2026 Convention Schedule
Time
Sessions
Location
8:00 AM – 8:50 AM
Registration/Breakfast
*Breakfast is optional and must be pre-paid by attendee
Foyer
9:00 AM – 4:00 PM
NEW in 2026! Professional Headshot Lounge
Refresh your professional image with a complimentary headshot. Stop by anytime throughout the day for a professional photo, perfect for LinkedIn, station websites, bios, and more.
Topeka Room (across from Salon E)
9:00 AM – 9:50 AM
Keynote Address:
Jeff Schmidt
“Embrace Disruption”
Main Stage: Salons D-E-F
10:00 AM – 11:00 AM
Breakout Sessions | News/Management & Sales/Engineering
NEWS
Kevin Benz
Truth, Trust and Making Good Choices
Local news audiences are smaller today than at any time in our history. There are many reasons for that, most out of our control — except one — trust. Audience trust in news has eroded over the last few decades and in the heat of an election season, with artificial intelligence and disinformation drowning out truth, that trust is more important than ever. This workshop will look at how journalists make decisions about coverage, what to cover and how to cover it. Your gut will lie to you — you can’t “feel” your way through a story — it takes courage and a process to make the right choices for your newscast, to lean in to truth and service to your viewers. Our viewers are telling us what they want, we just need to listen. You’ll get a process, some questions to help you make good decisions, and the inspiration to do the job well. And you’ll be ready for the next session…
Location: Salon 2
MANAGEMENT/SALES
Jeff Schmidt
The Elite Seller Mindset
How Top Performers Think, Prepare and Win in 2026
What separates today’s elite sellers from everyone else? It isn’t personality. It isn’t experience. And it definitely isn’t working harder. The best sellers are thinking differently. In this engaging, high-energy session, Jeff Schmidt reveals the mindset, behaviors, and AI-powered strategies that are helping the top 10% earn more appointments, build deeper client relationships, and become trusted business advisors. You’ll leave with practical ideas, actionable tools, and a fresh perspective that will immediately improve your confidence, conversations, and sales results.
Location: Main Stage: Salons D-E-F
ENGINEERING
Auditing – The Business of Broadcasting
Presented by Jeff Welton
One of the primary duties of a chief engineer at some point is recommending when a piece of equipment is due to be replaced, upgraded, or simply given a good once-over to try to get some more usable life out of it. However, to do that, it’s necessary to know what the station has, with respect to age, condition, cost of replacement and a plethora of other things. This can be a daunting task if you’ve never approached it before, so in this session, we’ll discuss auditing hardware, software, subscription services, etc., with an eye toward building maintenance records, maintaining compliance with new rules on IT (firmware/software updates specifically) and getting the best value for the station’s dollar.
Location: Salon 1
See Tabs
Refreshment Break
Foyer
11:15 AM – 12:00 PM
Breakout Sessions | News/Sales/Management
NEWS
Kevin Benz
Just another Election? Hardly… Voting is just the beginning
Disinformation, polarization, culture wars, and AI are making election coverage more complicated than ever and if you think the lead-up was tough, wait until you cover the result. Lawsuits, conspiracy theories, dis-information, more AI, and probably protests are all coming. In this workshop, Kevin Benz will share practical guidance for covering the fall-out controversy without amplifying falsehoods or misrepresentation. We’ll take a hard look at how AI may be weaponized and how to defend your journalism against it. Attendees will learn best practices for fairness, accuracy, and courageous journalism in a highly charged political environment and how to identify “fake” whether AI-generated or human driven.
Location: Salon 2
SALES
A.I. Powered Media Sales
Ryan Dohrn
With an overwhelming array of A.I. sales tools available, how can serious media sales reps know which ones to rely on? In this practical workshop, Ryan shows you LIVE with real examples why A.I. tools are essential for researching more effectively, uncovering valuable sales opportunities, and gaining a competitive edge. Don’t miss this chance to elevate your sales strategy. Learn the tools that high-performing reps are already using to outsell the competition.
Location: Salons A-C
MANAGEMENT
FCC Update with David Oxenford and Nicole Gustafson
Location: Salon 1
See Tabs
12:15 PM – 1:30 PM
Luncheon with Award Presentations and Game Show
- Presentation of Mike Oatman Award for Broadcast Sales Excellence
- Singo!
Salons D-E-F
1:45 PM – 2:45 PM
Breakout Sessions | News/Sales/Programming/Engineering
NEWS
Most Common Mistakes Made by TV News Reporters
Location: Salon 2
SALES
Super Short yet Super Successful Meetings with Advertisers with Ryan Dohrn
Getting a meeting with an advertiser is hard enough. So, once you book the meeting, how do you host an amazing meeting that will engage the advertiser and get them to sign right on the spot? Ryan will share his 10-step meeting process that is easy to follow and has proven to result in 40% more closed deals. Learn to be precise, focused, prepared, and polished.
Location: Salons A-C
PROGRAMMING
JR Ammons
The Local Broadcast Playbook: Grow Audience, Revenue & Impact
Local broadcasting is evolving fast, and standing still isn’t an option. Explore proven strategies and fresh ideas for growing audiences, generating new revenue and strengthening community connections across radio and television. Industry leaders will share what’s working now, what’s changing and actionable ideas your station can put to work in today’s increasingly competitive media landscape.
Location: Atrium
ENGINEERING
A Visit to the Transmitter site, out of sight, out of mind, or is it?
John George will take a typical visit to a transmitter and review the important items to check using the ”SBE Self Inspection Guide” as a guide. Many of the items presented are easy to overlook but can produce an off-air situation with the right condition. Examples of what to do and not to do will be featured. This will be an interactive presentation.
Location: Salon 1
See Tabs
2:45 PM – 3:00 PM
Refreshment Break
Foyer
3:00 PM – 4:00 PM
Breakout Sessions | News/Sales/Programming/Engineering
NEWS
Creative Storytelling on a Tight Deadline
Location: Salon 2
SALES
Round Tables with Local Sales Leaders
Join us for a dynamic Round Table session with local sales leaders as they dive into six of the hottest topics shaping broadcast sales today. This fast-paced, interactive format will give you practical insights, fresh strategies, and real-world solutions you can take back to your station. Don’t miss this opportunity to learn from and connect with some of the best in the business.
Location: Salon A-C
MANAGEMENT
Time Management: Doing More with Less
In today’s fast-paced broadcasting world, many professionals are wearing multiple hats, juggling overlapping roles, and facing tighter deadlines than ever before. As stations downsize or shift responsibilities, the challenge isn’t just getting it all done—it’s getting the right things done, with less time and fewer resources.
This interactive workshop will help you rethink how you manage your time, prioritize your tasks, and stay focused under pressure. Whether you’re producing content, managing a team, handling sales, or all of the above, you’ll leave with practical tools and strategies to maximize your productivity, protect your energy, and reduce burnout.
This session is designed for anyone in broadcasting who feels stretched thin—and is ready to take back control of their time
Location: Atrium
ENGINEERING
10 Commandments of Broadcaster Cybersecurity
Kirk Anders Harnack
Broadcast cybersecurity is no longer only an information-technology (IT) concern. The devices most capable of interrupting, altering, or embarrassing a station are often the same devices engineers depend on to keep programming moving: Emergency Alert System equipment, studio-transmitter links, codecs, automation systems, audio processors, remote-control systems, streaming appliances, and other remotely managed equipment in the air chain. A compromise can produce much more than a data loss. It can place unauthorized material on the air, suppress a legitimate emergency alert, create dead air, or prevent engineers from regaining control of the facility.
This paper is intentionally not a configuration manual. Rather, it identifies ten areas that station management and engineering must keep visible, assign responsibility for, and revisit regularly. Three of these are especially urgent because the Federal Communications Commission has now adopted baseline cybersecurity requirements for Emergency Alert System participants. The remaining seven are operational best practices that make those required controls more effective and help a station detect, contain, and recover from an incident.
Location: Atrium
See Tabs
4:15 PM – 5:00 PM
SBE Annual Meeting
Salon A-C
Salon 1
Atrium
Lets have some fun as we celebrate our Rising Star recipients, station award winners and stations of the year.
The 2025 Tony Jewell Award recepient will be announced LIVE.
Salon D-E-F
Atrium