This was my view from the podium as John Patrick introduces me at the BBC’s Internal Management Conference, “The Future of News”, where I was giving a presentation about blogging to a group of around 80 senior BBC managers.
Of course, I mentioned the BBC blogs network, the BBC Manchester Blog and several other internal examples of programme makers making use of blogs (eg. Pods and Blogs), but most of the presentation was actually about blogging outside the BBC.
If that wasn’t enough evidence that the BBC was finally starting to “get” blogging, some would probably point out that I’m a bit out of my depth with the company I’m sharing on stage.
City University Journalism Professor Stewart Purvis, who was Editor-in-Chief and CEO of ITN before retiring in 2003, gave a presentation here earlier today. He came over during lunch to say hello and to tell me he’d seen some of the stuff I did on the Virginia Tech shootings.
Immediately before me on stage was Steve Hermann, editor of BBC News Interactive, discussed the plans for BBC News on all digital platforms including online, mobile and interactive television.
Helen Boaden, the Director of BBC News, is on stage now talking us through the high level stategy for journalism in the BBC.
As glad as I am to be here, I’m even more pleased that blogging – somehow – got onto the event’s agenda. It’s almost hard to believe that the BBC (and mainstream media as a whole) has got this far in a year…