How to make evolving media relevant
Sue Gardner is head of CBC.ca. She was recently at the 2007 Integrated Media Association Conference and shared her thoughts on how to remain “relevant” in today’s evolving media marketplace — “in other words,” as ThoughtCast puts it, “How to broaden the appeal of public broadcasting without dumbing down!
Download/Listen to sgardner.mp3 (6 minutes)
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Tod, Thanks for posting Sue Gardner’s interview here. I won’t repeat what Sue said but here are my 2 cents.
- I think we should still use BBC as our benchmark and learn from them. I am sure, if we are creative enough, there are BBC things that we can do without needing much extra cash. And there are probably things that we can do differently and even better than BBC too. CBC does need to listen actively from the people though.
- Web 2.0 stuff. I would like to see or hear what Sue wants to do here. Here is one of my Web 2.0 critique — I don’t like how the way comments are moderated currently (e.g. Fashion File Host Hunt). We write comments/feedback, and then it takes a human (during CBC office hours) to read and approve the comments. IMHO, the power dynamics is wrong. There are better and cheaper ways of doing this. The community can be involved to self-monitored to filter out or flag inappropriate messages.
Gardner’s interview could have been much longer.
It was such a sliver of insight.
CBC.ca is #1 source for Canadian news on the net?
BBC is the gold standard?
Hmmm. This has given much pause for thought.
One doesn’t have to dumb it down. With all the resources at our finger tips. Use the big words, we can wiki them if we have to. On the contrary I say smarten it up.
remain “relevant” …
broaden the appeal …
without dumbing down …
Sure, but how much can one really do with a website?
Cbc.ca has only one primary function – to mirror existing broadcasting.
So what’s the question?
After all the programs are available on demand and for download, where do you go from there?
What more can we expect from Cbc.ca?
How about original content created exclusively for the net?
New programs and “podcasts” that better reflect regional concerns.
To broaden the appeal of a show I think you have to do more than just give it it’s own blog.
If the show is boring, no amount of marketing is going to help.
Cbc.ca seems to be directed toward being a substitute for the channels, giving people a fast way to get the weather report and to see what’s up, CBC-style.
That’s really just a technical challenge. Editorial decisions and control rests with the originating producer.
It’s only when Cbc.ca begins to see itself as an adjunct to the channels that it gets interesting.
Like this blog, for example.