Cooperating and Competing—a Behind-The-Scenes Look at News in Washington D.C.
How do you cover the seat of United States government, the White House, the Pentagon, the Supreme Court, cooperate with competitors, discover exclusives, keep staff safe, and deliver to multiple platforms?
In the next episode of the Making the Media podcast, host Craig Wilson talks in-depth with Andrea Owen, Director of the Washington D.C. bureau for the United States network ABC News.
On the podcast, they discuss the unique challenges thrown up in one of the busiest news beats anywhere in the world, particularly when there are multiple distribution channels to be served at all times of the day.
Andrea says, “The key to it is always being nimble. Balancing that out with folks and balancing out between the different needs of collecting the content and turning the content around, whatever the platform is, whether it's a short piece or it's an hour special. That's the exciting part of the business. A lot of people, I think, really love that. But you also have to balance it so it's not too much all the time for folks. So that's a lot to discuss every day to make sure we're getting it right.”
In the episode, they reflect on the reality of remote working for journalistic teams—something which Andrea says is here to stay—and the future way that news is going to be delivered to audiences hungry for instant updates from reliable, trusted sources.
“In this media landscape, [it is about] getting our great work and our storytelling and the importance of journalism and getting those stories of people out everywhere, anywhere, whenever, wherever. So that delivery of it and getting it out quickly and having it be a good user experience. Without question, it's the journalist integrity to all of it. That is not to be compromised, it's just… that's the core.”
On the episode, they also talk of the rapid pace of innovation, partly driven by the response to the pandemic, and how this will shape the future of newsgathering and delivery in Washington D.C. and beyond.
Find out more on the next episode of the podcast, available on all major podcast platforms on Monday, April 4.
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Craig Wilson
Craig Wilson is a newsroom specialist with over thirty years of experience in the broadcast industry. Craig has held various roles with Avid and is now the Global Media and Cloud Product Evangelist and host of the Making the Media podcast.