National Religious Broadcasters convention provides ‘beneficial relationship for all involved’

With the theme “Extend Your Reach Through Media,” the National Religious Broadcasters (NRB) annual convention featured a strong publishing emphasis.

During the Feb. 27-March 2 event in Nashville, author and radio commentator Chuck Colson— whose books include The Faith and Loving God (both Zondervan) as well as How Now Shall We Live? and Lies That Go Unchallenged in Popular Culture (both Tyndale House Publishers)—was honored with a Hall of Fame Award.

Mosab Hassan Yousef, a son of one of the founders of the terrorist group Hamas, spoke during the gathering of Christian broadcasting professionals to promote his book, Son of Hamas (Tyndale House Publishers), which was released around the time of the convention.

Yousef had been spotlighted by mainstream media for his memoir—which details a six-year-long conversion process that originated with a Bible study in Jerusalem and resulted in his departure from the Palestinian organization.

Joel C. Rosenberg—best-selling author of Tyndale’s Bible prophecy-based books, including Epicenter—was featured during the international luncheon, introducing Yousef as a “brother in Christ.”

Meanwhile, Dave Ramsey, author of the New York Times best-seller The Total Money Makeover (Thomas Nelson), led a “Social Marketing Strategy” workshop, while Phil Cooke—author of The Last TV Evangelist (Conversant Media Group) and Branding Faith (Regal Books)—was one of the featured speakers at the convention.

Among the dozen publishers that exhibited at the event were Baker Publishing Group (BPG), Harvest House Publishers, Strang Communications, Tyndale House, WestBow Press (Thomas Nelson’s self-publishing division), Rose Publishing, Xulon Press and Advantage Books.

Despite the continuing tough economy, Mavis Sanders—corporate publicist for Tyndale House—told Christian Retailing that the publisher’s presence at NRB was similar to previous years.

“We presented current and upcoming authors, products for interviews and programming ideas, and met with agencies and vendors,” she said. “Our presence at NRB also reinforced our association with many outstanding Tyndale authors who have broadcast ministries.”

Harvest House Broadcast Publicist Christianne Debysingh said the publisher used a smaller booth.

“Our primary purpose is to network, and having a big booth does not enhance that function,” she told Christian Retailing. “Also, given the state of the economy, we, like so many others, looked for ways to save on expenses. … We did not cut back this year (on staff) as we had already done that last year. Last year we only had four attend, which was down by one. We kept that same number of four this year.”

Debysingh added that Harvest House does not traditionally bring authors to NRB.

“The highlight for us is always people—not only connecting with people we know, but building new relationships,” she said. “It also allows us to meet and develop new contacts.”

BPG Manager of Special Markets Rod Jantzen told Christian Retailing that the publisher “scaled back somewhat this year” at NRB. “With many ministries a bit more conservative in their approach right now due to the economic conditions, it made sense for us to take a more conservative approach as well,” he said. “A gathering like NRB is always a great way to connect with ministries and media outlets who are attending. Relationships are really at the heart of it all.”

NRB Vice President of Operations David Keith added: “NRB member broadcasters have always had a good working relationship with both the authors and publishers of books over the years. It has been a beneficial relationship for all involved. Recent (economy-related) challenges only mean we need to invest additional energy in finding ways that make sense for all those involved.”

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