Rocking the Podium: Top Women in Media Awards

I recently attended Folio: magazine’s Top Women in Media awards luncheon in New York. I was invited as a representative of EWIP to present several of the awards, which was a great honor—and also fun!

This was Folio:’s first year presenting these awards, and the room was certainly packed with media star power! Awards were given out in a number of categories: corporate visionaries, industry leadership, director-level doers, entrepreneurs, rising starts, and mentors. Folio: VP of Content Tony Silber and Editorial Director Bill Mickey invited each recipient to the stage to say a few words and to accept a glass award (occasionally accompanied by a spirited video made by colleagues who had secretly nominated them).

Certain themes emerged in the women’s words of thanks. As Poppy McDonald, Publisher and President of National Journal, said “we all know we have to work harder as women.” It was clear from the accomplishments, energy, and dedication evinced by the award winners that this was indeed a ballroom full of women who work extremely hard to succeed.

Carolyn Kremins, Senior VP & General Manager of Epicurious, vowed to pioneer on behalf of other women and to help “watch each other’s back.” Jennifer Follett, Executive Editor of The Channel Company, challenged attendees to find a young woman to mentor, and Stacy Hawes, SVP of Data Solutions at Epsilon recommended that winners “put one hand behind you and grab the hand of another woman to help.” Nancy Gibbs, Editor at Time, said that women are in a good place now, and Tessa Gould, Director of Native Advertising at Huffington Post exclaimed that the awards proved that “girls can and do run the world!”

Keynote Kay Koplovitz, founder of USA Network, spoke about important leadership qualities which include: a tolerance for ambiguity, an ability to work in the unknown, and an insatiable curiosity. She cited studies that demonstrate that “corporate leaders who are high performers have these attributes.” These people get promoted and advance faster. She believes these qualities contribute to the success of many of the award winners.

Overall, the award winners seemed quite pleased and proud to be part of this event. Many brought along numerous colleagues (men too!), and several brought husbands along as well to help celebrate their achievements. Says Editorial Director Bill Mickey, “Folio:’s Top Women in Media event was a terrific success. It was exciting to have so many high-powered executives in one room, and the sense of camaraderie was inspiring. This year marked the debut of an important event that we intend to make an annual franchise. Next year will be even bigger and better.”

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Lynn Rosen runs Open Book, providing editorial, marketing, and event-planning services. Contact her

EWIP Leadership Conference [the video]

You get a taste of EWIP’s 2012 conference viewing this snappy video. We captured much more from the event, including significant recordings of the panel sessions. Watch this overview now and when we complete editing the rest, we will share the remarkable video with you on EWIP’s video channel on YouTube. Subscribe to the channel and you will be notified when these more in depth “video conversations” are released.

Video produced by Jackson Street Productions, with additional photographs by Nader Khouri.

Record Attendance at the Women’s Leadership Conference

Bd President-WLC2011Over 225 women and men are expected to attend EWIP’s Women’s Leadership Conference and Awards Luncheon on Wednesday, March 7, 2012. This is the fourth year EWIP has held the annual conference and award presentation in San Francisco. In recognition of the success of the event, EWIP received a thank you letter from Democratic Leader, Nancy Pelosi who extends a warm welcome to all participants. In her letter she recognizes the value of those working to help women become strong leaders and applauds the group for providing “examples of great partnerships and collaborations, and [providing attendees with] opportunities to interact with innovative leaders” in publishing and media.

Thea-Colleen-WLC2011There are over 30 speakers in the all-female roster who will speak to the theme, Taking Our Next Step: Content, Community, Collaboration in the highly interactive conference.

A highlight of the Women’s Leadership Conference is the Exceptional Woman in Publishing Award presentation, an opportunity to publicly honor an influential leader. Michela O’Connor Abrams, president of Dwell Media is the 2012 Exceptional Woman in Publishing Award recipient and will be honored during the March 7th luncheon.

Sponsors for the 2012 Conference include, Brown Printing Company, Dwell Media, Graphic Communications, Infogroup, PM Digital, Publishers Press, RR Donnelley, The Magazine Manager, Time/Warner Retail, Verified Audit, and Zinio.

Tickets for the nearly sold-out event are available online till 8:00 pm PST on Tuesday. For more details on the conference program, session schedule visit the registration site online.

Photos courtesy Kathryn MacDonald

Women’s Leadership Conference – Year Four

EWIP’s 2012 Women’s Leadership Conference is now in its fourth year. We think it is going to be better than ever. This year’s program is designed to give you a clear window into emerging best practices with a highly interactive program featuring cross-platform expertise, examples of great partnerships and collaborations, and innovative leaders in publishing and media ready to share their strategies for new content and revenue opportunities.

ewip markRegister today. You will come away from this event with 5 key steps to take your organization or publication to the next level, meet 10 new contacts, hear smart ideas about partnerships, and best of all, get a renewed sense of inspiration for the challenges ahead.

Fourth Annual Women’s Leadership Conference
Taking Our Next Step: Content, Community, Collaboration
Wednesday, March 7, 2012

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2012 Exceptional Woman In Publishing Award Luncheon
honoring the 14th recipient
Michela O’Connor Abrams
President, Dwell Media
Award presentation by Dorothy Kalins, who received the 2009 EWIP Award

Speakers | Sessions | Sponsors | Partners | Registration | EWIP Award | Venue

Twitter hashtag: #WLC2012

PARC 55 HOTEL
55 Cyril Magnin Street, LEVEL FOUR
San Francisco • Near Union Square
Parking and Directions
The special conference rate of $269/night is available for reservations made before February 14th. Please reference Women’s Leadership Conference when calling 1-800-697-3101 for a reservation. Reserve via email.