BBC über blogger Robin Hamman to join the 6th Forum panel

BBC über blogger Robin Hamman , who is one of the drivers behind the much-discussed BBC Manchester Blog project, will be joining the panel for the 6th Journalism Leaders Forum panel discussion on May 15th.

With that in mind we should probably modify the panel theme from 'Editor as Entrepreneur' to 'Editorial Entrepreneurship' because Hamman and his colleague Richard Fair aren't strictly editors (both officially have hold positions of 'Senior Broadcast Journalist'). That, I think, makes an important point: creativity and entrepreneurial flair aren't confined to the top of the organisational chart. What that means for the newsroom management is amongst the issues to be explored by the panel - and the audience - in the interactive discussion that will be chaired by journalist-turned-tech-whizz Bob Eggington.

The Forum, which forms part of the schedule for the Spring block of the Journalism Leaders Programme, is free and open to the public. Preceded by a networking reception at 5:15pm in the Greenbank Building Foyer, the panel discussion will start at 6pm in Greenbank Lecture Theatre and will also be webcast live.

RSVP to leaders[at]ukjournalism.org . And contact the programme director François Nel at FPNel[@] uclan.ac.uk with any questions.

‘Editors expected not only to manage existing operations, but to be entrepreneurs’

Time was when the typical editor’s job was pretty straightforward, even predictable. He [and, in the main, it was ‘he’] needed to make sure that, when the presses rolled at a pre-determined time every day, the newsroom had produced enough pre-planned stories of reasonable quality and variety on pre-determined themes to fill the preset space between the advertising.

On rare occasions the news-making machine would be temporarily disrupted by an unexpected event of some magnitude. Then, the spine-tingling cry would go out from the editor: ‘Hold the front page!’ All too soon, though, the normal ebb and flow would resume like clockwork.
That’s changing. Mainstream media managers are expected not only to be custodians of existing operations and to satisfy existing (often shrinking) audiences, but many are also expected to investigate new opportunities to reach new users using new formats on new platforms. Increasingly, editors are expected to be entrepreneurs.

It’s that new challenge which will be the focus of the 6th Journalism Leaders Forum panel discussion on May 15th. Entitled, ‘Editor as Entrepreneur: Lessons from the Digital Front’, the panel discussion will be chaired by journalist-turned-tech-whizz Bob Eggington, who’s many new media projects have including helping establish BBC News Online.

The Forum, which forms part of the schedule for the Spring block of the Journalism Leaders Programme, is free and open to the public. Preceeded by a networking reception at 5:15pm in the Greenbank Building Foyer, the panel discussion will start at 6pm in Greenbank Lecture Theatre and will be webcast live.

RSVP to leaders[at]ukjournalism.org .