As I enter my 25th year as a professional journalist in 2020 (with a few more years before that working in pursuit of my dream career), I like to think I have a pretty good nose for news. [related]
So, maybe it’s because I’m still a relative newcomer when it comes to the AV integration world—I’m entering my ninth year as of Jan. 3—but I can distinctly remember at least one industry-related story or event in the past four years that has completely blindsided me—along with some personal ones too.
In 2019, I was shocked when editorial director Tom LeBlanc left CI after 15 years covering the AV integration space with CE Pro and, of course, Commercial Integrator. He’s building a new empire in a new industry these days, but I’m guessing he’s still keeping tabs on what’s happening in AV.
Meanwhile, new editorial director Jonathan Blackwood and I have teamed up to chart a slightly different direction for CI’s coverage while not forgetting about what made us successful in the first place.
In 2018, I never expected to be working for a new company, but that’s exactly what happened when Emerald Expositions acquired most of EH Media’s publications and events. That also happened in August, by the way, a month I had always seen as lucky since it’s the one in which I was born.
Not much has changed in terms of my day-to-day work life since the acquisition, although we have since moved into some swanky brand-new digs.
More Unexpected Blockbusters from Years Past
In 2017, under a tremendous shroud of secrecy and rumor-mongering, the InfoComm International management team announced to me and a small group of invited guests that it was rebranding as AVIXA, the Audiovisual and Integrated Experience Association.
The snickers and questions that surrounded that announcement in September 2017 have largely dissipated by now, although some in the industry still question how the shift in focus has affected the demographics of AVIXA’s events and commitment to their segment of the industry.
In 2016, we saw the first major salvo thrown in what’s become the era of mega-deals in AV, although we didn’t know it at the time. Diversified emerged from largely under the radar and in the shadows to become an instant major player in the industry when it acquired Atlanta-based Technical Innovation.
Since then, we’ve seen dozens—if not hundreds—of deals consummated and the conventional wisdom is we’ll see a lot more of them in 2020.
This is my extremely long way of saying I probably don’t have the first clue about what the biggest story in AV will be in 2020—and that’s actually exactly the way I like it. One of the biggest thrills of being in the news business is not knowing what’s going to happen from day to day.
So, even though I coerced some unsuspecting industry friends to offer up their own prognostications for the year ahead—and a few others volunteered their thoughts without any coaxing at all, I’m not a big fan of predictions. It’s more fun to me to just sit back and watch what happens then react to it.
One thing I can tell you right now: the biggest story of 2020 is something you’re not expecting. It’s going to be fun for all of us to find out exactly what it’ll be.
