Welcome to PR Vibes™, created by Calysto Communications to provide you with key insights into the publications and events in the telecommunications industry. Today, we’re featuring a short interview with Debra Baker, editor, Communications Technology magazine. Enjoy!
What is the editorial mission of Communications Technology, and how has it evolved?
In its 27 years, Communications Technology has served several masters, most recently concentrating on the cable-technician community. However, with the rise of convergence and competition, voice, data and video operators of all kinds are offering similar services, and they all can be classified as “broadband.” As such, we have been enhancing our content and adding to our subscriber bases to reflect this technology shift, offering a mix of targeted and broad-brush information useful to executives, to marketers and to technicians in the broadband marketplace.
What makes the audience of Communications Technology unique? Do you have any breakdowns of readership? How has your audience evolved?
Our content always has been more technically oriented when compared with other publications in the communications space, and we have attracted subscribers whose job it is to build, maintain and upgrade communications networks – in particular, cable networks. Today, nearly half of our readers work in the cable space, followed by those in the telecom sector, manufacturers, broadcaster/programmers, consultants and systems integrators, and other service providers. We expect some shift in circulation categories as our subscribership branches out from its original roots.
How does Communications Technology distinguish itself from other industry publications?
The publication always has kept its finger on the pulse of the technician community, continually asking it for input on the latest success stories and challenges when it comes to system planning, deployment, testing, maintenance and enhancement. And we’ve spotlighted the industry’s “engineer’s engineer” as a monthly columnist exclusively for the past 25 years. We also have a skilled stable of in-house and freelance journalists who follow technology and are comfortable asking the right questions of the right people, thus helping Communications Technology to present the most timely and useful information to our readers.
What “value-added services” do you offer?
Communications Technology offers a rich website (www.cable360.net/ct) along with a daily e-letter, a Friday wrap-up of our most-read stories, sponsored tech e-letters targeting a particular technical issue important to our readers, frequent Webcasts aimed at helping our readers grow their businesses and solve their tech problems, a vibrant social network called CTChatter, our CT TV video site and a blog spot. We have even more projects planned for a 2011 rollout.
What is one thing about Communications Technology that most people don’t know?
It is the only technology-based B2B publication in the communications industry staffed entirely by women.
What do you see as the most impacting technology/trend for the next 12 months? What do you think has stood out during 2010?
Most of the communications networks in the world have been built and then populated with consumer and/or business subscribers for basic voice, data and video services. The key for broadband operators now is to optimize those networks, developing and deploying new products and services that will build customer loyalty and experience while adding to the bottom line. This year, I think competition between cable, wireline, wireless and non-traditional operators for subscriber eyeballs finally hit the prime-time arena, coupled with TV Everywhere, and the rise of HDTV and IPTV.
On a personal note, can you tell us a bit about your hobbies/interests/volunteer work?
Most people won’t admit that they love TV, but I will and I do. I’m quite involved with church work, and I spend a lot of time reading, sewing and cooking; if I knew then what I know now, I’d have that culinary degree and would be working for Martha, but tech/business journalism has taken good care of me.
Have you read any good books lately that you’d like to recommend?
I read mostly biographies and current business books. Right now, I’m plowing my way through a very involved Oscar Wilde bio and, for fun, I started reading Keith Richard’s book, “Life.” How diverse can you get? As far as recommendations go, the most powerful business book I’ve read in the past year is Carly Fiorina’s “Tough Choices,” which really gave me insight into the inner workings of many of the companies that have been editorial fodder during my career.