NATPE Alters Opening-Day Plans

Hello everyone! I am lead blogger this week & I found a pretty good article, NATPE Alters Opening-Day Plans. The were supposed to have a seminar on an executive management program entitled "Managing Change in a Turbulent Media Landscape" however, the cost of the program & budgetary pressure because of the weak economy led to the cancellation. I thought it was a good article because Dr. Pitts is pretty involved in NATPE & we have discussed it in class. I think it was a good management move for NATPE to not try & have the seminar anyway. Some companies don't care about the weak economy & are still spending like they did when the economy was booming.

NATPE Alters Opening-Day Plans
By Andrew Krukowski
Plans for the first day of the 2009 NATPE convention, which had been slated to feature a daylong training seminar, have been shelved, leaving NATPE officials searching for an alternative.
Originally announced in early October as an executive management program entitled “Managing Change in a Turbulent Media Landscape,” the event was to have been held in conjunction with the USC Marshall School of Business. The cost of the program and budgetary pressure due to the weak economy forced the cancellation, NATPE CEO Rick Feldman said.
A separate registration and fee would have been necessary for the daylong seminar and the financial burden was considered too great on attendees who already were concerned about costs, he said. A truncated, two-hour session is now being planned for Thursday of the conference at no additional cost to attendees. The show runs Jan. 26-29 at the Mandalay Bay Hotel in Las Vegas.
The cancellation leaves a void on Monday, Jan. 26, and Mr. Feldman said NATPE is currently reviewing its options. The group still plans to have something to replace the seminar, he said.
The daylong training seminar replaced last year’s first day, which focused on mobile content. (Editor: Baumann)