WASHINGTON, DC - Rep. Allen Boyd, Jr. (D-Fla.) announced today that the National Association of Broadcasters Education Foundation (NABEF), the National Association of Black Owned Broadcasters (NABOB) and Personal Selling Principles (PSP) are partnering to launch a second Media Sales Institute at Florida A&M University in May. Funding for the initiative will be provided by NABEF.
The NABEF/NABOB Media Sales Institute at Florida A&M is modeled on the NABEF/Howard Media Sales Institute which was the joint vision of the late Professor Ernie Fears, Jr. at Howard University and Jeffery P. Myers, principal of Personal Selling Principles. The master lecture held at the Florida A&M Institute will be named after Ernie Fears, Sr.
The program was created in 2001 for the express purpose of increasing the number of women and people of color in media sales. The Howard University Media Sales Institute, which accepts roughly 30 top students from around the country, is held annually in June.
"NAB's Education Foundation provides a great resource for talented young people who want to get involved in the broadcast industry," Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) says. "The expansion will allow more students to benefit from the program."
"The NABEF/NABOB program at FAMU will help our college students meet the growing demands and challenges of careers in broadcasting and media sales," said Congressman Allen Boyd (D-FL). "Media plays an important role in educating our communities and shaping our culture, and I applaud the NABEF for encouraging more students to seek careers in broadcasting. I'm very pleased they chose FAMU as a beneficiary of this program."
"The NAB Media Sales Institute has a proven track record of preparing aspiring media sales professionals for jobs in broadcasting," said NAB President and CEO David K. Rehr. "Since its launch in 2001, close to 90 percent of its participants have been hired each year by media companies. We have every reason to expect the same success at Florida A&M."
NABOB Executive Director, James Winston commented, "We are very pleased to join with the NABEF to sponsor the Media Sales Institute. Training the next generation of media leaders is an important goal of the NABOB Foundation, and this is an important part of that training".
Personal Selling Principles developed the first Media Sales Institute at Howard University and has been retained to implement the program at Florida A&M. Jeffrey Myers, Principal of PSP said, "The Media Sales Institute is an intensive ten-day training program for graduating college seniors who are interested in pursuing a career in media sales. The Institute dedicates training to radio, television, cable, internet and other media sales. Upon completion, each student will present a hypothetical sales presentation to leading broadcast companies with entry level positions available in media sales."
Dean James Hawkins of the Florida A&M University School of Journalism and Graphic Communication commented, "We are very pleased that FAMU was chosen as the first institution for the expansion of the Media Sales Institute. We look forward to putting on a very successful program."
The NAB Education Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to serving the public interest in supporting and advocating: education and training programs, strategies to increase diversity, initiatives stressing the importance of the First Amendment, community service, philanthropy and other timely broadcasting issues.
The National Association of Broadcasters is a trade association that advocates on behalf of more than 8,300 free, local radio and television stations and also broadcast networks before Congress, the Federal Communications Commission and the Courts. Information about NAB can be found at www.nab.org.
NABOB is the only trade organization representing the interests of African-American owners of radio and television stations across the country. The association was organized in 1976 by a small group of African-American broadcasters who desired to establish a voice and a viable presence in the industry and to address specific concerns facing African-American broadcasters. The NABOB Foundation was created to help prepare the next generation of broadcast station owners and managers.
Personal Selling Principles (PSP), a personnel and organizational development company based in Maryland, developed the first Media Sales Institute at Howard University, and has been retained to implement the program at Florida A&M.
