The media release just went out for the Kaitz Dinner:

At its 24th annual fund-raising dinner in New York City last night, the Walter Kaitz Foundation raised more than $1.7 million for programs promoting diversity in the cable industry.

More than 1,300 cable industry executives attended the dinner, where U.S. Rep. Edolphus Towns (D-NY) and ESPN were honored.  The amount of money raised by the cable industry in support of the Kaitz Foundation exceeded last year’s total by more than $200,000.

You can read the whole thing here.

I thought there was a really clever twist to the L. Patrick Mellon Mentorship luncheon on Monday. Everyone knows that mentoring is important. It's important to find a strong mentor on your way up; it's important to be a mentor to others. But how do you talk about this topic in a fresh way?

You bring on Rachel Vassel, formerly of The Weather Channel and the author of the forthcoming book Daughters of Men: Portraits of African-American Women and Their Fathers, and then you have her interview two successful women about their relationships with their father and two men about their relationships with their daughters. The panel was not only about good parenting skills, but also about cross-generational mentoring. Vassel shed light on the role that fathers play as mentors of their daughters, but also provided insight into what generally creates a healthy mentoring relationship.

The panel consisted of author and TV host Rene Syler, publisher Elinor Tatum, motivational speaker Shawn Dove, and human resources professional Ray Gutierrez. They talked about the best advice they gave and the best they received. They discussed the importance of trust, honesty, respect, and constructive feedback.

The discussion brings to mind an article that appeared in the first Kaitz Quarterly: "Five Key Steps for Effective Mentoring Relationships" by Audrey J. Murrell, Ph.D. The article, still available online, provides guidance on the myths and realities of mentoring relationships and provides practical advice on developing these collaborative connections.

The Walter Kaitz Foundation has announced that the presenters for the Diversity Champion and Diversity Advocate Awards at this Wednesday’s annual fundraising dinner will be tennis superstar Serena Williams and international humanitarian Martin Luther King III.

• Presenting the 2007 Diversity Champion Award to ESPN will be Serena Williams, one of the world’s top tennis players and the winner of eight Grand Slams. Serena’s remarkable rise as a courageous and breakthrough athlete combined with her impact in the worlds of acting and fashion make her perfectly suited to introduce ESPN as this year’s Diversity Champion.
• Presenting the 2007 Diversity Advocate Award to U.S. Rep. Edolphus Towns will be Martin Luther King III, the second oldest child of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Coretta Scott King, and the founding president and chief executive officer of Realizing the Dream Inc., a national nonprofit organization that carries on the important work embodied in the legacies of his parents.

Both people embody the spirit and passion for diversity and achievement that are hallmarks of The Walter Kaitz Foundation.

This morning's Opening General Session at the NAMIC Conference was Leadership 2.0: A New Paradigm, moderated by Monica Bertran, the host of Bloomberg Television's Market Movers. The panelists were Bob DeBitetto, EVP & GM, A&E Network; Peter Firestone, Managing Director, US, Media and Entertaining Consulting, Deloitte Consulting, LLP; Scott Mills, President & COO, BET Networks; Christina Norman, President, MTV; Evan Shapiro, EVP & GM, The Independent Film Channel.

One theme that emerged from the discussion is that today's leadership doesn't necessarily consist of a top-down structure. In many cases, the power of diverse thought can lead to creative solutions. As Shapiro put it, "No one is smarter than everyone." Norman likened a leader's role in that situation to that of a shepherd or an air traffic controller. Strength can come from letting go of power.

One other note: DeBitetto made a passing comment on Digital Natives versus Digital Immigrants. This is a concept popularized by Marc Prensky that distinguishes between those people born into the Digital World, who are completely familiar with its workings, and those who have had to enter into it and learn the geography. There are young people who don't know a world without color television, remote controls, digital cable, the Internet, high-speed data, personal computers, and so on. Prensky argues that young people "think and process information fundamentally differently from their predecessors," because they were born into the Digital World and are native speakers of its inherent language.

This is, of course, yet another argument for diversity. If you're trying to reach all consumers, you need people who speak the language.

Yesterday was actually the first day of the NAMIC Conference, which brought the day-long Continuing Education Workshops for Executive Leadership Development Program and Leadership Seminar Alumni. That's a mouthful, but my NCTA colleague Pam Ford, President of NAMIC's Mid-Atlantic Chapter, was able to explain it in more detail.

Executive Leadership Development Program (ELDP) is for employees at a director level or higher. The Leadership Seminar is for assistant directors, managers and supervisors. Both offer the kind of professional development for minorities that will help you to excel.

It's important to remember that hiring is only part of the solution to addressing your company's diversity needs. You also need to nurture your employees and help them develop into tomorrow's leaders.

Any way, yesterday's workshops were for people who have already participated in ELDP or the Leadership Seminars. It's a good opportunity to continue self-assessment, learn from others, network with your peers, and develop to skills to be a leader in your workplace and industry.

I'm back up in New York City once again for the annual Diversity Week activities, particularly The Walter Kaitz Foundation Annual Fundraising Dinner on Wednesday night.

I'll be reporting on activities in town, such as the NAMIC annual conference, Cable Positive's 8th Annual Broadway Benefit and the Kaitz Dinner.