News pioneer Deborah Turness: February 2019 - Royal Television Society

Page created by Joshua Caldwell
 
CONTINUE READING
News pioneer Deborah Turness: February 2019 - Royal Television Society
February 2019

Deborah Turness:
News pioneer
News pioneer Deborah Turness: February 2019 - Royal Television Society
Digital
                       Purchase
                       Order
Throw away your
P.O. books and go digital with
Digital Purchase Order
Controlling cost is crucial when managing a production
and our digital purchase order system allows decision
makers and controllers to approve costs before
payments are made. DPO simplifies the traditional
purchase order workflow, providing a fully integrated
process which removes the need for multiple emails
and physical circulation.

Digital Purchase Order benefits:
   Create POs in seconds
   Control costs
   Customised approval chains
   Multi currency; 24/7 access
   Digital Travel Authorisations

To find out how you can save time and go
paperless on your next production, visit
the Digital Production Office® website

www.digitalproductionoffice.com
or contact us for more information:
T: +44 (0)1753 630300 E: info@sargent-disc.com

www.sargent-disc.com      www.digitalproductionoffice.com
  @SargentDisc              @DigiProdOffice
  /SargentDisc              /digitalproductionoffice
News pioneer Deborah Turness: February 2019 - Royal Television Society
Journal of The Royal Television Society
                                                                                                                   February 2019 l Volume 56/2

    From the CEO
                       It may only be Febru-                    I am very grateful to Alex Wootten,                         Day with a special all-female episode.
                       ary but 2019 has got                  Chair of RTS Futures, our exhibitors,                          I am thrilled that the screenwriter
                       off to a lively start for             session producers and panellists for                           responsible for the programme, Max-
                       the RTS. At the Soci-                 making the TV Careers Fair such a                              ine Alderton, found time to write this
                       ety’s London HQ we                    vibrant success.                                               month’s TV Diary.
                       have been busy host-                     Our latest screening was held at                               Elsewhere in this edition, we look at
                       ing the juries for the                Soho’s Curzon cinema last month,                               what are bound to be two of the year’s
      2019 RTS Television Journalism and                     when a large crowd had the opportu-                            biggest issues for our sector – the
      RTS Programme Awards.                                  nity to see two episodes of 4 Blocks, a                        impact of Brexit and the debate over
         Elsewhere, our events programme                     brilliant TNT Serie crime series, fol-                         BBC financing of free TV licences for
      is very much up and running. In Janu-                  lowed by a Q&A with one of the stars                           the over-75s.
     ary, I was so thrilled to attend our                    and members of the production team.                               As we all know, these are complex
     busiest RTS Futures TV Careers Fair                     Thanks to all who made this happen.                            matters that are concentrating the
     to date. More than 1,350 people came                       With International Women’s Day                              minds of politicians and policy-­
     to the event, which was so bustling                     coming up on 8 March, it’s especially                          makers. I am grateful to John McVay
     that exhibitors didn’t have the chance                  fitting that our cover story is Andrew                         and Torin Douglas for their clear-
     to draw breath.                                         Billen’s interview with Deborah Tur-                           headed analysis.
         There was a very enthusiastic                       ness, one of the great innovators
     ­take-up of the CV clinic, and the                      working in TV news. After spells at
      panel sessions were particularly pop-                  ITN and NBC, Deborah is now blazing
      ular this year. One panel was devoted                  a trail at Euronews.
      to the question of how to make it as a                    ITV’s super soap Emmerdale will be
      Facebook/Instagram brand.                              celebrating International Women’s                              Theresa Wise

Contents
 5            Maxine Alderton’s TV Diary
              Maxine Alderton is thrilled to know that her home
              is steeped in the history of Coronation Street                            20                BBC faces free-fee quandary
                                                                                                          The vexed question of free TV licences for the
                                                                                                          over-75s is concentrating minds at the BBC and
                                                                                                          beyond. Torin Douglas unpicks the arguments

 6            Reinventing TV news
              Andrew Billen asks Deborah Turness, the first female
              editor of a British TV news show, about her latest canvas
              for modernisation, Euronews                                               22                ‘I’m paid to wiggle my finger in the air’
                                                                                                          Channel 5’s director of programmes, Ben Frow, tells
                                                                                                          Caroline Frost where he wants to spend the money
                                                                                                          freed up by axing Big Brother

10            The Brexit conundrum
              John McVay provides a user’s guide to how leaving the
              EU is likely to affect Britain’s production community
                                                                                        24                Freeview shifts up a gear
                                                                                                          As Freeview rolls out its new mobile app, Steve Clarke
                                                                                                          talks to the man behind the initiative, Jonathan Thompson,

13            Our Friend in the Midlands                                                                  CEO of Digital UK
              Guz Khan wants TV to try harder to reflect the
              uniqueness of Birmingham in all its glorious authenticity
                                                                                        26                The gangs of Berlin
                                                                                                          Matthew Bell hears the makers of the acclaimed

14            The ultimate professional                                                                   TNT Serie drama 4 Blocks explain how they broke
              Lisa Campbell profiles Fiona Bruce, whose new role as                                       the mould of the TV crime show
              presenter of Question Time is already proving controversial

16            Getting social with Facebook Watch
              Patrick Walker, the platform’s EMEA director of media
              partnerships, tells Steve Clarke what he’s looking for                                      Cover: Monica Schipper/FilmMagic

Editor                     Production, design, advertising   Royal Television Society   Subscription rates                     Printing              Legal notice
Steve Clarke               Gordon Jamieson                   3 Dorset Rise              UK £115                                ISSN 0308-454X        © Royal Television Society 2019.
smclarke_333@hotmail.com   gordon.jamieson.01@gmail.com      London EC4Y 8EN            Overseas (surface) £146.11             Printer: FE Burman    The views expressed in Television
News editor and writer     Sub-editor                        T: 020 7822 2810           Overseas (airmail) £172.22             20 Crimscott Street   are not necessarily those of the RTS.
Matthew Bell               Sarah Bancroft                    E: info@rts.org.uk         Enquiries: publication@rts.org.uk      London SE1 5TP        Registered Charity 313 728
bell127@btinternet.com     smbancroft@me.com                 W: www.rts.org.uk

Television www.rts.org.uk February 2019                                                                                                                                                 3
News pioneer Deborah Turness: February 2019 - Royal Television Society
RTS NEWS                                                                                  Your guide to
                                                                                          upcoming events.
                                                                                          Book online at
                                                                                          www.rts.org.uk

                                      STEVE HEWLETT MEMORIAL           NORTH WEST                            Venue: Winchester Guildhall, The
National events                       LECTURE 2019                     Tuesday 26 February                   Broadway, Winchester SO23 9GH
                                      Tuesday 24 September             RTS North West Student
RTS AND SKY ATLANTIC                  Speaker TBC                      Television Awards 2019                April 2019, date TBC
PRESENT                               Venue: TBC                       6:30pm-9:30pm                         Meet the Professionals
Monday 18 February                                                     Venue: The Lowry, Pier 8,             A chance for students from
In conversation with                  RTS MASTERCLASSES                The Quays, Salford M50 3AZ            production-based courses
Stephen Graham                        Tuesday 5 November and           ■ Rachel Pinkney 07966 230639         across the south to meet
Interviewed by Save Me co-star        Wednesday 6 November             ■ RPinkney@rts.org.uk                 informally with a wide range of
Alice Feetham. 6:30pm for 6:45pm      RTS Student Masterclasses                                              media production professionals
Venue: Kings Place, 90 York Way,      Venue: IET, 2 Savoy Place,       NORTHERN IRELAND                      to discuss current TV issues,
London N1 9AG                         London WC2R 0BL                  Tuesday 26 March                      opportunities and professional
                                                                       RTS Northern Ireland Student          and career development
RTS FUTURES                           RTS AWARDS                       Television Awards 2019                Venue: Bournemouth University,
Tuesday 19 February                   Monday 25 November               Venue: TBC                            precise venue TBC
Screening of Flack and                RTS Craft & Design Awards 2019   ■ John Mitchell                       ■ Stephanie Farmer
scriptwriting Q&A                     London Hilton on Park Lane       ■	mitch.mvbroadcast@                 ■ SFarmer@bournemouth.ac.uk
Meet the writer, producer and         22 Park Lane, London W1K 1BE        btinternet.com
commissioner behind UKTV’s                                                                                   THAMES VALLEY
first scripted drama series, Flack.                                    REPUBLIC OF IRELAND                   ■ Tony Orme
Panellists: Oliver Lansley, writer    Local events                     ■	Charles Byrne (353) 87251 3092     ■ RTSThamesValley@rts.org.uk
of Flack; Mark Talbot, producer                                        ■ byrnecd@iol.ie
at Hat Trick Productions; and         DEVON AND CORNWALL                                                     WALES
Pete Thornton, head of scripted       ■ Jane Hudson                    SCOTLAND                              Wednesday 27 February
at UKTV. 18:45-9:30pm                 ■	RTSDevonandCornwall@rts.      Tuesday 16 April                      RTS Cymru Annual Lecture
Venue: London Transport                  org.uk                        RTS Scotland Student                  2019: Jane Tranter, Bad Wolf
Museum, Covent Garden Piazza,                                          Television Awards 2019                Productions
London WC2E 7BB                       EAST                             The awards are supported by           6:00pm
                                      Thursday 14 March                STV, which will film the awards       Venue: Lecture Theatre 0.06,
RTS AWARDS                            RTS East Awards 2019             ceremony and show the event           School of Journalism, Media and
Wednesday 27 February                 Venue: TBC                       and the winning films on its          Culture, Cardiff University,
RTS Television Journalism             ■ Nikki O’Donnell                digital platform. 6:00pm              2 Central Square, Cardiff CF10 1EP
Awards 2019                           ■ nikki.odonnell@bbc.co.uk       Venue: Argyle Street Arches,          ■ Hywel Wiliam 07980 007841
Sponsored by Guestbooker.com                                           253 Argyle Street, Glasgow G2 8DL     ■ HWiliam@rts.org.uk
Venue: London Hilton on Park          LONDON
Lane, London W1K 1BE                  ■ Daniel Cherowbrier             Wednesday 12 June                     WEST OF ENGLAND
                                      ■ daniel@cherowbrier.co.uk       RTS Scotland Television               Sunday 24 March
RTS AWARDS                                                             Awards 2019                           RTS West of England
Tuesday 19 March                      MIDLANDS                         Venue: The Old Fruitmarket,           Awards 2019
RTS Programme Awards 2019             Monday 7 October                 Candleriggs, Glasgow G1 1NQ           Venue: Bristol Old Vic, King
In partnership with Audio Network     RTS Midlands Careers Fair        ■ April Chamberlain                   Street, Bristol BS1 4ED
Venue: Grosvenor House Hotel,         Venue: TBC                       ■	scotlandchair@rts.org.uk           ■ Belinda Biggam
86-90 Park Lane, London W1K 7TN                                                                              ■ belindabiggam@hotmail.com
                                      Friday 29 November               SOUTHERN
RTS AWARDS                            RTS Midlands Awards 2019         Wednesday 6 March                     YORKSHIRE
Friday 28 June                        Venue: TBC                       In conversation with Chris            Wednesday 27 February
RTS Student Television                ■ Jayne Greene 07792 776585      Packham                               RTS Yorkshire Student
Awards 2019                           ■ RTSMidlands@rts.org.uk         With Chris Packham, wildlife TV       Awards 2019
Sponsored by Motion                                                    presenter, photographer, writer,      The awards are sponsored by
Content Group                         NORTH EAST AND THE BORDER        film-maker and campaigner             Daisybeck Studios and pre-
Venue: BFI Southbank, Belvedere       Saturday 23 February             Venue: Bournemouth University,        sented by Calendar’s Christine
Road, London SE1 8XT                  RTS North East & the Border      Fern Barrow, Poole BH12 5BB           Talbot. 6:30pm-10:30pm
                                      Awards 2019                                                            Venue: Leeds College of Music,
RTS CONFERENCE                        6:00pm onwards                   Friday 8 March                        3 Quarry Hill, Leeds LS2 7PD
18-20 September                       Venue: Hilton Newcastle          RTS Southern Centre Awards            ■ Lisa Holdsworth 07790 145280
RTS Cambridge                         Gateshead Hotel NE8 2AR          Hosted by ITV Meridian’s Fred         ■	lisa@allonewordproductions.
Convention 2019                       ■ Jill Graham                    Dineage and BBC South pre-               co.uk
Venue: King’s College CB2 1ST         ■ jill.graham@blueyonder.co.uk   senter Laura Trant

4
News pioneer Deborah Turness: February 2019 - Royal Television Society
TV diary
                                                Maxine Alderton is thrilled
                                                to know that her home is
                                                 steeped in the history of
                                                    Coronation Street

    T
                        he week begins with      a huge win for Emmerdale, but             of my episodes (Charity’s Flashback)
                        an epic clear-out of     because it shows that our viewers         has been nominated. I don’t feel that
                        my extremely messy       have taken both James and his char-       I can take any credit, though. It was
                        home office in time      acter, Ryan, to their hearts.             beautifully shot by director Mickey
                        for a makeover.            And what a resounding vote from         Jones. Emma Atkins’s performance
                        Marie Kondo I am         the public for diversity and represen-    as Charity was astonishing. It’ll be
                        not. What does spark     tation on screen. I’m so proud of our     lovely to toast their achievements,
    joy, though, is a small brass plaque         producers for always striving to bet-     no matter what the result.
    inside one of the fitted cupboards. It       ter reflect the world we live in.
    reads: “Specially installed for Lynne          Our format lends itself to this. It’s   ■ Flurries of snow outside make me
    Perrie.” This is a reminder that soap        vital that we use it to make a positive   sympathise with the crew currently
    history is literally in the walls here.      difference. Hopefully, in the future a    shooting one of my episodes across
       Due to its proximity to the original      win of this kind won’t be such a big      the Pennines.
    Coronation Street set in Manchester,         deal. It’ll simply be a win.                  It’s supposed to take place in spring,
    my flat used to be home to Lynne                                                       but this time of year always throws
    Perrie (Ivy Tilsley, later Brennan), then    ■ Thursday brings a very fun edit on      us weather-shaped curveballs. The
    Johnny Briggs (Mike Baldwin), fol-           two first drafts with my script editor    episode itself is an all-female special
    lowed by David Neilson (Roy Cropper),        Liam. With these episodes, we’re again    for broadcast on International
    who sold it to my director husband.          playing with the traditional soap         ­Women’s Day.
       I sometimes procrastinate, thinking       ­format. They were a high-­octane             It’s a wonderful opportunity to
    about the iconic dialogue that must           joy to write.                             celebrate our extraordinary female
    have been learnt here. It’s strangely           I can’t wait to see how they turn       cast and crew. The show was a
    comforting to be carrying the baton           out on screen when they are shown         uniquely female effort across all the
    on, writing episodes of Emmerdale             in early May.                             other departments involved in the
    next to the vanity unit where Lynne                                                     production.
    once applied her make-up.                    ■ A fascinating evening is spent              The episode explores female
       In a couple of days, her circa-1985       listening to American lawyer David         friendship and support through all
    fitted furniture will be removed to          Rudolf speak at Manchester’s Stoller       stages of life. It packs quite an emo-
    allow me more space to work. If              Hall. I’m addicted to criminal justice     tional punch. The gender balance is
    she’s up there watching, I hope she          documentaries, and Netflix’s The           relatively good in soap, especially for
    understands.                                 Staircase had me hooked.                   writing, but there’s much work to be
                                                    I’m proud to report that I’m now an     done beyond that.
    ■ An even bigger hit of joy comes            expert on the owl theory. If an avian         I will be proudly supporting the
    with the National Television Awards          serial killer crops up on Emmerdale,       #BalanceForBetter campaign on
    and watching Emmerdale win Serial            you’ll know who to blame.                  8 March.
    Drama. Our incredible James Moore
    picks up the Newcomer prize.                 ■ I’m excited to receive an invita-       Maxine Alderton is a writer on ITV’s
      It’s emotional, not just because it’s      tion to the Broadcast Awards. One         Emmerdale.

Television www.rts.org.uk February 2019                                                                                                 5
News pioneer Deborah Turness: February 2019 - Royal Television Society
The Billen profile

        Andrew Billen asks Deborah Turness,
        the first female editor of a British TV
         news show, about her latest canvas
            for modernisation, Euronews

                                                                                                                                           Euronews
    Reinventing TV news
    D
                        eborah Turness, the     newscaster deskless for 5 News, push-             A few years ago, its investors decided
                        former editor of ITV    ing anchors in front of a vast news wall       to create instead 12 separate video and
                        News, ex-President of   at ITV, restoring scandal-prone NBC            audio channels, each with its own
                        NBC News and now        News to its primacy in the US, and now,        content. Comcast-owned NBC in the
                        boss of Euronews,       as she puts it, making a start-up out of       US, looking to expand east, suddenly
                        admits that there are   the Euronews heritage brand.                   took an interest and, in 2017, acquired a
    parallels in her working and domestic          “What I love is taking things that          25% stake.
    lives. She is, she says, a serial renova-   have real legacy, heritage and magical            Turness, ending a successful but
    tor. She bought a place in Shepherd’s       qualities, keeping the best of what they       tumultuous spell at NBC News in New
    Bush and turned it into a family home       are, but modernising them,” she says           York, became president of NBC News
    just before her first daughter was born,    over coffee at the Electric House club         International and presided over a
    and then did the same thing in              in Notting Hill. “Yes, there are parallels.”   relaunch.
    Chiswick, just before her second.              Euronews was no wreck but, from                Naturally, one of the first things she
    When she moved to New York, she             Britain, spoilt for news channels, it          oversaw was a spanking new studio at
    bought a 19th-century “wreck” around        looked like an oddity. Formed by a             its Lyons HQ, from where anchors are
    the corner from where the family was        collective effort of state broadcasters        now, at last, seen on screen. A “cube”
    renting, took out many walls and the        alarmed that CNN had cornered the              contains a shirt-hanging-from-trou-
    staircase, redid the bathrooms, and         Gulf war, it was a continent-wide              sers young journalist who not only
    made the opened-up spaces “magical”.        news­reel, identical in each of its mar-       shows us the latest social media but
       And then there is her life as a rein-    kets, save for the dubbed-on                   calls out its lies – Turness has on her
    ventor in television news, making the       commentary.                                    phone an impressive skewering of a

6
News pioneer Deborah Turness: February 2019 - Royal Television Society
‘MAINSTREAM
                                              NEWS IS
                                              FIGHTING FOR
                                              ITS LIFE, [NOW]
                                              WE HAVE TO
                                              FIGHT FOR TRUST’
political ad mispresenting the liberal          Euronews is, undoubtedly, an excit-         Williams, who, caught exaggerating his
Belgian MEP Guy Verhofstadt.                  ing place to work. A recent survey            heroics in Iraq, was extracted from the
   In Brussels and, due to the vagaries       showed that its new format is winning         anchor’s chair of NBC Nightly News.
of European politics, one week out of         mass approval from its viewers. Yet, it          “To be honest, you can ask anybody
four in Strasbourg – an additional set        seems small beer for a woman who              who worked with me, I don’t engage in
provides a cockpit for MEPs to debate         may be Britain’s most successful TV           it [office politics]. I tell everybody who
matters such as, well, Brexit.                news executive ever and has run               works with me I’m here to do a job.
   Yet, it is not the vivid-green HQ that     mighty NBC News herself. I ask if the         Let’s work out what the goals are, the
make Euronews unlike anything else            rumours in the trade press that she was       priorities.
on television – though now, as was not        “sidelined” are right.                           “I’m here to define a strategy, to
necessarily the case previously, it is in a     “No, not at all. I’d gone to NBC News       work in collaboration with people, I’m
good way. Rather, it is the fact that its
reporters are not accompanied by cam-
era operators but by iPhones acces-
sorised with selfie sticks, Osmo image
stabilisers and arsenals of chargers.
   “For journalists coming into the
business now, it’s liberating,” says Tur-
ness. “They have a different style of
journalism and they’re trying to do
something different. It gets you closer
to the people that you’re interviewing.
It gives a more visceral representation
of what is happening in those places.”
   She points to two instances. One is
Euronews’s coverage of the December
Strasbourg market attack. Admittedly,          Euronews’s
it was “lucky” that its Raw Politics team      Anelise Borges
                                               reporting the

                                                                                                                                         Euronews
was in town with the European Parlia-
                                               gilets jaunes
ment, but the courage of its reporters
                                               protests in Paris
reporting live from the streets cannot
be disputed.
   The other is the enterprise of its         to do a job. When I got there, things         very, very focused and I don’t have
youthful “star reporter” Anelise Borges,      weren’t great. It was post quite a diffi-     time for any of that.”
who took her iPhone (and drone) aboard        cult time for the organisation. The              But removing star presenters cannot
the Aquarius, the migrant rescue vessel       Today show was number two, Meet the           have been fun? “I always think that,
turned away by Italy last summer.             Press was going to number three, NBC          whatever you have to do, do it with
   “She was able to win the trust of the      Nightly News was starting to be unstable.     kindness and compassion and you can
refugees and the crew on board. They            “I was brought in as someone to look        look at yourself in the mirror.”
let her in. She filmed their children.        and see what needed to be done to put            On the alleged culture of sexual
   “There’s the story of one woman with       things right. And everything was num-         intimidation at NBC, Turness turns
her three little girls: they crossed seven    ber one before I left. I was extremely        rather corporate. It is not just, I point
countries in Africa – all these incredi-      happy and proud of what I had                 out, Matt Lauer, the “nice guy” who
bly intense stories from people who are       achieved. I’d always seen it as a project.”   was forced out of Today after horrifying
very shy and normally wouldn’t open             There were also personal reasons,           stories about his treatment of women.
up, and would not have opened up              regarding her husband’s first family, for     Even the legendary ex-anchor Tom
with a great big camera crew.                 returning. Even so, life in Bronxville NY     Brokaw was accused of a (compara-
   “Anelise was live every day for 10 days    and commuting to NBC’s Manhattan              tively minor) impropriety. “He is a
on the ship and then, when she came off,      studios at Thirty Rock, sounds pretty         hero and that’s it. It’s gone away. It
I brought in a couple of guys who nor-        entrancing. The downside, I guess, was        didn’t stick.”
mally make Panorama for the BBC. They         the filthy office politics as, first, she        But did she see abuse of power dur-
and she made a one-hour documentary           removed David Gregory as moderator            ing her tenure? “Absolutely not. And,
that has already won two awards.”             of Meet the Press, and then Brian             indeed, the NBC News investigation �

Television www.rts.org.uk February 2019                                                                                                             7
News pioneer Deborah Turness: February 2019 - Royal Television Society
A life of twists
    and Turness

    Deborah Turness, President,
    NBC News International

    Born 4 March 1967; brought up in
    Hertfordshire
    Father Andrew Turness, self-made
    businessman, died three years ago
    Mother Caroline, helped launch her
    husband’s business
    Married to John Toker, Cabinet
    Office comms director and former
    ITN producer (her first husband
    was journalist and ex-Clash roadie
    Damien Steward); two children:
    Fleur and Belle
    Education St Francis’s College and
    Knights Templar School, Baldock;
    University of Surrey (French and
    English), University of Bordeaux
                                                                                                       Euronews staffer using

                                                                                                                                  Euronews
    (journalism)
                                                                                                        a stabilised iPhone for
                                                                                                            a piece to camera
    1988 Freelance producer for ITN in
    Paris
    1991 Producer, ITN north of England   � into it found that none of that had          “But I felt that if you were a young
    1993 ITN Washington bureau            been reported into HR or management.”       woman and you demonstrated that
    2000 Deputy editor, then editor, of      But that’s the problem: a culture of     you could actually deliver, you could
    5 News                                silence. “Indeed, and there’s a whole       survive and thrive in the environment.
    2002 Editor, Channel 4’s RI:SE        cultural review going on and a very         I felt, actually, that you were even more
    2002 Deputy editor, ITV News          productive and inclusive movement in        noticed because you were a woman.”
    2004 First female editor of ITV       terms of encouraging people to speak.          On the road, was she ever proposi-
    News (which wins three consec-           “Look,” she says, “NBC News was the      tioned by a colleague? “No one has
    utive Baftas and an International     first news organisation to put a woman      ever asked me this before. I think in
    Emmy during her tenure)               as president of news. That was me. I        any environment at that time, any
    2013 President, NBC News              had a female boss at the time. Way          young woman, particularly in a role
    2017 Moves back to Europe to          more than half of my direct reportees       where you’re travelling with teams of
    relaunch Euronews, based in Lon-      were female.                                men, there were advances made, yes.
    don and Lyons                            “So, it was, and it continues to be, a   Were they rebuffed if I wasn’t inter-
                                          very, very good place for women to          ested? Yes, absolutely. And was that
    Awards Women in Film and Tele­        work, as is Euronews. Euronews has          respected? Yes, always.”
    vision News and Factual Award         got a woman head of ad sales, me, and          Brought up in Hertfordshire and
    2009; RTS Television Journalism       a woman as chief content officer.”          expelled by nuns from St Francis’s
    Awards 2014 Judges’ Award                Things were a different when she         College for smuggling boys into a barn
    Hours of sleep needed ‘I’m not        began at ITN in the late 1980s. She         dance, Turness was never a pushover.
    Margaret Thatcher, but I can get by   recalls “minding the desk” when the         She now thinks that relocating, aged 12,
    on five or six.’                      men went to the pub after the 5:45pm        to the local comprehensive further
                                          bulletin. Although there were instances     toughened her up.
    Watching The Affair, Cold Feet,       of powerful women at ITN – such as             Journalism soon called her. She
    The Crown                             Diana Edwards-Jones – most were at          started a schools page in the local
                                          the programme assistant level.              paper and, at 15, was a music reviewer.

8
News pioneer Deborah Turness: February 2019 - Royal Television Society
Euronews
                                                                                                     Euronews Raw Politics studio

At the University of Surrey, she studied      John Toker. I like to think that I played   invest in it, really own it, really believe
French and English. Her postgraduate          a small part in this decision.              in it. And we did. And I am very, very
studies took her to Bordeaux’s school            In an interview that she gave in         proud of it. Did we autocorrect after-
of journalism.                                2006, she said that, while her job was      wards a little bit and come back to the
  Speaking French is a huge asset in her      “probably” not compatible with family       middle somewhere? Yes, but you still
current job, but it was her flair that most   life, she had been encouraged by an         see ripples of that everywhere.”
impressed Jon Snow, then ITN’s diplo-         interview with the actor Geena Davis,          Nevertheless, her new Euronews
matic editor, back in 1988, when she          who had twins at 48. I had written the      may prove even more influential.
was his freelance producer in Paris. She      piece. She smiles when I remind her.           “We are in an era where mainstream
quickly concluded that, while she might       In any case, in 2009, aged 42, she had      news is fighting for its life, where we
make an average correspondent herself,        the first of two daughters.                 have to fight for trust. I think these
she could be an exceptional producer.            Her tenure as head of ITV News was       issues of how we tell our stories and
  After spells as deputy editor and           marked by scoops, including footage of      how we present our stories are now
then editor of 5 News (the first time that    the arrest of the 2005 London bombers,      fundamental and existential.”
ITN removed a newscaster from their           but also by a complete overhaul of its         So news must show its workings, as
desk), and an unhappier few months            studio presentation in favour of a vast     maths teachers say? “Yes, because,
editing Channel 4’s breakfast show            news wall. This was the “theatre of         otherwise, why would you just trust it?
RI:SE, she rejoined ITV News as deputy        news” era, and it did not last for ever.    I think we’re in a post-trust world.”
editor. In 2004, she was promoted to             “Theatre of news was about bringing         “Our goal is to make NBC News
editor there, becoming the first female       the power and the drama of video into       a very impactful, influential, global
editor within British network news.           the news presentation environment.          news brand.”
  It was a remarkable achievement,            The previous set had been a teak               We may not quite get this in Britain,
made the greater by her decision, not         wooden desk.                                but Euronews is a vast theatre of news.
long after, to have children, having met         “If you’re going to make changes,        Deborah Turness, television news’s
the man who would become her sec-             there is a very American concept of ‘go     greatest renovator, not to say greatest
ond husband, the former ITN producer          big or go home’. Really do this, really     show-woman, is transforming it. n

Television www.rts.org.uk February 2019                                                                                                            9
News pioneer Deborah Turness: February 2019 - Royal Television Society
The Brexit
                                  conundrum

     E
                     merging from the Christ-                                                      Member states and others outside of
                     mas fug of too many late          Production economics                        the European Economic Area that are
                     nights, too much mulled                                                       party to the Council of Europe’s Con-
                     wine and – at least for me                                                    vention on Transfrontier Television
                     – a strictly non-vegan         John McVay provides                            (ECTT) are included within the Euro-
                     feasting period, we all        a user’s guide to how                          pean works content quota.
     have to stare 2019 squarely in the eye,                                                          Leaving the EU will not affect the
     pull our socks up (a nice present that        leaving the EU is likely                        UK’s position in the ECTT, as the Coun-
     you appreciate with the passing years)
     and utter the dreaded word that so far
                                                      to affect Britain’s                          cil of Europe is separate from the EU.
                                                                                                      So, our high-value programming will
     has not made it into my festive games         production community                            continue to qualify as European for the
     of Scrabble – Brexit.                                                                         majority of the territories we sell into.
       If, like me, you were suffering from                                                        But we should anticipate that Santa’s
     Brexit overload before the Christmas         continue to have a relationship with the         little French helpers may try to spoil
     break, then the Westminster news             EU on digital policy. This will cover            future Christmases.
     blackout over the holiday period was a       digital trade and e-commerce, telecom-              At least for now, this gives medium-­
     welcome respite. But, with Brexit once       munications and digital infrastructure,          term clarity for UK sales and financing,
     again dominating the news agenda, it         digital technology and broadcasting.             but it will probably also be raised by EU
     would be wrong to ignore what it may           The Government’s promise of a future           buyers seeking a discount on longer-
     mean for the UK’s broadcasting, pro-         “digital relationship” on broadcasting           term deals.
     duction and distribution sectors.            with the EU, and its recognition of the             On the other hand, it makes no com-
       Of course, all of this is subject to the   cultural and economic importance of              mercial sense to me that EU broadcast-
     following health warning. We may             the industry is, on paper, encouraging. At       ers, happy with quality UK programmes
     have one or more of: no deal, remain         this stage, however, it is a bit like a letter   that are popular with their audiences,
     in the EU, have a new PM, a general          to Santa – quite a lot of asks but no idea       would decide to stop buying them.
     election or another referendum.              what we will actually end up with.               After all, US shows have been a con-
                                                                                                   stant feature of European schedules for
     Digital Single Market                        European works                                   many years. On this, we have to make
     The Government has said that the UK          The Government has confirmed that                sure that the UK Government (which
     will not be a part of the Digital Single     content originating in the UK will still         will still be a member of the Council of
     Market. However, the UK does want to         be classed as “European works”.                  Europe) remains vigilant.

10
Visas and immigration                           Cultural test
Continued access to talent and skills is        The law on this contains references to
key to maintaining a thriving UK crea-          the EEA; the Government has recently
tive industry, and free movement of             published an amendment to this legis-
(very talented) people has been part of         lation. This action was taken in order
why the UK has developed such an                to “avoid the situation that, unless the
important audio-visual sector, particu-         references to EEA state are amended,
larly in VFX and distribution.                  then British directors, actors and other
   The Government has stated that               production personnel would not be
freedom of movement will end when               eligible to score points under various
the UK withdraws from the EU. How-              sections of the test, whereas nationals
ever, EU rules on immigration will              or residents of any EEA state would”.
continue to apply in the UK until                  The cultural test will not be changing
December 2020, the agreed imple-                post-Brexit. Companies will still be able
mentation period.                               to qualify for tax relief under this test.
   This is, of course, contingent on the
Government being able to continue               Intellectual property and copyright
with its current plans and the UK not           The Government’s IP enforcement
leaving the EU without a deal.                  strategy shows commitment to protect-
   After 2020, there is, to put it mildly, a    ing IP and ensuring that the UK
degree of uncertainty.                          remains a world leader in this area.
   Although the Government has stated           Although the strategy was released
the importance that it attaches to the          before the referendum, the Government
continued mobility of “talented indi-           has said that this has not changed.
viduals and groups to support cultural,            Although the UK will be leaving the
creative and sporting co-operation”, it         Single Market, the Government recog-
has also recognised there are some              nised the importance of IP last year in
areas within the creative industries with       its white paper on the future relation-
skill shortages. These require non-UK           ship between the UK and the EU.
workers to fill the gap.                           The UK is a signatory to numerous
   This will be affected by how the             international treaties and agreements
Government responds to and imple-               protecting copyright. This means that
ments the recommendations of the                the majority of UK copyrighted works
Migration Advisory Committee (MAC)
for European Economic Area (EEA)
                                                are protected around the world.
                                                   The UK’s future relationship with         ‘THE RISK TO
migration post-Brexit.                          the EU will not be affected by this.         INTERNATIONAL
   The recommendations included: no
preferential treatment for EEA citizens,
                                                However, there may be some uncer-
                                                tainty until a deal is negotiated with       BROADCASTERS
a requirement that workers meet a               the EU. In the short term, there seems       BASED IN THE UK
minimum £30,000 salary threshold
and abolition of the Tier 2 cap. This is a
                                                to be no major cause for concern pro-
                                                vided a deal is agreed. In any case,         IS IN THE REGION
limit on the number of the Rest of the          copyright law varies across EU states.       OF £1BN-WORTH
World visas that can be granted.
   Pact called for a flexible post-Brexit       Creative Europe funding                      OF INVESTMENT’
migration system in its submission to           The UK will remain in the EU budget
the MAC’s consultation. The MAC has             until December 2020, with funds still
acknowledged this with the recom-               available to our creative sector until
mendation of abolishing the Tier 2 cap,         that date. This has particularly benefit-
which allows for some flexibility.              ted companies in animation, docu-
   It is not clear if the Government will       mentaries and film distribution. This
fully accept all of the MAC recommen-           was set out in a financial settlement
dations without further consultation            between EU negotiators and the UK
and lobbying from business. For many,           Government. It stated that UK organi-
the minimum salary threshold is the             sations can continue to apply for funds
key issue.                                      from Creative Europe’s forthcoming
   The MAC instigated an employer               media and culture sub-programmes.
consultation for the “shortage occupa-            UK organisations will have exactly
tions” list (the key list for all industries)   the same rights and obligations as
a few days before the Christmas holi-           other countries participating in the
day. The deadline for responses was             Creative Europe programme until the
6 January. There’s nothing like under-          current programme ends in 2020.
taking a major review of our future               Successful Creative Europe appli-
employment and business needs over              cants from the UK can receive funding
a holiday period.                               until the end of their projects (even if �

Television www.rts.org.uk February 2019                                                                         11
‘UK HIGH-VALUE
                                                 PROGRAMMING
                                                 WILL CONTINUE
                                                 TO QUALIFY AS
                                                 EUROPEAN FOR
                                                 TERRITORIES WE
                                                 SELL INTO’

                                                                                                                                      European Union
                                                                                                        The European Parliament

     � they run beyond 2020). Looking            contained in the AVMS Directive will      relocating its European HQ to
     beyond 2020, the Government has             no longer apply to the UK.                Amsterdam from London, it remains
     stated that it is “open to exploring           The country-of-origin principle, set   to be seen how many other compa-
     continued involvement in Creative           out in the AVMS Directive, is of par-     nies may be contemplating moving
     Europe to support the cultural, crea-       ticular importance to broadcasters        their complete UK operations to other
     tive and audio-visual sectors”.             and producers. The Commercial             EU cities, such as Dublin, Paris, Berlin
                                                 Broadcasters Association has calcu-       or Hamburg.
     Audiovisual Media Services Directive        lated that the risk to international        At various times, I’ve been accused
     The Government has not fully clarified      broadcasters based in the UK is in the    of putting a positive spin on Brexit’s
     its intentions regarding any transi-        region of £1bn-worth of investment.       impact on our sector. I do have seri-
     tional arrangements on the Audiovis-           The Government has stated that,        ous concerns, especially on migration
     ual Media Services (AVMS) Directive.        because we are leaving the Single         and the ease of movement issues that
     But it has made it clear that the UK        Market, the country-of-origin princi-     could affect UK production costs and
     will still have a close relationship with   ple will no longer apply. It has, how-    damage our competitiveness.
     the EU. This could mean that the UK         ever, assured the industry that it is       But the UK is and will remain one
     will remain a part of the AVMS Direc-       “seeking the best possible arrange-       of the world’s most important,
     tive, depending on negotiations with        ments for the sector”.                    dynamic and creative audiovisual
     the EU.                                        This has spurred some EU member        economies regardless of what hap-
        In 2018, the European Commission         states to try to attract UK-based         pens with Brexit. The reason is simple
     published a notice to stakeholders          broadcasters who require access to        – we happen to be very, very good at
     making it clear that, subject to any        the EU to relocate their operations to    entertaining the UK and the world. n
     transitional arrangements relevant to       their own territories. While Discovery
     the withdrawal date, EU rules               has announced that it will be             John McVay is CEO of Pact.

12
OUR FRIEND IN THE

                      MIDLANDS
                                                       Guz Khan wants

    T
                        he West Midlands is            TV to try harder                               I kept my own show as genuine and
                        my home and I                                                                 authentic as possible. And I mean
                        bloody love it. So               to reflect the                               that in the small and the big aspects
                        why do I barely see it
                        on the big old telly?
                                                        uniqueness of                                 of the show.
                                                                                                         Slowly but surely, as things started to
                        Don’t get me wrong, I           Birmingham in                                 come together, I could see how having
                        know everyone from
    the Spaghetti Junction to Bolivia loves
                                                        all its glorious                              that in my mind made a difference. All
                                                                                                      I could think about before the show
    Peaky Blinders – it’s a great show – but              authenticity                                dropped was, “Man, all I care about is
    it hardly feels like it’s created here.                                                           that the West Mids crew appreciate the
       I enjoy some gangster shizz set in                                                             ting, I made it for them....”
    my neck of the woods as much as the                                                                  It did drop, they did love it and I
    next former criminal but, as soon as                                                              was ecstatic. People from all demo-
    some of the characters open their                                                                 graphics were tweeting about the
    mouths, I’m hearing accents that sound                                                            terms they use and the streets they’d
    like a Welsh guy who has spent consid-                                                            walked on, and how the relationships
    erable time in Berlin, not Small Heath.                                                           in the show were proper Brummie.
       It was the fundamental thing that                                                                 Your dude was vindicated, it was
    threw me while I watched the domi-                                                                mission complete. I’d made a show
    nant performances from brilliant                                                                  that made our lot proud.
    actors. They’re dope these lot, but                                                                  Man Like Mobeen has now become
    they aren’t Brummies, mate!                                                                       more widely known as a show drip-
                                                                                           Guz Khan

       This led me to question whether an                                                             ping in authenticity, but it’s just one
    actual West Midlander had been con-                                                               small cog in the machine of the West
    sulted over this issue. It’s something                                                            Midlands.
    we are very proud of.                                                                                I want to see Maude tear it up at a
       Our vernacular, our mannerisms            sent how genuinely diverse the West                  laundrette in West Bromwich while
    and our interests are a tapestry that        Midlands is.                                         she’s battling a heroin addiction and
    make us so unique – “Is that under-             I’m an absolute newbie to the                     running a day care centre at the
    stood, bab?”                                 entertainment industry. I never                      same time.
       As a comedian, I obviously gravitate      dreamt of being in it. I never thought                  These are real stories that should be
    toward the comedy that’s on television.      I’d be standing on stages or writing                 told by our people, not Cuthbert the
    But it’s few and far between, really,        scripts for television. It’s just not                Oxford graduate and his scriptwriter
    when it comes to us.                         something that a working-class kid                   from Monmouth.
       Citizen Khan had a very successful        does around here.                                       The West Midlands is my home and
    run, and Adil Ray is definitely a               So when this came snowballing                     I bloody love it. So, hopefully, when
    Brummie, but it never quite satisfied        down on me like a bad day in the                     we do see it on the big old telly more
    the palates of the people it was sup-        Swiss alps – I’ve never been skiing,                 often, it’ll come with proper accents
    posed to represent.                          by the way, that’s what posh white                   and some proper West Midlands
       Television from our region is so          folks do, innit (I’ve been down a hill               flavour as well.
    sporadic that, when it is done, it           in a Tesco trolley blindfolded, though,                 “Is that understood, bab?” n
    has to be amazing. This can only             same shit) – the first thing I asked
    happen when we offer more people             myself is, what would I like to see                  Series two of Man Like Mobeen was
    from diverse backgrounds a chance            on TV?                                               released as a box set on BBC Three on
    to tell their stories, people who repre-        It led me on a path of ensuring that              7 February.

Television www.rts.org.uk February 2019                                                                                                            13
The ultimate
                            professional
     W
                               hoever                                                         political prowess and journalistic rig-
                               replaced                       Presenting                      our, and highlighted the fact that the
                               national treas-                                                shortlist was almost entirely female:
                               ure David
                               Dimbleby as
                                                  Lisa Campbell profiles                      Emily Maitlis, Kirsty Wark, Victoria
                                                                                              Derbyshire, Samira Ahmed plus what
                               host of BBC         Fiona Bruce, whose                         was described as one “token” male,
     flagship Question Time faced a daunting                                                  Nick Robinson.
     prospect. Having fronted the show for        new role as presenter                          All of which only added to the pres-
     an age-defying 25 years, he cast a long
     shadow, and there was intense pressure
                                                   of Question Time is                        sure. “It was as though, for some, a gen-
                                                                                              der-themed sword of Damocles had
     on the corporation to pick someone who          already proving                          been hovering over Bruce’s debut –
     wouldn’t be overpowered by the role.                                                     with her not just representing herself,
        Fiona Bruce was regarded in some               controversial                          but all females who have the audacity to
     quarters as an unlikely choice to suc-                                                   take a man’s place,” wrote Barbara Ellen
     ceed such an iconic broadcasting            epitome of calm during her debut             in the Observer.
     heavyweight. Viewers didn’t have to         appearance on 10 January.                       Bruce describes herself as a feminist
     wait long for her baptism of fire.             To those who know her well, however,      from her university days at Oxford,
        It came during her second week in        Bruce’s initial fears were clear. “Having    which she attended 1982-86. Arriving
     charge of the high-profile politics show    worked with Fiona for years. I could see     there from a comprehensive in south-
     and spoke volumes about how, in the         she was nervous to begin with but, being     east London, she was aware of class
     age of social media, presenting Question    the ultimate professional, she soon hit      and how “chippy” she was about it.
     Time requires very special skills.          her stride,” said one news executive.           This feeling of not fitting in was fun-
        The BBC received more than                  Bruce’s trademark composure was           nelled into feminist activism, which
     100 complains after Bruce had queried       not the only quality that set her apart,     included her successfully making the
     panellist Diane Abbot’s assertion that      according to a BBC insider who was           case for a female tutor to whom female
     Labour was “level pegging” with the         part of the pilot process. In what was       students could turn for support. The
     Conservatives in the opinion polls by       affectionately described as Question         initiative was subsequently rolled out
     saying “you’re behind, Diana”. Her          Time Idol, shortlisted hosts were put to     at every Oxford college.
     mistake lit up Twitter.                     the test with a panel of politicians and        Since then, she has demonstrated
        The presenter subsequently put the       pundits before a 120-strong audience.        her feminist viewpoint personally and
     record straight in the following week’s        “It was a formidable shortlist and it’s   professionally – most of the time, at
     programme. “There was some discus-          very hard to separate people in terms        least. She famously challenged Sir Alan
     sion about opinion polls.… I was talking    of CV, but the pilots allowed us to          Sugar on an episode of The Money Pro-
     about a poll which came out on the          compare. The tricky thing is, it’s a         gramme about his view that women
     day of the programme, which sug-            programme about the audience, it’s not       should declare childcare commitments
     gested the Conservatives were ahead.        an interview programme,” says a Ques-        to a potential employer.
        “The Shadow Home Secretary men-          tion Time insider. “So you have to keep         In 2017, she joined other BBC pre-
     tioned some other, earlier polls which      letting people in, without letting the       senters in signing the letter to Direc-
     showed Labour in the lead and we            panel evade the question. It was a           tor-General Tony Hall calling for equal
     should have made that context clear,        balance David struck brilliantly and         pay. However, she did not come out in
     and I’m really happy to do that now.”       Fiona instinctively got that.                support of presenter Miriam O’Reilly’s
        When news of her appointment                “The pilot was an enlightening, enter-    ageism claim against the BBC in 2009,
     emerged, the BBC News at Ten presenter      taining, watchable hour, everything you      with O’Reilly going on to win her case
     and Antiques Roadshow host confessed        could want from Question Time.”              against former BBC One controller Jay
     that she had “not felt this nervous in a       Despite this, as the first female host    Hunt in 2011.
     long time”. She added that the job felt     in the show’s 40-year-history, there            As an aside, one former colleague
     “massively exposing”, but she would         was the inevitable Twitter backlash, as      recalls Bruce’s “gleeful acceptance”
     try not to let her nerves show.             well as criticism from certain sections      of her Rear of the Year title in 2010,
        To the outside world, Bruce was the      of the press. They questioned Bruce’s        something which, the following year,

14
‘HER DISTANCE
     FROM
     WESTMINSTER
     IS SEEN AS A
     STRENGTH’

                                                                                           Fiona Bruce in the Question Time chair

                                                                                                                                       BBC
she admitted was “the most hypocriti-       Amanda Platell, writing in the Daily          programme. In 2008, she took on the
cal, ridiculous, ludicrous thing” she had   Mail: “Question Time is the toughest of       role that she’s most famous for, hosting
ever done.                                  gigs for the presenter. It doesn’t require    Antiques Roadshow, now in its 41st series.
   This time, however, Bruce has been       poise but cunning, political nous and a          The BBC executive who appointed
entirely robust. In a recent interview in   ferocity and command I suspect Fiona          Bruce as Dimbleby’s successor, direc-
the Times, she shot down Andrew Bil-        does not possess.                             tor of news and current affairs Fran
len’s line of questioning with this            “It is, and should be, forensic, fierce,   Unsworth, speaking before Bruce’s
retort: “I assumed that when I got          formidable. That’s not Fiona Bruce.           Question Time debut, said: “We chose
interviewed about this that at least one    She’ll be a butterfly broken on the           her because she combines the author-
person would say to me, ‘Do you think       unrelenting wheel of politics.”               ity of a newsreader with the warmth
you got the job because you’re a               As one colleague states: “Perhaps          and personality which comes with
woman?’ And a) I don’t; b) I’m insulted     because of Antiques Roadshow, people          interacting with Antiques Roadshow
by the suggestion; and c) men have          seemed to have forgotten that she’s a         audiences over the years.
been getting jobs because they’re men       journalist and has worked on Newsnight           “I would also nail any perception
for centuries. And I don’t recall a) that   and Panorama. Either that or the talk of      that she is a bit of a lightweight. The
question ever being asked of them, or       the ‘soft touch’ was just sexism.”            papers reported that the BBC ‘wanted
b) hearing a peep out of them about it.”       Bruce has been employed as a               a softer feel’, which is rubbish. She is
   Questions concerning gender are          reporter on a range of news and cur-          a proper journalist. It is just that she
not the only negative thing Bruce has       rent affairs programmes. She began            hasn’t been immersed in the Westmin-
faced since winning the prestigious         her BBC career at Panorama as a               ster scene.”
Question Time role. Many assumed that       researcher after meeting then-editor             Her distance from Westminster is
the BBC would appoint a journalist          Tim Gardam at a wedding.                      seen as a strength by another BBC
with a more traditional political back-        Her other reporting roles include          journalist, who said: “David refused
ground. At 4-1, the bookies’ favourite      working on Breakfast News and BBC South       to hang out with politicians and kept
was Kirsty Wark.                            East plus current-affairs series such as      himself away from that world. He was
   Indeed, following Bruce’s appoint-       First Sight, Public Eye and Real Story.       never a political correspondent.
ment, there were raised eyebrows               In 1999, she became a presenter on            “He saw it as his job to be on the
among some news and current affairs         the BBC Six O’Clock News, then the Ten,       audience’s side. You need to know
producers in the TV industry.               as well as co-presenting Crimewatch.          enough to not be bamboozled, and
   Some press commentators suggested        Famously, in 2001, Bruce became the           Fiona is as sharp as a tack. You don’t
that she would be a soft touch. Few,        first female presenter to work on the         need to be in Westminster to know
however, have been as harsh as              BBC television general election results       what politics is about.” n

Television www.rts.org.uk February 2019                                                                                                  15
Patrick Walker

         Getting social with
          Facebook Watch
     I
              n a short time Facebook Watch                                                 At Google, he led the team that
              has come a long way. Rarely a                 Facebook                      launched YouTube in Europe. Years
              week goes by without its par-                                               earlier, he had worked as a BBC News
              ent, Facebook, attracting nega-
              tive publicity for allegations
                                                  Patrick Walker, the                     producer based in South-east Asia.
                                                                                          There, his colleagues included such
              that someone, somewhere is           platform’s EMEA                        distinguished reporters as Kate Adie,
     using the social media behemoth for                                                  John Simpson and Matt Frei.
     nefarious purposes, with or without           director of media                        “The news experience became very
     the possible involvement of the Rus-
     sian state.
                                                   partnerships, tells                    helpful when I joined Facebook in 2016.
                                                                                          All the questions around our place in
        By contrast, the video-on-demand          Steve Clarke what                       democracy and false news became a
     service Facebook Watch appears to be                                                 very important part of my role, working
     immune to such criticism. One of its           he’s looking for                      with the industry to help it understand
     first scripted shows, the 10-part Sorry                                              our perspective,” he says. “I am not a
     for Your Loss, starring Elizabeth Olsen,   Huda Boss, and fairy-tale-inspired        digital native but I have worked in the
     won the kind of reviews that most          anthology series Sacred Lies.             digital industry since it began.”
     commissioners would die for.                  Facebook Watch made its debut in         Walker is an American by birth; two
        The series was described as a gor-      the US in August 2017. The service        years ago, he finally became a British
     geous, poignant drama about bereave-       rolled out worldwide just over a year     national but continues to hold a US
     ment. It was one of four Watch shows       later. Spearheading the European          passport. He speaks as fast as Jay Hunt
     to be renewed for a second season in       arm of the outfit is Patrick Walker, a    and almost pauses before smiling to
     December. The others were Kerry            51-year-old, highly experienced media     add: “I’m the digital godfather.”
     Washington’s drama Five Points, social     practitioner, whose past includes peri-     His first media job was with Japanese
     influencer Huda Kattan’s reality show      ods working for Google and the BBC.       public service broadcaster NHK.

16
‘FACEBOOK
                                                                                                         ORIGINALS
                                                                                                         NEED TO
                                                                                                         LEVERAGE
                                                                                                         FACEBOOK
                                                                                                         GROUPS
                                                                                                         AND IGNITE
                                                                                                         LIVE CHAT’
Facebook

                                                                                                                                                 Facebook
            Sorry for Your Loss

           J­apanese culture has always fascinated         was commissioned because we knew
            him. He was the company’s first non-­
            Japanese full-time employee. Walker
                                                           bereavement was an important topic.
                                                              “The series sparked discussion. Even       Working for
            lived in the company’s dormitories,
            taking communal baths with his Japa-
                                                           when we ran the first trailer, Facebook
                                                           lit up: people said that they were so
                                                                                                         Zuckerberg
            nese colleagues. He made documenta-            pleased to share their thoughts on the
            ries and children’s shows, subsequently        issue. We’re looking for meaningful           Patrick Walker: ‘The question
            launching NHK’s first HD channel.              social interaction around program-            people always ask me is, “Have
               Today, from one of Facebook’s two           ming. If we’re not achieving that, then       you met Mark Zuckerberg?” We
            London offices, Walker runs a global           we’re not achieving our mission,              travelled together to Nigeria to do
            team of more than 30 people. “We               which is to help people build commu-          some projects with the content
            work with broadcasters, production             nity and bring people closer together.        community.
            companies, digital publishers, public             “That is something we think about             ‘Every week, he does a Q&A with
            figures, creators, influencers, artists        every day in our programming conver-          the entire company. He’s done it for
            and celebrities,” he explains.                 sations and the dialogues we’re having        a decade, and Sheryl [COO Sheryl
               But, to be clear, Walker isn’t the per-     around people joining the platform.”          Sandberg] participates.
            son to contact if you’re a producer               He continues: “I like to think of it in       ‘That’s one of the reasons that a
            pitching a high-end scripted show. That        terms of a campfire storytelling expe-        lot of the people working with us
            side of the business is run from the US.       rience, where you are present with            remain highly motivated, because
            Indeed, in terms of traditional commis-        others, present with the storyteller and      we see how deeply concerned and
            sions across all programme genres, the         your reactions can affect the nature of       committed our leaders are by being
            opportunities appear to be limited.            the dialogue around the storytelling.         physically present and taking open,
               What is essential is that anyone               “It can be geographically distributed      and often very raw, questions.
            considering a pitch must ensure that           but it can still be intimate digitally. You      ‘It gives us confidence that they
            the idea fulfils Facebook’s social mis-        can even tell your own story. That is         aren’t sitting in some glass box, not
            sion. Walker has zero interest in shows        the ambition of a co-watching video           listening to the big topics.
            that are watched “passively”. Watch            social experience.”                              ‘He is approachable, accessible,
            Parties, a collective experience around           A good recent example is Confetti, a       every week taking open questions
            a theme, and Watch Premieres have              daily, live, interactive game show pro-       from any of his employees, as well
            been introduced to encourage social            duced by Fremantle in the UK and              as participating in workplace chat
            engagement.                                    launched in late November; different          dialogue around certain key topics,
               “It’s the experience of watching the        versions of the show are available in         personally commenting and being
            content that differentiates Watch from         the US, where it made its debut, and in       open to responses and feedback.
            other platforms,” Walker emphasises.           Thailand and Mexico.                          I’ve not seen that in any other
            “Even if it is the same content, the expe-        “Facebook Originals need to leverage       company, of any size.’
            rience can be different. Sorry for Your Loss   Facebook groups and ignite live chat �

           Television www.rts.org.uk September 2013                                                                                                     17
‘WHEN
     WE RAN
     THE FIRST
     TRAILER,
     FACEBOOK
     LIT UP’

      Where he gets
      his news from
      Patrick Walker: ‘The way I con-
      sume my news is like a diversified
      investment portfolio. I look across a
      diversity of sources, from the New
      York Times to the Guardian to CNN,
      and I consume them in bits.
         ‘For diversity [of opinion], I also
      consume sources such as Fox News
      and others. There’s a mosaic of           Sacred Lies
      news that comes from these differ-
      ent sources that I like to draw my
      own opinion from.                        � and all the things that are specific to      Says Walker: “Since we launched ad
         ‘One of the interesting things        the platform,” he says. “The thing to       breaks in all these markets, the con-
      about primarily consuming news           keep in mind is that Watch is essentially   versations we’re having with content
      through social is that you can have      an open platform for video. Within it,      owners are, ‘What catalogue of pro-
      the diversity that is particularly       there is a combination of programming.      gramming do you have? What shows
      important in today’s world, where           “Only a minority are original shows.     do you have in your libraries or that
      there’s a lot more polarisation than     A large part is from partners uploading     you’re producing currently that might
      we may like.                             videos from their archives. Things such     already have an inherent social follow-
         ‘The BBC is one that I have a         as Endemol’s Mr Bean and Fremantle’s        ing?’ It could be zombies, beauty, com-
      heavy amount of trust for. But,          Got Talent and original shows from the      edy or whatever. How might we work
      again, even if the news organisa-        likes of the Lad Bible Group.”              together to bring those clips back to
      tions themselves are trustworthy,           Mr Bean was first broadcast on ITV       life in a social environment?”
      for me, personally, having a diver-      in 1990. Over the years, the show was          Facebook says that more than
      sity of sources allows me to draw        repeated on linear-TV, subsequently         75 million people visit Watch each day;
      conclusions that might take in           becoming available on DVD and               on average, they spend more than
      different points of view.                catch-up. Extraordinarily, it’s a Face-     20 minutes on the service.
         ‘I have a very strong and             book Watch sensation. The Mr Bean               “We’re even seeing examples of
      personal commitment to the               page on Facebook has 82 million fol-        people consuming full-length epi-
      importance of public service             lowers, says Walker.                        sodes,” says Walker. So, it seems that
      broadcasters, in whichever country,         In August, Facebook introduced an        short-­attention-span teens and mil-
      and the role that they play. I think     ad-revenue-sharing model that splits        lennials are prepared to be less fidgety
      every country has a good selection       revenue 55/45 in favour of the content      with their Facebook feeds.
      of very solid news sources.              companies, provided that the videos are        But there is evidence that young
         ‘The internet allows people to        at least three minutes long, have gener-    people are less likely to be Facebook
      have access to a range of news           ated more than 30,000 one-­minute           users than they once were. Research
      sources that isn’t dictated by one       views in the past two months, have a        by Pew, published in May in the US,
      particular point of view.’               minimum of 10,000 followers and meet        suggests that YouTube, Instagram and
                                               Facebook’s eligibility criteria.            Snapchat are all more popular among

18
You can also read