadcasting Foundation (LABF) will host a webinar on the importance of documenting and preserving broadcast history for future generations. The webinar will air on August 23 at 2 p.m. from NAB’s state-of-the-art studio in Washington, D.C.
LABF Co-Chair Jack Goodman and NAB Executive Vice President of Industry Affairs April Carty-Sipp will encourage broadcasters to catalogue their stations’ history, from historic news events to groundbreaking programming to thought-provoking interviews with local leaders. The webinar will also provide guidance for stations regarding what they should save, best practices for creating an inventory and where to store this data and information.
Experts from the University of Maryland’s Special Collections and University Archives will share potential repositories for broadcast collections and items, as well as offer guidance related to the digitization of materials. Laura Schnitker, Ph.D., C.A., curator, Mass Media & Culture, will share her expertise on media preservation during the presentation, followed by a Q-and-A with Mike Henry, reference specialist at the Library of American Broadcasting.
In addition to the webinar, LABF and NAB will host a session during NAB Show New York on October 26 at 9 a.m. titled “Your Content is King: Preserve It!” Steven Portnoy, national correspondent with ABC Audio, will moderate the panel focused on the “why” and “how” of station content preservation. The inaugural LABF Excellence in Broadcast Preservation Award will also be presented to acclaimed broadcasting archivist David Gleason in recognition of his outstanding dedication and commitment to preserving broadcast history.
The webinar and conference session coincide with the year-long celebration of the centennial anniversary of NAB and NAB Show.
“As we celebrate broadcasting’s legacy of service to our nation and reflect on the incredible milestones from the past century, this is a timely reminder of the importance of documenting our history,” said Carty-Sipp. “We are excited to help local radio and television stations preserve and share touchstone moments, programs and reporting that have shaped our culture while we look ahead to the next century of broadcasting.”
“We are absolutely thrilled to partner with NAB to offer this important webinar highlighting the importance of preserving, protecting and repurposing our treasured broadcasting content for future generations,” said Library of American Broadcasting Foundation Co-Chair and Beasley Media Group Chief Communications Officer Heidi Raphael.
Registration for the webinar is available here.