| Chapter History |
|
Becoming MCA-I . . . MCA-I was founded as the National Industrial Television Association (NITA) by Thomas F. Hatcher, Harry Kaemmerer, Merrill Lent, and Dr. Edwin Moenckmeier, and registered in the State of New Jersey as a 501 (c) (6) association on April 3, 1970. Its first home office was in Morris, NJ. Renamed the IITVA (International Industrial Television Association) in 1973, and then shortened to the ITVA (International Television Association) in 1978, it assumed its current name in 2001 to reflect the growing diversity of its membership, a result of the expansion and convergence of communications technologies in the previous decade. From the television years . . . The founders’ mission was to create recognition and opportunity for those working in the non-broadcast and industrial communication sectors. To that end, it worked to develop uniform technical standards for manufacturers, suppliers, and users of industrial television equipment and services; to forge alliances with professionals working in related fields; and to encourage professionalism in the industry. ITVA’s original members were drawn largely from the production departments of corporations, and secondarily from independent studios. Other early members included broadcast television and radio personnel, and a somewhat smaller contingent working in film. For the communications industry, the 1970’s and 1980’s were technologically unremarkable. Content delivery, although it steadily improved in quality, was essentially the same as it had been for the past thirty years. Likewise ITVA, while it continued to grow in size and prestige, remained demographically stable |