Open Mike

Editor: In your article "Still gung ho on NATPE 2002" (Oct. 1), a quote was attributed to me that was interpreted by a few as a shot at the domestic distributors who will not be on the exhibition floor at the NATPE 2002 Conference. This was not my intent. I have been in the television industry for over 30 years and have watched it grow from modest beginnings to a global business. I have also experienced the growth of NATPE from a domestic organization to one serving the world's leading content producers and distributors. The major domestic studios and independent distributors have consistently played a valuable role in NATPE's growth, and we are grateful for their past support.

My goal for NATPE is unification not divisiveness. Our mission is to provide an event that supports the industry and provides benefit to our global members and our industry at large. The NATPE conference continues to serve as the foremost place in the world for the buying and selling of programming, and the American distributors play a vital role in this process. What I seek more than anything is to keep us together as one industry ... one industry supporting one another at a difficult economic time just as Americans all across the country are doing today. NATPE 2002 will be different in configuration but equal to, if not better than, previous conferences.