R-T-D-N-A. Gotta practice that, it just feels wrong. But the D that used to stand for Director now it stands for Digital. And Radio Television News Directors Association is now the Radio Television Digital News Association. One more rehearsal: RTDNA. It’s starting to feel right.
RTDNA Chairman Stacey Woelfel explained the move, saying “What will change is how we approach news coverage and how we represent the industry. For some not familiar with RTNDA, the name ‘Radio-Television News Directors Association’ implies that we might not have services, information or importance to anyone who isn’t a news director. As you know, that’s not the case. RTDNA is for all electronic journalists. RTDNA will also be for all electronic journalists, including the newest members of our newsrooms working on the digital platforms.”
The organization had another name change a few years back. Founded in 1946 as the National Association of Radio News Directors, it switched to RTNDA at the dawn of the television era in 1952.
RBR-TVBR observation: RTDNA is doing what every organization needs to do – keep up with the rapid pace of change in this young millennium. RTDNA switched the word director to one more relevant, just as RBR got rid of its reliance on paper and stamps. Move forward or die.
