New Media Expo Under New Management

NMX LogoNew Media Expo (NMX), the podcasting/blogging conference usually held annually in Las Vegas, has been a big draw for new media creators and industry players for years. But NMX has been conspicuously absent from the new-media landscape in 2016. Late last year, NMX founder Rick Calvert sent out a cryptic message to NMX attendees, explaining why they hadn’t yet received their promised virtual ticket content. Since then, there’d been little contact from anyone at NMX. That silence ended today with a message posted to the NMX website, announcing the conference is officially under new management:

Dear NMX Community,

I am deeply sorry.

Last year was a difficult year, both for the NMX event and for me personally. Our co-location with the NAB show simply did not work out the way I had hoped. After the event, NMX was left in dire financial condition.

At the same time, the people I love most in the world were requiring lots of my attention.

I was overwhelmed by it all and simply shut down communication completely. While the online world we all live in is very public, I am actually a very private person, and was (and still am) not comfortable sharing these challenges publicly.

However that is not an excuse for not letting you know what was going on with NMX. I hope you can accept my apology for not communicating, and making you feel (understandably) like I didn’t care, or worse, that I intentionally didn’t deliver what you’d paid for.

Words cannot express how sorry I am for the frustration I caused you. This is especially saddening because I started this company to help content creators learn, grow, and become successful. This past year, I failed you.

As of today, I am still not able to give NMX the time and attention it deserves. Effective immediately, I will be taking a leave of absence from my duties as CEO. Obviously hindsight is twenty-twenty, but I should have done this long ago.

Patti Hosking will assume management of NMX events. Patti is a thoughtful professional, with great integrity and strength. She has my full support in working to restore our relationships and service to you. I will continue my leave of absence from my duties as CEO until such time that my private matters are resolved and I can give the business my full attention.

We are committed to this community and are putting a plan in place to provide better communication with you, and to resolve any problems this lack of communication may have caused you. This will take time, but it is in motion now.

You deserved better from me last year. Nothing is more important than regaining your trust, and I hope you will give Patti and the entire NMX team the opportunity to start regaining your trust going forward. Please contact Patti by email with any further questions.

Sincerely,

Rick Calvert

Founder & CEO,

New Media Expo – NMX

No word yet on what this change will mean for the future of the conference. But it’s clear Rick Calvert needs to step away from his leadership role at NMX. Hopefully, this move will revitalize NMX and get it back on track.

NMX Virtual Ticket Holders receive Cryptic Message from Event Coordinator

New Media Expo logo Podcaster NewsFrom its humble beginnings as the Podcast Expo to its recent co-location with the National Association of Broadcasters convention in Las Vegas, the New Media Expo has been a cornerstone event for podcasters. NMX’s place as the premier podcast-centric event has been challenged in recent years by Podcast Movement and its offshoot regional conferences. New Media Expo 2015 took place in April and since the conference ended, there’s been very little noise coming from the NMX camp. Many in the podcasting community were beginning to wonder what was going on.

More questions than answers were created with an e-mail sent last week by New Media Expo coordinator Rick Calvert. The message was sent to those who are holders of the NMX virtual ticket:

As a VIP ticket holder you are entitled to a Virtual Ticket as part of your VIP package. Due to a series of unforeseen circumstances, the Virtual Ticket is very late this year and I feel terrible about it. I also feel awful about not effectively communicating why the Virtual Ticket is late and when it will be available for use. I’m very sorry for making you wait and not keeping you informed.

The delay in your Virtual Ticket took place for three reasons. The first reason is our website was hacked. The second is that we are short staffed. We are making changes within our team and it has left us short handed for a bit. Lastly and most importantly while all this was going on, I had several family emergencies come up in my personal life. I was overwhelmed and honestly just checked out. My staff will tell you they couldn’t reach me either. You may have noticed I have not been online in social channels or anywhere else.

It may sound strange coming from someone who has been hyper engaged online for a decade now but I am a very private person in my personal life. I didn’t want to discuss the nature of my family circumstances or cause unnecessary worry. I realize now, that I should have allowed my team to be more transparent.

I am not making excuses to hide anything or to gloss over the poor communication you experienced in asking about the virtual ticket. I am only letting you know the reasons why it has taken so long to fix this for you. As NMX and the NMX community has never experienced anything like this in the past, we hope you understand. I hope you can forgive me. I promise you that as of now I will be available to answer any and all of your questions going forward.

Again, I apologize for the delay and frustration you experienced in getting answers and I’m grateful for the opportunity to make it up to you.

No updates have been posted since this message was sent. Best wishes to Rick Calvert and his family. Hopefully, things will settle down soon and we’ll hear some good news from the New Media Expo team.

List of 2015 Podcast Awards Winners

Podcast Awards logoThis year the Podcast Awards celebrated its 10th anniversary. It looked to be a big year for the awards, presented during New Media Expo (NMX). First, NMX was co-located with the National Association of Broadcasters convention, providing an opportunity for the awards to get some exposure outside of the podcasting space. Second, the event was cohosted by Chris Jericho and Emily Morse, two people who have dedicated followings in and outside of podcasting.

Congratulations to all of the podcasters who took home a trophy at this year’s awards ceremony! Here’s the list:

Peoples Choice: Rob Has A Podcast

Best Produced: Radiolab

Best Video Podcast: Night Attack

Business: Freakonomics

Comedy: The Morning Stream

Cultural/Arts: This American Life

Education: Hard Core History

Entertainment: Rob Has A Podcast

Food and Drink: The Alton Browncast

Gaming: The Instance

General: Internet Box

GLBT: Psychobabble tied with Throwing Shade

Health/Fitness: The Dr. Drew Podcast

Mature: Night Attack

Movies/Films: Film Sack

PodSafe Music: Coverville

Politics/News: Majority Report

Religion Inspiration: The Scathing Atheist

Science: The Skeptics Guide to the Universe

Sports: ESPN Fantasy Focus Football

Technology: Daily Tech News Show

Travel: WDW Radio

Tip of the hat to Podcast Place for posting the full list of awards winners.

Dennis Miller out, Chris Jericho in as Cohost of Podcast Awards Ceremony at NMX

New Media Expo logo Podcaster NewsMuch fanfare was generated earlier this year when it was announced that former Saturday Night Live cast member and Weekend Update anchor Dennis Miller was slated to cohost the Podcast Awards ceremony at this month’s New Media Expo. But it was announced yesterday that Miller is out due to a “scheduling conflict” and he will be replaced by podcaster and professional wrestler Chris Jericho. From the NMX blog linked above:

Chris will replace Dennis Miller who had a scheduling conflict and had to bow out as co-host. However Chris Jericho is no condolence prize, and the NMX team couldn’t be more stoked to have him in participate in this year’s event.

Chris first made a name for himself in the wrestling ring, but has been a successful podcaster for several years now. His podcast is consistently ranked among the top podcasts in iTunes and on the PodcastOne network. He is also lead singer for the metal band Fozzy, and an actor who has appeared in both film and television.

Original awards ceremony cohost Emily Morse is still scheduled for the event, which will take place on Tuesday, April 14th, 6:30PM at the Westgate Hotel in Las Vegas. Attendees need to be registered with NMX at the “Content Creator Pass” level or higher in order to attend the awards ceremony.

This Week in Podcasting Awards News

Podcast Awards logoIt’s been a busy week for news relating to podcasting awards.

First, on Sunday, March 1st, the final slate was announced for the 10th Annual Podcast Awards. Votes now being accepted thru the Podcast Awards website will determine the winning shows in these categories: Peoples Choice, Best Produced, Best Video Podcast, Business, Comedy, Cultural/Arts, Education, Entertainment, Food and Drink, Gaming, General, GLBT, Health/Fitness, Mature, Movies/Films, PodSafe Music, Politics/News, Religion Inspiration, Science, Sports, Technology, and Travel.

Voting for the Podcast Awards will close on Tuesday, March 24th at 9PM Eastern Time. The awards ceremony will take place during this year’s New Media Expo on April 15th in Las Vegas. The ceremony will be hosted by Emily Morse and Dennis Miller. Morse may even take home an award, as her show Sex With Emily is nominated for an award in the Mature category.

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Upcoming Events Feature Women in Podcasting

New Media Expo logo Podcaster NewsYou may have heard about the upcoming podcasting events that will take place in 2015. I wanted to take a moment to highlight the women in podcasting who will be hosting or speaking at these events. It is nice to see women who podcast in prominent roles at events that are focused on podcasting.

The 10th Annual Podcast Awards event will take place on April 13 – 16 of 2015 at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, during the New Media Expo. Emily Morse, who started her Sex With Emily podcast in 2005, will be one of the hosts of the event. She is a sex and relationship expert who earned her Doctor of Human Sexuality from the Institute for the Advanced Study of Human Sexuality in San Francisco. She received her BA in Psychology from University of Michigan.

Podcast Movement will take place on July 31, August 1, and August 2 of 2015 at the Omni Hotel Fort Worth in Fort Worth, Texas. Podcast Movement held its first event in 2014.

Sarah Koenig will be the Closing Keynote Speaker at Podcast Movement 2015. Sarah Koenig is the host of the very popular Serial podcast which debuted in October of 2014. The second season of Serial will appear sometime in 2015 and will feature a different story. Previous to Serial, Sarah Koenig worked for more than ten years as a producer of This American Life.

Aisha Tyler will be a speaker at Podcast Movement 2015. She started her Girl on Guy podcast in 2011. Her podcast was selected as a best new comedy podcast on iTunes in 2011 and a 2012 Stitcher Award nominee. Girl on Guy has had over 6 million downloads. In addition to being a podcaster, Aisha Tyler is an actress, writer, and the voice of Lana on FX’s animated series Archer.

Podcast Awards Now Open For Nominations

Podcast Awards logoThe annual Podcast Awards returned this week with open voting for nominees. Nominations will close at the end of the day on February 2nd. Until then, listeners can nominate their favorite podcasts in the following categories:

  • Peoples Choice
  • Best Produced
  • Best Vido Podcast
  • Business
  • Comedy
  • Cultural/Arts
  • Education
  • Entertainment
  • Food and Drink
  • Gaming
  • General
  • GLBT
  • Health/Fitness
  • Mature
  • Movies/Films
  • Podsafe Music
  • Politics/News
  • Religion Inspiration
  • Science
  • Sports
  • Technology
  • Travel

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Speaker Requirements for NMX 2015 Announced

NMX LogoDave Jackson, head of the podcasting track for the 2015 New Media Expo, has released his requirements for those who are interested in making a podcasting-related presentation at the conference.

Dave has broken these requirements down into several different sections. His first requirement is to know your audience:

It always starts with your target audience. We have people who have never recorded a podcast, and we have those who are approaching 10 years of podcasting. Your presentation very rarely will appeal to both sides of that fence. I would prefer a deeper dive on few subjects (with plenty of take always) then to go shallow on a larger number of topics.

Dave then reinforces that the podcasting track is about podcasting, and not things like streaming radio stations. Next, he would like your presentation to be focused. He’s not a fan of, as he puts it, “winging it:”

I see a lot of “Winging it” (especially with panels). In the case of panels it is like those group project in schools where everyone assumes the other people are going to do the work (and then nobody does). When I was on a panel with Daniel J. Lewis and Ray Ortega we met a number of times to first organize our content, and then determine who would deliver what. We timed ourselves so we had an idea if we had enough (or too much) content.

He also states in this section that he will work closely with presenters to make sure their content stays focused and on track but that he’s not going to “tell you” what to present. Also, if you presented at the last NMX, don’t bring the same presentation this time. Dave would like to see new things instead of repeat performances.

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Issue 2 Of Podertainment Magazine Now Available

Podertainment LogoPodertainment Magazine, an e-periodical focused on podcasters and podcasting, has released its second issue. The magazine is now available for download thru the iTunes Store. Issues can be purchased individually or as part of a subscription.

The latest issue covers a wide range of topics:

  • * How to create a podcast recording studio with iOS.
  • * Patreon crowdrunding for podcasters.
  • * Improving your podcast’s episode tittles.
  • * How to use a Feedburner redirect without using the Feedburner website.
  • * Rethinking conventional wisdom about podcasting.
  • * The importance of “unique listeners.”
  • * Several articles about techniques to help monetize your podcast.

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