Perfect Storm the Multiple Challenges Facing Public Service News, and Why Tackling Them Is Vital for Democracy
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OPERATING EUROVISION AND EURORADIO PERFECT STORM THE MULTIPLE CHALLENGES FACING PUBLIC SERVICE NEWS, AND WHY TACKLING THEM IS VITAL FOR DEMOCRACY BILL DUNLOP OCTOBER 2017 1 2 CONTENTS FOREWORD 5 1. WHAT’S THE PROBLEM? 6 2. JOURNALISM UNDER PRESSURE. RESIST - OR LISTEN? 8 3. WHERE SHOULD YOUR RESOURCES GO? 16 4. EDITORIAL APPROACHES TO THE MULTI-PLATFORM ERA 26 5. TECHNICAL APPROACHES TO THE MULTI-PLATFORM ERA 34 6. ADAPTING RADIO FOR THE MULTI-PLATFORM ERA 42 7. CHANGING NEWSROOM CULTURE 50 8. RETHINK EVERYTHING - EXCEPT YOUR VALUES 56 EBU CONTRIBUTING TO QUALITY JOURNALISM 62 AFTERWORD 64 3 4 FOREWORD News and current affairs BUILDING ON THE are core to Public Service STRENGTH OF THE Media. Informing all audiences EUROVISION NEWSROOM with independent news and helping them to better For many decades the EBU understand the world is the has played a central role in basis of democracy. We providing Members with have been discussing the WE DON’T excellent news footage. disruption in our industry for GIVE A HOME Its role has become even some time now, but focusing more crucial in moments on how the tech giants TO THOSE of breaking news. Today, created global platforms. PEOPLE with excellent skills in user Today we see that these generated content verification, ”platforms” are becoming WHO HAVE we are among the leaders in the prime producers and A DIFFERENT clearing and sharing footage aggregators of content. coming from online sources. Sports and drama (two OPINION, genres really engaging with WHO HAVE With this report we launch the broad audiences) are in the Quality Journalism Initiative hands of a select number of FEARS. to build on the strength of players. Is the same going to the Eurovision newsroom, to Carsten Thurau, happen to news? develop new services, and to ZDF be the voice of high quality news provision. WE NEED TO REDEFINE WHAT WE DO I want to thank Bill Dunlop AND WE NEED TO for this report and conclude We need to reach out to all REPOSITION OURSELVES with his words: ˝Public service audiences. To all age groups news is a precious resource. and youngsters in particular, Journalism may seem to be Let the dialogue begin.˝ but also to a growing group in crisis, but even more than who no longer consume being a challenge this is traditional news sources or actually an opportunity for who have difficulties engaging public service media news, with the news as we provide since it remains the most it today. As the production trusted news source, provided process fundamentally by legacy newsrooms changes, we have a chance across the world. Journalism to redefine what we do and needs Public Service Media to invent new formats and tell to continue setting the the news in multiple ways on standards, to drive innovation multiple platforms to break in how we gather, produce the 51-49 paradigm, where and distribute news. But also half of the news reaches half to be the voice of quality in Jean Philip De Tender of the audience with often journalism. EBU Media Director half of the truth. 5 1. WHAT’S THE PROBLEM? YLE uses this montage to encourage journalists to think of all sectors of society when producing news output. IF YOUR AUDIENCE IS CONTINUALLY If you’re working in television This is a phenomenon which has news these days, you may touched all broadcasters; but for GETTING have noticed a change or two. public service broadcasters, there SMALLER AND Or three, or four. are several additional challenges on top. OLDER, THERE To begin with, calling COMES A broadcast journalism Across Europe there is pressure “television news” is a complete on budgets. In a growing POINT WHERE misnomer. The evening number of countries, political television bulletin is still there, parties on the right object to YOU CAN but the audience for it is what they see as the liberal bias NO LONGER getting smaller and older, and of public service media and want the resources which were once to see their funding cut, usually JUSTIFY YOUR almost wholly devoted to it by a reduction in a licence fee or FUNDING are now shared with 24-hour tax. In several countries where a day output on websites, an authoritarian government FROM THE mobile phone applications, has taken power, the public PUBLIC PURSE. YouTube, Facebook and other service broadcaster has been social media sites, which vary forced to become the conduit YOUR APPEAL in priority depending on where for news with a pro-government MUST BE the young are turning in any bias, while ignoring or under- particular country. reporting anti-government UNIVERSAL. statements and protests. 6 In other countries, the senior organizations with guaranteed Into this already challenging management of the public income allowed to publish environment come the risks broadcaster is changed in a news and features free of posed by eyewitness video blatantly political fashion every charge across a plethora of and fake news. The need for a time power passes from one platforms, thus taking away system of verification of what’s party to another. the need for consumers to pay known as “user generated subscriptions to publishers content”, generally meaning who have to survive in the the cellphone-generated open market? videos which quickly flood Twitter and Facebook While obliged to take steps to following a breaking news reach compromise over these story or controversial incident, issues, public service news has been understood for some providers nevertheless insist on time. There are well-developed the need to extend the reach techniques for quickly of their output. For most of verifying video which are them, the word around which relied upon by the customers their whole strategy revolves of social media agencies such is relevance. Put simply, if as Storyful or the members of your audience is continually the Eurovision news exchange getting smaller and older, there who tap into the EBU-managed comes a point where you can verification service, Eurovision no longer justify your funding Social Newswire. from the public purse. Your appeal must be universal, and “Fake news” is more if young people are going to challenging. The very stability new platforms and consuming of democratic societies can their news in different ways to be put at risk by deliberately- the old linear viewing model, planted false stories which you have to follow them and spread on social media with provide them with content that dramatic speed. In turn, public appeals to them. broadcasters are at risk: either they might inadvertently There is a second group of publish an untrue story, or broadcasters, such as TF1 in alternatively, be accused of France and TV2 in Denmark, bias for NOT running a story, who have a public service remit even though they know it to (meaning a commitment to be untrue. Even when the issue is not broadcasting a quota of news overtly political, there is and current affairs in peak How are public broadcasters opposition from competitors time), but are funded by selling to cope with all this? The to guaranteed funding for advertising. They face the same urgency of the need to accept public broadcasters. This may audience-related issues as their change, review procedures take the form of companies publicly-funded counterparts, and modernise output is questioning why, in the multi- but their strategy is different: widely recognised. From the channel age, one network or relevance remains important, Baltic to the Mediterranean, group of networks should but mainly in the pursuit European public service news have a guaranteed source of revenue. They too must providers are repositioning of income to produce chase the younger consumers themselves and developing entertainment, drama who are deserting traditional techniques to face up to the and lifestyle programmes broadcast news, but their challenges of a financially which could succeed in the emphasis is on a different set stringent multi-platform age. commercial market place, of alternative platforms: those This report aims to share as opposed to having much where advertising is possible. some of the insights from the lower funding only to produce This generally means that discussions which are taking “niche” programmes which websites and 24-hour news place, the strategies which otherwise would not be channels take precedence are being adopted and the made. That is a relatively for resources; these channels’ tools which are being used to well-established issue; but a presence on social media meet the challenges of today’s newer, related one is more is largely designed to drive media environment. focused on journalism: at a viewers back to platforms time when newspapers are which can be more easily struggling to survive, why are monetised. 7 2. JOURNALISM UNDER PRESSURE. RESIST - OR LISTEN? I HAVEN’T SEEN ANY EVIDENCE THAT THE Political pressure to reduce the scope of the BBC was overcome with the help of widespread public support. MEDIA IS ACTUALLY Matthew Boyle, the He was talking in November MAKING Washington Political Editor of 2016 at the height of the so- Breitbart News, was holding called populist revolution in CHANGES, his own in a hall full of 600 global politics: the vote for AND THE news managers with whom Brexit had shaken Europe and he had little in common. ”I Donald Trump’s election as FACT THAT hope for the greater good that US President had spread the THEY ARE you guys listen to what I’m tremor across the Atlantic. In saying and what those of us both cases the mainstream NOT MAKES IT on the centre right are saying,” media had been caught on EASIER AND he told the News Xchange the hop.