theibcdaily


Executive Summary 43 Taking the pulse


Command and control news is dead


Richard Sambrook Professor of Journalism, Cardiff University


Region: UK Interviewed by: Adrian Pennington


In 2009, after 30 years at the BBC, Richard Sambrook, its director of global news, departed the corporation to pursue his career in consultancy and academia. He has been vocal in urging broadcasters like the BBC, CNN or France 24 to change their act ever since. “In some ways the biggest


problem for news organisations is in the future,” he told the IBC Conference. “TV is still the biggest platform for news and people receive their news from this medium more than any other.” But, says Sambrook, the


audience is changing the way it wants to receive news, a change brought about by the extraordinary rise in mobile devices and social media. What this has done is polarise people's appetite for news between up to the minute


breaking news and in-depth specialist news that can be monetised, since people are prepared to pay to get it. In the middle it is dead and that is where TV news had traditionally sat.” He adds, “It is command and


control: we tell you what we think you need to know. Broadcasters have experimented with different ways to be responsive (such as on-air Twitter feeds) but the efforts have been a bit clunky.” The main technology that


Sambrook thinks news organisations need to take heed of is the connected TV. “Smart TVs are not quite


mainstream,” he says. “The user experience feels a bit like the very early mobile phones i.e not great. But it will improve rapidly. So when you get a big computer screen in the living room that


“Audiences are not prepared to unquestioningly accept what they are told”


can get anything from social media to web and mobile – what does this mean for traditional TV news producers?” The issue is most acute, he


feels, with 24 hour channels, a quarter of a century old concept now outflanked by the internet. “I'm not suggesting 24 hour


news should close or change overnight. Or that the evening bulletins should change – that is still a profitable use of airtime. But broadcasters do need to look at how they can better integrate digital with the broadcast platform.” He likens TV news to


newspaper publishers a decade ago. Newspapers had to learn that 'digital first' was more than a slogan – it meant creating entirely different content distributed in an entirely different way to consumers. “In the '70s we flew film back


from location. In the 80s we had mobile sat trucks and SNG in a suitcase. Today, most newsgathering and distribution is done by IP. The mindset of these organisations is stuck in the satellite age whereas audience demands are changing.” He knows that it is not so easy


for large organisations to alter course but argues that the culture of change is not being pushed hard enough right through the operation. While this inertia is ongoing, the news agenda could be wrestled from their control. “Some audiences want to be


active in news selection and some want to be told what a trusted news organisation thinks is important. I think audiences are not prepared to unquestioningly accept what they are told.”


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