The Society of Broadcast Engineers announced October 8 it will work to attract and serve those who work in technical broadcast and media related positions, in addition to its traditional broadcast engineering membership base. SBE president, Joe Snelson, CPBE, 8-VSB, made the announcement in his address during the Society’s 50th anniversary Annual Membership Meeting held at the Turning Stone Resort, in Central New York State.
Snelson said that the national SBE Board of Directors made the decision to expand the reach of its membership following recommendations from a task group that was put in place to study the society’s membership. He remarked, “The field of broadcast engineering has changed dramatically over the past 20 years. There is hardly anything our members do today that isn’t dependent on computers and computer networks. SBE members have had to add to their skills and knowledge base to handle these demands. At the same time, broadcast stations have brought on IT and other specialists and we will now seek to encourage them to take part in activities and programs of the SBE.”
Snelson went on to say, “We feel that the addition of these technical professionals can be a win – win for them and the Society, providing them with educational and certification and other career development opportunities while providing the SBE with a broader membership base.”
To help communicate the wider scope of responsibilities and membership within its ranks, the SBE unveiled a new tag line it will use in conjunction with its name. “The Association for Broadcast and Multimedia Technology Professionals,” according to Snelson, will help to better describe who and what the Society of Broadcast Engineers is.
In his remarks to the membership, which in addition to the live audience attending the meeting, included those watching via the Internet, Snelson said that the SBE will be producing information on technical careers in broadcasting for use in high schools and colleges and seek to attract young people to the field. The SBE will also be providing mentoring support for members and more support for its chapters, including chapter programming support and administrative help for local chapter leadership. The archived video of the full membership meeting is available on-line.