One-On-One With Sinclair Broadcast Group CEO David Smith To Launch NewsTechForum
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Sinclair Broadcast Group CEO David Smith will kick off the second annual NewsTECHForum with a one-on-one interview with TVNewsCheck Editor Harry A. Jessell. Set for Dec. 15-16 at the New York Hilton in midtown Manhattan, NewsTECHForum will gather news, technology and news operations managers to talk about the challenges they face at the intersection of technology and news storytelling.
Sinclair Broadcast Group CEO David Smith.
The conference is co-presented by TVNewsCheck and the Sports Video Group.
The Smith interview is scheduled for Monday, Dec. 15, at 1 p.m. The conference runs through Monday afternoon and Tuesday morning.
“One of TV broadcasting’s great entrepreneurs, Smith always has something to say,” Jessell says. “He combines savvy business skills with a deep understanding of the technology that underlies the business.”
As CEO of Sinclair, Smith oversees the nation’s largest collection of news-producing TV stations. He also has announced plans to leverage the resources of those stations to create a 24/7 cable news network that would combine national and local news and compete with CNN and Fox News.
Through ONE Media, Smith is also advocating for a new, more flexible and robust broadcast TV standard that could deliver a greater array of services to all screens, including smartphones and tablets.
This year, Smith launched a sports syndication arm to distribute major college sports. So far, the American Sports Network has secured TV rights to six NCAA Division I conferences.
Smith has been president and CEO of Sinclair since 1988, adding chairman to his titles in 1990.
During his 26-year stewardship, Sinclair has grown through acquisitions and local station partnerships. It now operates more than 164 stations in 79 markets and claims the No. 3 spot on the BIA/Kelsey/TVNewsCheck Top 30. Its stations cover 39% of U.S. TV homes, the maximum allowed by the FCC.
NewsTECHForum sessions will address multiscreen news workflow, IT security for TV news, severe weather reporting, mobile newsgathering, next-gen ENG cameras, video-enabled drones and more.
