We carved out space for digital at Australia’s public broadcaster, and realised our work had only just begun.
Until recently, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation was a broadcaster. Sure, we were publishing in digital spaces, but we weren’t viewed – and didn’t feel – like a competitive digital publisher.
That’s no longer the case. We are now telling stories for Australians however they want to consume them. But this evolution has been costly and challenging.
In the past half-decade, we put nearly 1,000 staff through dynamic day-long training in digital strategy and best practice. We saw some immediate impact: newsrooms tied for decades to a once-a-day television output were now thinking about a digital story and a mobile reader. Reporters used to producing radio and television bulletins began producing podcasts aimed at underserved audiences and video geared for social platforms.
But how powerful can one day really be when the training job is never done? How do you make the impact of those sessions endure while remaining nimble, especially as misinformation and the shifting whims of third-party platforms mean priorities for news organisations are never static?
Our team from Australia, a mix of the very experienced and the much-less experienced, love a good collaborative training session that gets people out of their seats. We would also be interested in partnering with another organisation so our session can come from a place that feels culturally and professionally diverse.
Suggested Speaker(s)
- Paul Donoughue
Digital journalist, Australian Broadcasting Corporation