We Media Conference - Day Two
I really lucked out on this trip. I needed to make this trip as cheaply as possible (my wife was already not thrilled about me leaving here in New York while I spent a few days in Miami). I did not even have enough points to get one free night with Hyatt but through a happy set of circumstances, Hyatt decided to give me some extra points so I could stay three days/two nights at one of their nicer properties, The Hyatt Regency in Coral Gables.
Before leaving the hotel for Day Two of the We Media conference, I got a phone call from my wife that my her uncle, Roberto Suarez, was in the hospital in very serious condition. He has been in declining health and I was hoping to get a chance to visit him and his family while in Miami. For those who don't know, my wife is Cuban and has a ton of family down here. Roberto was a senior executive in Knight-Ridder for many years having started his career as a Cuban refugee working on the loading dock and ended his career at the Associate Publisher for the Miami Herald (and founder of el Nuevo Herald, the Spanish language version of the Miami Herald). So, there is no small irony at being at a Knight Foundation-sponsored conference this week.
I hope to be able to stop by the hospital before I leave town and check in on him.
As far as the conference, there are plenty of Media Bloggers Association members down here - Rory O'Connor, Mark Glaser, Jay Rosen, JD Lasica. Also, Chris Nolan who has quit the MBA until we agree to drop the "b" word from our title and Tish Grier who should already be a member if we had been a bit more organized in getting the new web site up. I did an interview with Mark on the Libbby Trial.
Steve Johnson, the online editor from the AP, who put together our Libby Trial feed with the AP is also here. He and I had a little repartee on whether our feed might some day become a revenue generating opportunity for blogger. He did not say no!
As the sun began to set the event moved outdoors for a Mojito Party. I don't drink so I can comment on the Mojitos but the hors d;ouevres were excellent. They had to wait until it got dark out before beginning the last panel because it was a video panel and they had a large projector set up behind the panelists. The whole thing sort of fell apart because it started about an hour late and people were already drifting out to keep dinner plans. By the time the panel ended, only about 40 people remained. Too bad, the Happy Slip videos were pretty good. J.D. Lasica did a bit on Our Media.
Once things wrapped up I headed over to Chocolate, a small Italian-Argentine resturante in Coral Gables, where I met up with my two of my Cuban cousin's-in-law.