2020 Diversity Week Events Go Virtual
The coronavirus pandemic has altered the makeup of the cable industry’s 2020 Diversity Week festivities as the annual Walter Kaitz Foundation fundraising dinner has been canceled and both the WICT Leadership Conference and the NAMIC Conference will be held online.
In a joint statement, the three organizations announced that they are “forging ahead with new plans for virtual initiatives” to supplant the Diversity Week festivities that were scheduled for the week of Oct. 4
“The coronavirus pandemic has affected nearly every event planned for the remainder of 2020, and large group gatherings in major American cities are tightly restricted,” according to the statement.
WICT (partial agenda) and NAMIC will proceed with virtual conferences during the week of Oct. 4, with each organization communicating directly with members and conference participants regarding their plans.
The Walter Kaitz Foundation has canceled its traditional dinner this year as a result of the pandemic, and will “pivot to a major fundraising campaign to support the deliberate work of its grants programs and bridge the fundraising gap caused by the cancellation,” according to the statement.
In March, the T Howard Foundation canceled its diversity fundraising dinner due to the coronavirus pandemic.
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R. Thomas Umstead serves as senior content producer, programming for Multichannel News, Broadcasting + Cable and Next TV. During his more than 30-year career as a print and online journalist, Umstead has written articles on a variety of subjects ranging from TV technology, marketing and sports production to content distribution and development. He has provided expert commentary on television issues and trends for such TV, print, radio and streaming outlets as Fox News, CNBC, the Today show, USA Today, The New York Times and National Public Radio. Umstead has also filmed, produced and edited more than 100 original video interviews, profiles and news reports featuring key cable television executives as well as entertainers and celebrity personalities.