Media Uncovered

Roblox is a gaming platform that has over 150 million daily users, according to its own data. With over 50 percent of those users under the age of 17, it's perhaps not a surprise that public media are looking to such a platform as an opportunity to reach an audience group they are otherwise struggling to engage with. But what does such an offering look like? 

In this episode, we speak to those who are at the centre of public media's venture into the gaming sphere. We look at the sort of products that are being designed, from entire universes, to livestream characters. And we look at some of the thornier questions that come with such work, around online safety for young users.

Plus, we consider whether such spaces might ever be an opportunity for news and journalism... 

Guests: Wesa Aapro, Yle; Robin Rymenans, Future Media Hubs; Yang Lee, PTS Taiwan. Presenter: Harry Lock. Producer: Charlotte Pion. Music: Rachel Still, Lucas Thompson & Tom Brazier. Additional credit: SRG.

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Every year, there’s the major political events that draw the attention… the ones where world leaders from politics, finance, technology – and all the other consequential industries – converge in a single location, to discuss the great geopolitical issues of the day.

Such events are essential news stories for media institutions, ensuring the decisions being made – or sometimes, are not being made – are being conveyed to their audience back home. After all, the decisions made in those corridors of power affect billions of people and the world we live in.

This episode explores what it means to be the host broadcaster, the challenges that come from it, the pressure to get it right, and why it’s a particularly important responsibility for public media.

Guests: Nomsa Chabeli, Group CEO, SABC & Braulio Ribeiro, Director of Engineering and Operations, EBC. Presenter: Harry Lock. Music: Tom Brazier. 

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Find out about our upcoming roundtable on Indigenous Archiving. 

Journalists are confronted with many threats, from being exposed to hostile environments – on the field or online – or through the continuous pressures that their job can entail. And these threats have a cost. And while the physical safety of journalists has been a major focus in the profession in the last 30 years, the impact the job can have on journalists' mental wellbeing has been overlooked.

But is this now changing? 

This episode explores the different threats to journalists’ mental wellbeing and dives into the question of how newsroom leaders and news managers are addressing it in their organisations, and what forms of support have been put in place in the last few years.

This episode comes off the back of the MediaStrong symposium for journalists' mental wellbeing, an initiative created by Leona O’Neill, which was co-curated by the Public Media Alliance and Safely Held Spaces. During this event, the MediaStrong Newsroom Wellbeing Charter was launched. Find out more here: https://sites.google.com/mediastrong.uk/mediastrong/sign-our-charter

Guests: Aya Ibrahim from Deutsche Welle, Dave Seglins from CBC/Radio-Canada, Fran Unsworth from the International News Safety Institute and the founder of MediaStrong, Leona O’Neill. Presenter: Charlotte Pion. Music: Tom Brazier, Lucas Thompson & Rachel Still. 

In early 2025, two major elections took place which bore a striking resemblance in their outcomes... the Canadian and Australian elections both saw wins for the left-leaning incumbents while both leaders of the opposition lost their seats. But what did these elections have in store for the two national public media organisations, tasked with covering these elections, and a responsibility to foster an informed citizenry when it comes to casting their vote? 

In this episode, we host a conversation with the two men tasked with leading the newsrooms for both the ABC and CBC. We examine the challenges when it comes to covering an election in 2025: from politicians unwilling to engage with public media to an audience with diverse needs and habits when it comes to getting news. We explore what new formats are being experimented with, such as explainers, watch-along broadcasts, and a nationwide radio marathon broadcast. And we ask: will there always be a future for the election night show? 

For more on ABC and CBC/Radio-Canada's coverage: https://www.publicmediaalliance.org/public-media-covering-elections/

Guests: Justin Stevens, Director, News, ABC & Brodie Fenlon, General Manager & Editor-in-Chief, CBC News. Presenter: Harry Lock. Music: Tom Brazier. 

In the last episode, we looked at the continuing need for public service media that is international and independent, providing fact-based news and information to audiences around the globe. And one major challenge came through: the competition from the international media organisations of authoritarian states, namely Russia and China. 

In this episode, we hone in on China's media strategy overseas. We hear from an academic who has studied China's media strategy in the Pacific, where CCTV and China Radio International are butting up against ABC International and RNZ Pacific, while Chinese embassies are also investing heavily in local media & journalists. We consider what benefits the Chinese state is looking to get from these moves, in the Pacific, and elsewhere. And we also speak to both ABC International and RNZ Pacific about what impact it's having on them. 

Presenter: Harry Lock. Guests: Dr Denghua Zhang (ANU), Moera Tuilaepa-Taylor (RNZ Pacific), Claire Gorman (ABC International), Beverly Ochieng (Control Risks). Music: Tom Brazier, Rachel Still, Lucas Thompson.

We speak to the two leaders of two major international public broadcasters, the BBC World Service and SwissInfo, about why they believe international public media is needed now more than ever.

Undoubtedly, it's a difficult time to be an independent international public service media entity. Funding is precarious, the rise of big tech and how it fuels mis- and disinformation means it's a harder job, and the rise of China's and Russia's state media machines means there's now more competition. We discuss the challenges, and explore ways in which international public media can maintain its relevance in the world. 

We also unpick with an academic and author of a book about Trump and VOA, what's been happening to USAGM, and the wider impact this might have on the global information landscape. 

Presenter: Harry Lock.

Guests: Larissa Bieler (SwissInfo), Jonathan Munro (BBC World Service), & Martin Scott (University of East Anglia). 

Music: Rachel Still & Lucas Thompson

Content creators are only becoming increasingly influential, and are able to access young audiences – an audience which public media traditionally finds very difficult to reach. So is there an opportunity for public media to work with content creators in mutually beneficial exchanges?

In this episode, we look at two programmes being run by broadcasters where they are collaborating with content creators: the ABC and the BBC. And we look from both sides – the side of the public broadcaster, and the side of the content creator, to understand the benefits that such programmes could provide. We also speak to UNESCO about how they've been surveying content creators to find out their competencies. And with such programmes already underway, we discuss with one academic why public media needs to be particularly cautious about collaborating with news influencers.

LINKS: 

ABC Creator Program

Adwoa and Solomon Instagram account

BBC Creator Lab

UNESCO survey of content creators

UNESCO content creators online training programme

Presenter: Harry Lock. Producer: Jamie Tahana. Guests: Adeline Hulin (UNESCO), Adwoa and Solomon (Adeche), Daniel Ahern (ABC), Dr Kelly Fincham (University of Galway). Special thanks: Kristian Porter (PMA). Music: Rachel Still, Lucas Thompson, Tom Brazier. 

For our final episode of 2024, and the final in our short bonus series of conversations recorder at the PBI conference in Ottawa, we sit down with two public media CEOs, to discuss what it's like, running a public media organisation. 

Both Catherine Tait, President and CEO of CBC/Radio-Canada, and Hanna Stjärne, CEO of Swedish Television, will be leaving their positions at the end of this year. In this podcast, they consider their achievements and any regrets. As two women, they also talk about the harassment, attacks and threats they have faced during their time. Plus, they talk about the future of public media in their respective countries, the wider challenges facing the industry and journalism. 

Presenter: Harry Lock. Producer: Jamie Tahana. Guests: Catherine Tait (CBC/Radio-Canada), Hanna Stjärne (SVT). Music: Rachel Still, Lucas Thompson, & Tom Brazier.