Reportr.net

The ONA session on merging newsrooms, managing drama at the ONA 08 is packed, perhaps a sign this is an issue facing every news organisation.

Or as the panel moderator Lee Banville, editor of the Online Newshour, describes it, a group therapy session

Peter Horrocks, head of the Multimedia Newsroom at the BBC kicks off the discussion by picking up on the therapy theme by describing his role as the chief therapist.

He explains how the BBC integrated radio, tv and online newsrooms just over a year ago. This was partly due to cost pressures, but also partly in response to changes in how people get the news, as multimedia news consumers.

As would be expected, there was a lot amount of wariness as newsrooms converged, explained Horrocks. He said there was a lot of debate about who won, with every media thinking the other had won.

He admits there are extra pressures on journalists. Expecting people to do continuous writing for the web is an extra requirement.

But he adds that it was probably easier for the BBC, as the broadcast side was already used to working in continuous news. Overall, he sums up by saying that the shift towards an integrated news operation has benefitted the BBC’s journalism.

Update: In response to a question about what was his biggest mistake, Horrocks said it was not spending enough time explaining it al to people and giving them enough time to understand it.

He argued this was important as when things go wrong (and they will), the journalists will just want to go back to the old ways of working.

The BBC has integrated its newsrooms in just under a year, so it is understandable that some journalists may have been left dazed and confused.