John Maizels
Governor Asia/Australia Region
Entropy Enterprises
Gee... I formally entered the Broadcast Industry in 1970 as a junior tech at 3XY (does anyone remember Rocktober?), and then a year later as a jock at 3CS (anyone remember... no, don't go there). I've since worked in and out of radio and television in a variety of creative, production and engineering roles.
The standing joke is that I got fired as a presenter for pissing off a Chief Engineer, which started me on the road to becoming a Chief Engineer. Who knew?
But the lure of the IT industry has also been extreme, and I was a fulltime computer person from 1974 to 2004. That's... a long time.
From 1988 to 1994 I was Chief Engineer at IBM's groundbreaking compressed digital Business TV/Distance Education network, and then Digital Media & Broadcast Engineering Consultant within IBM Business Consulting Services. From 2004-2009 I was with FOXTEL Engineering as a Senior Engineer. I've been a member of SMPTE since 1988 (and in 2006: surprised with the honour of becoming a Fellow of the society!). Many people know me from heavy involvement with the Section's Conference & Exhibition program over the last 30 years, or in past role as Chair of the Australia Section of SMPTE. Elected as SMPTE Regional Governor for Asia Pacific in 2008; in that role until 2017. Currently still active on Australia Section Board.
Since 1974 I've also been solidly involved with Community Broadcasting - as founding Chair of 3PBS, the first voice officially heard on 3CR, five years at 2MBS, and 11 years at 2NSB FM 99.3 as Director of Engineering, and a few years as on-air anchor of Friday brekkie team. I spent a heap of my life driving "MITC", the Media Industry Technologist Certification project, invented to create opportunities for training and professional positioning for all technologists in Radio, TV, Film and New Media in Australia.
Technorama has been the big thing since 2008, created to support the interests of technologists in Community Broadcasting. We run a mini conference every year, creating community. And it's amazing how many technologists started as presenters and vice versa.
Contact me see how you can help - either we do something to make our industry interesting, sexy, and appealing to young newbies, or we can go home and turn the transmitters off. Aims? Constantly striving for world peace, but will settle for audio without artifacts, a seriously good cup of coffee, and an education system which is positioned to deliver for the industry which it serves.
In November 2018 at the CBAA national conference I was solidly surprised and humbled to be announced as the winner of that year's Michael Law Award. Read about that here.
Currently: President Technorama Inc; serial community radio person; CMTO trainer and course developer; and freelance broadcast engineer, voice-over artist/audio editor, technical writer, and everything else.