Lt. Gov. hopefuls slated for TAB Convention

 - Media competition, sales, technology, regulatory policy anchor program

The two leading candidates for Lt. Governor will address Texas broadcasters at TAB’s Annual Convention Aug. 6-7 in Austin.

State Sens. Leticia Van de Putte, D-San Antonio, and Dan Patrick, R-Houston, will appear separately during the Annual Business Meeting and lay out their vision for the State of Texas as they battle for what has long been the most influential elected office in the state.

As leader of the Texas Senate, the Lt. Governor controls the agenda of the upper chamber which next year will have more freshman members than in recent memory – certainly seven, potentially nine – and ideologically will be more conservative than the House, a rarity in Texas.

The race is garnering national attention as Patrick, a Tea Party-favored firebrand, stands in stark contrast to Van de Putte, a moderate Hispanic Democrat who speaks Spanish fluently.  Both are expected to raise and spend considerable sums in their campaigns generated from donors throughout the country.

Each candidate has a long history of working closely with Texas broadcasters on issues important to the industry ranging from newsroom concerns to tax policy, though TAB is nonpartisan and does not endorse candidates or make political contributions.

Gubernatorial candidates Wendy Davis and Greg Abbott declined invitations to address the TAB Convention citing scheduling conflicts.

Convention Highlights

With 40 sessions in a day and a half, the program features some of the top sales and newsroom trainers in the country along with sessions on DC regulatory policy, FCC compliance, generational media consumption, and a dozen-plus technical programs for engineers. 

Highlights include:

• Four “Gold in 60 Seconds” sales idea exchange sessions on Wednesday afternoon
• Extended program on “The Connected Car” and FM radio on smartphones with Paul Jacobs and Paul Brenner
• Sales and marketing sessions by Paul Weyland, ProMax’s Kelly Wirges, female consumer expert Bridget Brennan, direct sales specialist Pat Bryson
• TV Spectrum Auction & Repacking Update
• Newsroom branding program by Graeme Newell
• Separate sessions on AM Revitalization and the future of music royalties
• Separate sessions on ATSC 3.0 and 4K planning strategies
• Sports play-by-play techniques with guidance from Astros legend Milo Hamilton and others
• Media industry futurist Holland Cooke
• BIA/Kelsey’s take on digital innovations in Radio & TV

Special guests include Mike Huckabee at the Awards Gala, Pat Green at the Opening Reception and TSN’s Texas Red Dirt Roads After-Party.

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