March 18, 2005

Televozandes, HCJB World Radio's television ministry, hosted a group of 21 people in Quito, Ecuador, March 1-3, representing seven different TV stations from Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, Guatemala and Bolivia.

"This was a great opportunity for these folks who are pursuing common goals to meet each other and develop lasting friendships in a professional context," said Televozandes Director John Gowan. "We spent three full days in seminars and interactive roundtables addressing the subject of how Christian TV stations in Latin America can improve their operations and image to become legitimate players in the media.

"The level of enthusiasm was very encouraging, and the group was already asking us to make plans for the next meeting. It's also significant that all of the participants paid their own expenses to be there," he said. "Together we took a tough, and sometimes confrontational, look at technical quality control, learning to face the facts, personnel issues, financial models and ethics in fund-raising, and the issue of ratings and what they mean."

Gowan said Televozandes began to consider shifting its emphasis away from program production and Spanish dubbing due to the lack of new clients. "Some groups are deciding to do their own dubbing," he explained. "Others are refocusing their resources to other parts of the world, and some are opting for a cheaper, low-end type dubbing. We have laid off most of our regular production staff, although we still have people available on a freelance basis.

"But once we were forced to start moving in that direction, I became convinced that our real potential to impact the region through TV was raising the effectiveness of the TV stations that local groups of believers have established all across the region. We are in contact with more than 70 such stations, and we are in the privileged position of being able to see the bigger picture in the region -- something that can be hard to do for a group that is tied down by the daily operational realities of a TV station."

Gowan said the conference was a good "test case to see if there is a need for Televozandes to serve in a role of catalyst and consultant in the region." The feedback from this first attempt was "very positive."

The sessions were based on Jim Collins' book, Good to Great (Empresas que Sobresalen), Peter Drucker's article, "Managing for Business Effectiveness from the Harvard Business Review," and Brian Godawa's book, Sex, Violence and Profanity in the Bible. Each participant also received a copy of Peter Utz's "Today's Video" which has set the standard for modern-day TV production.

"Probably the highlight session was the one where our special guest from IBOPE (the equivalent of the Nielson ratings system in Latin America) came and explained to the group how professional ratings work, and what they can mean to these stations," Gowan added. "It was a great way to continue building a bridge from these Christian groups to the television industry."

At the end of the conference, several of the participants said the event had been a "rich time of spiritual retreat and renewal," Gowan said. "What is so fascinating about that is that we didn't have any sessions where someone brought a message, or where the focus was praise or Bible study. The sessions were devoted to work-related issues, but I felt the same way, and I believe God was at work, expanding all of our borders as we seek to build His kingdom through the medium of TV." (HCJB World Radio)