Maxwell: A Tribute

Editor’s Note: While we salute all 7 of tonight’s Cable TV Hall of Fame inductees, our founder and columnist Paul Maxwell holds a special place for us. Apparently we’re not alone. (P.S. Paul has no idea this is coming.) From my perspective at Court TV, I think Paul Maxwell secretly is a lawyer; I say this because of the "evidence." He has been for so many of us over the years a wise counselor, and, indeed such a passionate advocate for the cable industry. Plus, he wears really funny clothes. — Henry Schleiff, president/CEO, Court TV Sorry I couldn’t be in Denver tonight to join the celebration, but I’m in Scotland touring all the great sites, bars and restaurants Paul told me that I had to visit. I’ll lift a toast from Edinburgh! Congratulations on the well-earned honor of induction into the Cable Hall of Fame, Paul. — Patty McCaskill, svp, programming, Cequel III Sorry to get back to you so late. Like Max I do my best work under pressure or under the influence. I know Paul pleads confusion as to why he is in such good company, when as a journalist he had as much influence on how the industry was shaped as those he was reporting on. Cable is lucky to have someone as its witness to history who saw the potential but never got too wrapped up in making it more important than it should be. An honorable man who deserves this honor. — Lou Borrelli, svp, broadband distribution and local promotion, AOL for Broadband What comes to mind about Paul? Well, WORDS of course! Usually in short bites. With space in between. Words like cowboy hat. Whiskers. Pioneer. Entrepreneur. Even words with hyphens: Badass-skier. Family-man. Intrepid-traveller. Old-fashioned-values. And more seriously. Passionate about cable, loves and cares about the industry. Provider of unasked for, but sage advice! An iconoclast attacking sacred cows. A gadfly persistently provoking. In all – a very good journalist – inquisitive, enquiring, persistent and engaging! — Patrick Scott, president, The Weather Channel Networks The greatest praise about Paul is the fact that Bill Daniels loved and respected him. That says a lot, because Bill set exceptionally high standards. He didn’t always agree with everything Paul wrote. In fact, he often took him to task. Nonetheless, Paul stood his ground. He respectfully debated the issues and, oftentimes, won Bill over. Bottom line, Bill knew Paul had integrity. He maintained a solid track record of objectively speaking and writing about cable, and that’s why he’s being inducted into the Cable TV Hall of Fame. — Bob Russo, president/CEO, The Cable Center It was one of those NCTAs in the 80s. Parties, galas, extravaganzas, and I ended up at one of those big dinners. You remember, 30 people at one table. Nobody knew who paid. That was a long, long night. I didn’t know a soul and I had never met Paul Maxwell until that night. He knew everyone and led me around the table with introductions and stories about every one in attendance. Limos came and we went to a private club and the bouncers expected us! It was my re-entry to the US cable world after 5 years in Canada. I always remember that night and the fun, the excitement, the wonder. And in the middle of it, Paul Maxwell. — Bob Clasen, pres/COO, Starz! Paul has been the granddaddy of value reporting for more than 35 years. He began his career in the early 1970s at about the same time I did. In fact, I seem to recall giving Paul one of his first advertisements. Over the years Paul has contributed immensely to the guidance and future of cable. He was often controversial, and many disagreed with him. But upon reflection, I think he’s been more right than wrong in his predictions. Without question, Paul’s most important ingredient is integrity. I always felt comfortable sharing my industry views and projections with Paul and not once did they ever come back in a negative manner. Paul has the unique ability to take input from varied sources and give a concise and directed image of where our industry is headed. In the end, Paul has given direction where there was none; counsel when there was little; and, above all, a perspective on the future of this industry like no other. My dear friend, Paul Maxwell, congratulations on this honor and enjoy your evening! — Frank Drendel, chairman/CEO CommScope Paul’s the total package, and the vision and voice of the industry -plus he’s a sports fan and an even greater fan of family. I’ll never forget Paul taking his father and brother to the first Houston Texans game, just as his father had taken him to the first Oilers game more than 40 years ago. Paul, were you wearing the same cowboy hat? — Rosa Gatti, svp, corporate comm/outreach, ESPN Maxwell…tribute…Hall of Fame – didn’t he start it? Cable, too? Sure about all the magazines and newspapers. Can I write 100 consecutive non-sequiturs about Paul? Nope. He’s the pro, not me. I have learned a lot from him. Glad he’s doing all the flying to those meetings, not me! Claims to love Colorado, – didn’t he do something with a magazine there, too? But he’s never there! Have to check with my "old friends" – won’t list them though, you wouldn’t know who or what I was talking about, but then, we’ve all been reading Paul’s stuff for years, nothing new. Congrats, from one of the crew. Steve Effros, columnist, CableFAX Daily The great American philosopher Yogi Berra once observed, "Don’t always follow the crowd, because nobody goes there anymore. It’s too crowded." Paul Maxwell is our Yogi Berra, avoiding the conventional wisdom and charting new, innovative paths. On diversity, satellite competition and Internet opportunities, Paul’s been right. And he’s done so with humor and style, and a complete love for cable. Now, like Yogi, Paul’s a real Hall of Famer! — Decker Anstrom, president/COO, Landmark Communications; chairman, The Weather Channel Companies Now let me get this straight. Maxwell is in a hall? A union hall? A hall of mirrors?? A dance hall??? … You must mean a pool hall! It wasn’t too many years ago that a young scribe first reported in the communications field: ‘Two antennas met on a roof … fell in love and got married.’ Paul’s report: ‘The ceremony wasn’t much … BUT the reception was great!’ Nobody bought his story so he started one of his many trade ‘rags.’ Maxwell quickly learned coax cable could add a lot of spark to his life. He was very quick to pick up on never missing a tchotchkey or one of those ‘buy the reporter’ schmooze events. The world of cable will sleep better tonight knowing he’s off the streets and there’s a secure place in The Cable Center’s Hall of Fame for that snarled ol’ hat. With so many cable shows and events being cut back, this will leave Paul a lot of time to conduct tours and show off his ‘stuff’ at The Center. If you’d like, you can send a contribution to: The Maxwell/Cable Center HTF (hair-trimming fund). Paul, be sure you lock up the Hall when you finish. Congrats you, ol’ Pioneer. Cheers, more or Les — The Honorable Les Read, Ambassador, The Cable Center