Making the Media

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 broad...

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...

S1E14 : Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes Change is a constant in newsrooms. Both the technology involved and the methods of storytelling continue to be revolutionized as efficiencies are sought and new platforms emerge. In this episode, we ask: Rather than being reactive to change, how do you effect long-lasting, transformative change within a news organization? Has the fact that we have all had to adapt over...

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 th...

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 storytel...

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...

Artificial intelligence is a fascinating--and often thoroughly misunderstood--topic, and it's making its way into the world of news. In this episode, we ask: What are the cutting-edge applications of AI in the news industry? How can we deploy it responsibly? Is AI only accessible to the largest organizations with the deepest pockets? And perhaps most importantly, what's next? Our Guest This Episod...

Broadcast TV isn’t the only game in town anymore, if it ever was. Being where your audience is—mobile, digital, wherever they may be—is a big challenge, but also a big opportunity to reach new audiences. In this episode, we ask: Can platform fragmentation actually help broadcasters get closer to their audience? What insights can digital platforms unlock? And how can broadcasters pivot to deliver t...

Other industries have been using the cloud for years, but broadcasters have been reluctant to embrace it—until COVID-19 forced the issue of enabling remote work. Still, it’s an uneasy embrace, and misconceptions about and mistrust of the cloud still linger in the industry. In this episode, we ask: Are attitudes toward the cloud finally shifting? Where is—and where isn’t—cloud feasible for br...

Story creation is a team sport. Between in-studio talent, reporters in the field, and remote collaborators, news teams have had to balance the need to stay safe through a global pandemic with the practical reality of continuing to deliver a quality service across multiple platforms. In this episode, we ask: What are the strengths and weaknesses of a distributed model versus a more traditional appr...

News is not a forgiving field. Long hours, tight deadlines, intense subject matter—all are par for the course. Add the stress and isolation of a pandemic, and you’ve got one heck of a pressure cooker.   In this episode, we ask: What can news organizations do to protect their teams’ mental health? Can we learn from our collective experience amidst the pandemic to enable a better work-life bala...

The pandemic has forced us to re-conceptualize the newsroom from a physical location to a collection of people who could, in theory, be anywhere. In this episode, we ask: What does a virtual newsroom look like? And to follow on: What is gained or lost in a virtual environment? Is it realistic in the long term—or even desirable? And what are newsrooms doing today that could stay with us even after...

While the fundamentals of journalism are pretty consistent, the only constant in the news business is the pace of change. Today’s business models, content types, delivery methods, and more are so starkly different from even a few decades ago as to be nearly unrecognizable—and the future promises more evolution. How can colleges and universities keep up and produce the talent this industry needs? &...

Even pre-pandemic, the mobile journalist movement was on the rise, but the pandemic has demonstrated the strength of this model in a way no one could have anticipated.   In this episode, we ask: How has the mobile journalism model evolved and gained a foothold in traditional broadcast organizations? How have the events of 2020 changed the conversation around mobile journalism, and where do we...

Remember when news just meant linear broadcast? In case you've been trapped in a cave for the last decade or so, the new normal is a proliferation of platforms—linear broadcast, OTT, on-domain, in-app, and let's not forget the all-important social channels. Sure, it's important to consider how to deliver to all these channels, but the bigger question is what to deliver. In this episode, we ask: Ho...

The pace of change in this industry can be brutal, forcing news organizations to adapt and reinvent themselves to stay relevant. On the flip side, it’s also an industry that requires significant upfront investments in technology and talent—not necessarily a recipe for agility. In this episode, we ask: How can broadcasters build enough flexibility and agility into their business models to enable th...

Welcome to “Making the Media,” a new podcast from Avid Technology exploring the forces that shape the media, news, and entertainment business—by industry leaders, for industry leaders. Listen in for a sneak peek of Season One, “Breaking the News Industry,” where we’re examining the moment of reckoning in which the broadcast news business finds itself, with insights from industry leaders in the US,...