Making the Media

S1E20: Vive La Difference

Is your newsroom representative of the audience it serves? Do you employ people with disabilities or those from ethnic minority backgrounds? If not, are you doing anything about it or do you feel it is ok? In this episode, we delve into diversity and ask how newsrooms and production environments can become more diverse, and highlight the benefits that can be gained by doing so.

Our Guest This Episode

Deborah Williams is the Executive Director of Creative Diversity Network, the membership body funded by the UK’s major broadcasters and production community. Its aims are to support the UK television industry to promote, celebrate, and share good business practices around the diversity agenda.

Williams has over 30 years of experience working above and below the line in television, film, and theater, as well as policy development across the wider creative and cultural industries. She is the architect and designer of the BFI Diversity standards that were adopted by The Oscars and BAFTA in 2020. In addition, she is an adviser to the UN and UNICEF on the rights of disabled people to cultural activities.

In 2019, she was awarded the Lifetime Achievement award from Inclusive Companies for her body of work in support of diversity and culture. She is also a 2018 and 2019 Disabled Power 100 lister.

More Resources

For more on this topic, check out: 

· Creative Diversity Network 

· Making the Media Podcast – Barreling Towards Burnout?

Contact Us 

Questions? Comments? Cool ideas? Get in touch: [email protected] or @craigaw1969. Follow Avid at @avid.

Credits

Host: Craig Wilson

Producer: Matt Diggs

Social: Wim Van den Broeck

Theme Music: Greg “Stryke” Chin

S1E19: STREAM ON

With more than 500 members, why has the SRT Alliance boomed and why are so many companies from across the broadcast and streaming space getting involved? In this episode, we delve into the background of SRT (Secure Reliable Transport) technology and ask those behind it: Why did they make it open source? What workflow challenges does it solve for news, sports, and other genres? And, crucially, what is coming next?

Our Guest This Episode

Peter Maag is Chief Marketing Officer and Executive Vice President for Strategic Partnerships at Haivision, the company that invented SRT. He brings over 26 years of proven experience in international business development, sales, marketing, and strategic partner development. Previously, Peter served as Vice President at Hyperchip, Discreet Logic/Autodesk, and Matrox, developing top-level strategic alliances and channel/OEM partnerships. Peter received his MBA from McGill University and his Bachelor of Engineering Science (Mechanical Engineering) degree from the University of Western Ontario in Canada.

More Resources

For more on this topic, check out:

· Media Composer 2021.9

· MediaCentral | Stream

Contact Us 

Questions? Comments? Cool ideas? Get in touch: [email protected] or @craigaw1969. Follow Avid at @avid.

Credits

Host: Craig Wilson

Producer: Matt Diggs

Social: Wim Van den Broeck

Theme Music: Greg “Stryke” Chin

S1E18: LIVE AND LEARN

With schools returning for a new academic year, will the lessons learned in the past 18 months turn out students who are better prepared for the world of work? In this episode, we ask: How can broadcasters benefit from the way young journalists consume media? Why do newsrooms need digital natives in their ranks? And what does this mean for the future of teaching the media professionals of the future?

Our Guest This Episode

Tom Rumes is Program Manager and Head of Media Services at Thomas More University in Belgium. He is the author of two books—How to Story and Be the Story—on transmedia storytelling. Over the past several years, he’s lectured at MIT, Moscow State University, and Kindai University in Osaka. He’s always combined teaching with professional training and consultancy for different media companies and is the founding father of such groundbreaking projects as Jail TV and the first interactive documentary in Belgium, Brickland.

More Resources

For more on this topic, check out: 

· Making the Media S1E04: Examining Education 

· Avid Media Campus 

· Avid Learning Partner Program

Contact Us: Questions? Comments? Cool ideas? Get in touch: [email protected] or @craigaw1969. Follow Avid at @avid.

Credits

Host: Craig Wilson

Producer: Matt Diggs

Social: Wim Van den Broeck

Theme Music: Greg “Stryke” Chin

S1E17: Going Green

When you think of industries that are polluting the planet, do you ever stop to consider the impact of content creation? The albert initiative in the UK aims to help content creators reduce their carbon footprint and they have recently launched a news initiative. In this episode, we ask: What are the steps productions can take to reduce their impact on the planet? We hear from Sky Sports about how they're putting this into practice.

Our Guests This Episode

Katy Murdoch oversees operations and training at BAFTA albert. Her background is in both TV production and as a freelance sustainability consultant for the live events industry. She received an MSc in Carbon Management in 2015 from The University of Edinburgh. She is passionate about her work at albert as the collaborative nature of the project inspires sustainability far and wide.

Jo Finon is Manager of Responsible Production at Sky Sports. In 2020, Jo assumed the role of Manager of Responsible Production, showing Sky Sports’ commitment to change and the Sky 0 target to be net-zero carbon by 2030. As part of her role, Jo is responsible for Sky Sports' award-winning sustainability strategy and driving improvements for the whole outside broadcast industry. Jo is also an albert Ambassador and a Trustee for the MAMA Youth Project charity, which supports individuals from underrepresented communities entering the TV industry.

With over 10 years of experience working in live TV in areas such as Contracts Management and Operations Supervision, Jo has always been passionate about implementing changes to improve working practices both for the crew and the environment.

More Resources

For more on this topic, check out: · The Challenges and Opportunities Ahead for Hybrid Broadcast Newsrooms · Making the Media S1E06 – Barreling Towards Burnout

Contact Us Questions? Comments? Cool ideas? Get in touch: [email protected] or @craigaw1969. Follow Avid at @avid.

Credits

Host: Craig Wilson

Producer: Matt Diggs

Social: Wim van den Broeck

Theme Music: Greg “Stryke” Chin

S1E16: Lovin’ La Vida Local

How can broadcasters capitalize on the loyalty of their local news audiences to expand their digital offering? When news coverage is no longer just about the daily morning or evening show, how do they foster an “always-on” culture where news is delivered when it happens to audiences—regardless of where they are at that time or on what device? Discover how American broadcaster ViacomCBS is tackling this issue head-on and learn the methods the organization is deploying to deliver for its audiences.

Our Guest This Episode

Adam Wiener has spent more than 30 years at the forefront of media evolution. He leads all aspects of digital for the owned and operated CBS Television Stations. Most recently, Adam conceived and led the roll-out of CBSN Local: 24/7 news streams powered by the CBS Television Stations’ newsrooms, available for free on connected television, desktop, and mobile devices via the CBS News app, local station websites, Pluto TV, and the all-new Paramount Plus streaming service.

More Resources

For more on this topic, check out:

· MediaCentral | Publisher 

· The Future of TV News White Paper

Contact Us Questions? Comments? Cool ideas? Get in touch: [email protected] or @craigaw1969. Follow Avid at @avid.

Credits

Host: Craig Wilson

Producer: Matt Diggs

Social: Wim Van den Broeck

Theme Music: Greg “Stryke” Chin

S1E15: Do You Trust Me?

Trust is fundamental to the reputation of news organizations. But with misinformation and claims of fake news now abundant, what can the media industry do to ensure their viewers and followers know that their content is genuine?

In this episode, we discuss the aims of Project Origin, an alliance of media and technology organizations looking to do just that. But how does it hope to achieve this? And what are the risks to the news industry if this issue is not tackled head-on?

Our Guest This Episode

Bruce MacCormack is the co-lead of Project Origin, a media provenance initiative that consists of the BBC, New York Times, CBC/Radio-Canada, and Microsoft. He is also an invited expert on the technical working group of the Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity (C2PA).

Bruce is focused on the impact of Artificial Intelligence on news operations, with a particular emphasis on mitigating the threat of misinformation. He is a member of the Partnership on AI steering committee on AI and Media Integrity. He was also Head of Business Strategy for Technology at CBC/Radio-Canada and the Executive Architect of the Enterprise Media Asset Management system.

More Resources

For more on this topic, check out:

· Security Best Practices for Cloud News Production

· Making the Media S1E10: All Things AI

Contact Us

Questions? Comments? Cool ideas? Get in touch: [email protected] or @craigaw1969. Follow Avid at @avid.

Credits

Host: Craig Wilson

Producer: Rachel Haberman

Social: Wim Van den Broeck

Theme Music: Greg “Stryke” Chin

More than a year after COVID-19 sent shockwaves through news teams worldwide, once-strange notions of remote access and distributed teams are par for the course. So that begs the question, what’s next?

In this episode, we ask: What’s the next evolution of distributed news production? What technology and workflow changes are needed to support this shift? And perhaps most important, how do we get the skeptics on board?

Our Guest This Episode

Adde Granberg, CTO of Swedish Television (SVT), has worked in the television industry since 1991, starting as a sound engineer at Swedish youth channel ZTV before running a broadcast consultancy where he specialized in live events. He joined SVT in 2010 with a remit to improve the technical infrastructure and workflow at the station. He was responsible for managing the remote TV production for the 2012 London Olympic Games and the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil and is currently moving SVT towards an IP- and cloud-based future.

More Resources

For more on this topic, check out:

Contact Us

Questions? Comments? Cool ideas? Get in touch: [email protected] or @craigaw1969. Follow Avid at @avid.

Credits

Host: Craig Wilson

Producer: Rachel Haberman

Social: Wim van den Broeck

Theme Music: Greg “Stryke” Chin

One of the most exciting (and, frankly, challenging) opportunities for broadcast news organizations is adjusting to platform fragmentation. Emerging digital platforms can unlock innovative new ways of approaching storytelling and reaching new audiences.

In this episode, we ask: What emerging platforms are ripe for innovation? How can legacy broadcasters learn from and embrace new forms of storytelling? And how can they turn this into new audiences and revenue streams?

Our Guest This Episode

Dr. Marie Elisabeth Mueller is an award-winning professional, new media educator, trainer, and news futurist who guides teams in newsrooms, NGOs, and small and medium-sized businesses to reach a new professional level with smart technologies and digital workflows. Dr. Mueller, who holds a Ph.D. in media science on digital storytelling from the University of Constance, has in-depth experience as a journalist, writer, and creative director at public broadcaster SWR and as a professor of digital journalism and online media management at the Stuttgart Media University.

More Resources

For more on this topic, check out:

Contact Us

Questions? Comments? Cool ideas? Get in touch: [email protected] or @craigaw1969. Follow Avid at @avid.

Credits

Host: Craig Wilson

Producer: Rachel Haberman

Social: Wim van den Broeck

Theme Music: Greg “Stryke” Chin

Top-down technology decisions don’t win tech leaders any popularity awards—but most importantly, they run the risk of missing crucial needs that weren’t properly articulated.

In this episode we ask: What’s a better process for making technology decisions that truly reflect evolving news workflows? How has the democratization of technology given end users a voice? And how do you go about building a user-first tech stack?

Our Guest This Episode

Morten Brandstrup is Head of News Technology at TV2 in Denmark, where he bridges the gap between news production and technology, with a focus on providing the right toolbox for reporters and photographers. He has spent his professional life in news, event, and sports production, having been a sound engineer, cameraman, director, editor, satellite operator, and field producer.

More Resources

For more on this topic, check out:

Contact Us

Questions? Comments? Cool ideas? Get in touch: [email protected] or @craigaw1969. Follow Avid at @avid.

Credits

Host: Craig Wilson

Producer: Rachel Haberman

Social: Wim van den Broeck

Promotion: Keri Middleton, Gina Pryor, and Mary Reynolds

Theme Music: Greg “Stryke” Chin