Summit 2006, Day 0 (updated)

The first event of the International Radio Creative and Production Summit for 2006 took place this afternoon, an event closed to everyone except those of us that Dan O’Day calls “Repeat Offenders.” (People who’ve been to at least one previous Summit.) There were about 40 of us in the room.

The guest of honor was Howard Hoffman, who works at Imaging Dirctor for ABC Radio in Los Angeles, and has also been doing more and more voiceover work in the last 10 years.

This first session every year is always an open-ended discussion with topic ranging from here to there and back again.

Here are some of the key things I thought worth writing down:

1. If you now or ever have worked at a radio station, you might imagine that working at a Los Angeles station would be much better. It’s not really. The same pressures, demands, difficult sales people, etc. are there. Most LA radio stations have copy written by the account executives, just like at most radio stations in smaller markets.

2. Because of the satirical use the “classic announcer voice”, there are at least some radio guys are doing well even in voiceover work in LA these days. Howard said his voiceover success, such as it is, is the result of dumb luck and good timing.

3. Don’t say “no” for someone else. Let them do it, and at least some of the time we can be pleasantly surprised when we’re not rejected. This comment was made in the context of someone’s comment along the lines of “Oh, they’d never want me anyway, so there’s no point in asking.”

4. On the other hand, we hold the power of “no” regarding our own work. Probably goes without saying, but we can always turn down an offer we don’t like. Never allow someone else to push you into doing something that you don’t want to do.

5. The greatest value of the Summit is often the stuff and conversation that happens in between the sessions. This was an obversation made by Dan O’Day, but really it could have been made by almost anyone who’s been here before. The opportunities to talk with other, like-minded, people is truly invigorating.

By the way, if you’ve every thought of attending this event, there are folks here from Europe, the Far East, and Australia, as well as North, Central and South America.

I first met Howard Hoffman briefly when he was part of a panel discussion on station imaging at the first Summit I attended in 1997. He struck me as a really decent guy with a load of talent back then and my impression of him today simply reinforced that impression. He is a really decent guy with a load of talent.

(Update: Here’s just one piece of the audio Howard that brought with him as example of his work. Enjoy!)