nations & regions media conference

Transcription

1 nations & regions media conference CELEBRATING 22 YEARS OF MEDIA INDUSTRY DEBATE salford international media festival

2 2 contents Welcome 4-5 Introduction 6-7 Festival patron 8-9 achievement award steering committee PROGRAMME monday 16 November tuesday 17 November Keynote Speakers Radio Commissioners tv Commissioners Speakers Supporters/media partner Nov 2015

3 4 5 Welcome It is with great pleasure that I welcome you to the 22nd Nations and Regions Media Conference. Sitting at the heart of the Salford International Media Festival, offering delegates key opportunities to attend a series of major events, talks, keynotes and seminars, this conference is definitely not to be missed! For over two decades, some of the most influential and creative UK media figures have contributed to the Nations and Regions Media Conference; establishing it as part of the fabric of media debate and carving out a unique niche position in the broadcasting calendar. Based at MediaCityUK, the largest media hub outside of London, the Nations and Regions Media Conference runs alongside Next Generation; a forum where the media industry gets the chance to engage with new emerging talent from across the region, and the academic conference, Challenging Media Landscapes; an arena in which leading academics present their findings on issues affecting the media industry. These three components make up Salford International Media Festival. The Nations and Regions Media Conference places great importance on offering a platform to the North, encouraging the debate around key media issues, with an out of London perspective. Since its inception, this conference has consistently championed the cause of the regional broadcasters and producers, arguing strongly for the media industry to reflect, encourage and celebrate the diverse nature of the country. This guiding principle of the conference remains the same today as it did when David Plowright (man, Granada Television), joined forces with University of Salford 22 years ago to establish the conference. David championed the belief that the UK s nations and regions must have a far greater share in both the production and decision-making processes of the major broadcasters and in its 22nd year, these issues remain just as critical, important and as fiercely and passionately discussed as ever. This year, whilst we continue to debate media strategy for the UK's nations and regions, the conference is also determined to push at the boundaries. It focuses on the key issue of serving digital audiences and the future of media globally in our rapidly developing environment of technological expansion by exploring new territories and ways of creating, commissioning and delivering content. The conference also remains strongly committed to playing a leading part in championing and developing diverse talent within the next media generation. I would like to thank the University of Salford for its continued commitment to the Salford International Media Festival. Sandy Ross, NARM Conference Steering Committee

4 6 INTRODUCTION 7 At the heart of this year s Nations and Regions Media Conference lies the theme of Serving Digital Audiences. The headliners this year, Ed Vaizey (Minister for Culture and the Creative Economy), Josh Weinstein (Writer of The Simpsons and US show-runner), Jenny Baxter (Chief Operating Officer, BBC England) and New York producer and godfather of video journalism, Michael Rosenblum, will get to grips with the digital landscape at a time of charter renewal, strong evidence of skills gaps and shortages, privatisation and changes in broadcasting terms of trade. A series of themed sessions featuring high profile contributors from the BBC, BskyB, the Guardian, ITV, Channel 4, Vimeo, Channel 5, Dazed, Creative England and Creative Skillset, will bring into sharp focus the key areas with which the industry is grappling: digital audiences and new technologies. We are delighted that Josh Weinstein is the newly appointed Festival Patron and will be at MediaCityUK emphasising his belief in the importance and value of nurturing havens of creativity outside of major centres of production. Keynote speaker Michael Rosenblum will argue that the digital revolution is akin to the Gutenberg Revolution, of printing press fame, empowering audiences to create whatever they wish. Our current digital revolution landscape encourages and allows distribution to global audiences of 3 billion people, for little or no cost. So, traditional media has two choices: embrace the reality of new digital technologies and move from being producers of content to editors and publishers, exactly what the print world mandated with the arrival of the printing press, or resist and become isolated content creators. Much of what is new in media content creation and delivery is exemplified in so-called short form. This year s conference will be exploring how the commissioning processes work for short form, what audiences want and how this is responded to and shaped by the new generation of short form content producers. As Channel 4 launches specific short-form commissioning strategies, the BBC develops its interactive content, the Guardian and Vimeo promote niche film-making to appeal to large audiences, and Dazed s business model sits firmly outside the norm for broadcasters, it is clear that short form is big news for both media content creators and the commissioners. We are delighted to be featuring a session from the BBC in conjunction with Creative Skillset, reflecting on an important piece of recently conducted research which analyses the UK s out of London production skills landscape. The session will lift the lid on where critical media production skills gaps and shortages lie and look at how best to tackle these critical issues. Commissioning processes always feature prominently at NARM and this year s no exception. With broadcasters hungry to meet new content creators with innovative ideas for digital audiences, conference delegates will be given the opportunity to book slots with a range of high profile TV and Radio commissioners to pitch their ideas. Senior commissioners will present from the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5, TV3, CBBC, Radios 1, 3, 4 and 5, BBC Radio Cymru, the BBC World Service and BBC Scotland. It s been an exciting year to produce the Nations and Regions Media Conference and we hope that you will enjoy the event as much as we ve enjoyed bringing it all together! Beth Hewitt (Salford International Media Festival Director) Seamus Simpson (NARM Content Director)

5 8 FESTIVAL PATRON Josh Weinstein is an American television writer and producer, based in LA and best known for his work on the animated comedy series, The Simpsons and lately for the BAFTA award winning Strange Hill High, made in collaboration with the BBC and Factory. Josh s career began when he penned a spec script for Seinfeld, after which he wrote the episode "Marge Gets a Job" for The Simpsons. Along with his co-writer Bill Oakley, he was then hired as a permanent writer for The Simpsons in 1992 and was later appointed Executive Producer and Showrunner. Winner of many prestigious and highly acclaimed and respected awards, Weinstein won three Emmys for his work on The Simpsons, and shared them with the other producers of the show. He was also Co-executive Producer on Futurama, winning another Emmy in Josh believes Salford, Manchester and the region has the potential to eclipse Los Angeles as a worldwide hub for the media industries. He first visited the University of Salford in 2013, whilst producing the BAFTA award winning BBC children s comedy animation series Strange Hill High, to talk at Salford International Media Festival. His passion for working with students and staff at the University was abundantly clear. Salford and Manchester are places that he has strong connections with through his love of the media, animation and music. What the Salford International Media Festival means to Josh: The University of Salford is driving forward the next generation of our creative talent. Since I was first involved with the Salford Media Festival in 2013, I ve been aching to do it again. I haven t felt a pull like this since I started as a writer on The Simpsons. It s because creativity is there. That s a special, palpable feeling. And like many feelings that draw you to a show or a piece of music or a place, it s not so easy to define. I know it s in part to do with Manchester s and the University of Salford s deep shared histories in innovation, both in industry and the arts, and this combination is unique, tinkering approach that shows in the works of Cosgrove Hall and Joy Division. I know it s in part to do with the northern sense of humour, unequalled in any part of the world except maybe The Simpsons or Futurama rewrite rooms. It s that delightful combination of nose thumbing but welcoming. It s that sense of We follow no one, but if you want to come along, stand right by us. It s the spirit of creativity that may still be found in pockets in places like LA or London, but Manchester and the University of Salford as one of its most important brain centres and this Festival positively pulse with it. Josh is an inspiration to a generation of creatives and we are delighted to have him as the Salford International Media Festival Patron. 9

6 10 Achievement Award 2015 We are delighted to announce that for the first time, the Nations and Regions Media Conference will be awarding a member of the media industry community with a NARM Achievement Award, recognising the extraordinary contribution they have made to the industry. The annual NARM Achievement Award has been created to recognise and celebrate a media industry figure who has made outstanding contribution to and impact on the development of media within the UK's Nations and Regions, covering content creation, performance, network distribution, production, organisation, management and policy. This year, the award is being presented to Tony Warren, the legendary creator of Coronation Street. Tony is being recognised for his work in establishing the world s longest running TV soap opera in production. Coronation Street helped establish Manchester and Salford s place in British culture and, as one of the most financially successful programmes ever on British TV, played a big part in the success of Granada Television, now ITV Granada. The Royal Television Society has labelled the show as the most successful television programme in British history". Warren was born Anthony McVay Simpson in Eccles, Salford and adopted Warren as a stage name in his early acting career. In 1960, Harry Elton at Granada commissioned a script from Warren for a show about a street out there, and Warren wrote all 13 episodes of the serial that ITV initially decided to air. When the show became a success he continued to write scripts for the series until 1968, after which he moved on to other fields. However, he continued to write scripts sporadically until the late-1970s. Today he is retained by ITV Studios as a consultant to Coronation Street where he keeps a close eye on all aspects of the show. The NARM Achievement Award will be presented to Tony Warren on Monday 16th November at the opening of the Salford International Media Festival

7 STEERING COMMITTEE Ashley Ashley Byrne is the Creative Director of Made in Manchester Lynne Lynne McCadden has more than 25 years senior professional and executive experience across a wide range of media environments and currently runs her own management and consultancy company, Morra Ltd. Edward Pugh Edward Pugh is a Producer & Media Consultant with a 40 year background in TV. 13 Henry Eagles Henry Eagles is the former Creative Skillset s Academy Network Manager in Scotland. Katie Katie is Managing Director of Manchester Digital, with significant experience in both digital industries and economic development. Rosina Rosina is Senior Policy Consultant at Pact. Rosina leads on Pact policy in the areas of children s TV and animation, digital media, nations and regions and EU issues including the Digital Single Market and EU copyright. Sandy Ross NARM Steering Committee Sandy Ross is a television producer who has worked for Granada Television and Scottish Television. Beth Hewitt Festival Beth Hewitt is Director of Conversion for the School of Arts and Media and Programme Leader in MA Children s Digital Media at the University of Salford. Steve Hewlett Steve Hewlett is currently a Guardian Columnist, broadcasting consultant and independent television producer. Roy Roy Saatchi is a broadcasting consultant having had wide-ranging experience in both radio and television. Seamus Simpson NARM Content Director Seamus Simpson is Professor of Media Policy in the School of Arts and Media at University of Salford. Jason Jason Legget is an independent consultant with many years' expertise in the media business. Jane Jane Luca is Controller of External Affairs for ITV. Allan Walker Allan Walker is Dean of the School of Arts and Media at the University of Salford and formerly was Deputy Director of the Glasgow School of Art. Sophie Sophie is Marketing Manager at the University of Salford, leading on global marketing and communications for arts, media and built environment subject areas.

8 14 PROGRAMME monday 16 November Welcome Address from Steve Hewlett (Writer and Broadcaster; Nations and Regions Media Conference ) Compass Room, The Lowry Theatre, Salford Quays The Writer and broadcaster and NARM Conference, Steve Hewlett will officially welcome guests to the 22nd Nations and Regions Media Conference and provide some opening remarks about the sessions ahead and the debates and topics covered throughout the festival. 18:30-18:35 University of Salford Alumni Achievement Award Presentation: Robert Bagshaw Compass Room, The Lowry Theatre, Salford Quays 20:00-20:15 Executive Producer and Senior Vice President of Bunim Murray Productions, Rob Bagshaw studied BA Media & Performance at the University of Salford, graduating in He will be presented with an Alumni Achievement Award to recognise his extraordinary contribution to the industry. The Alumni Achievement Awards allow us to celebrate and recognise the many and diverse achievements of our growing and vibrant alumni community locally, nationally and across the world. We are honoured to award Rob and mark his incredible achievements in the television industry on a global scale. 15 Opening Address from Josh Weinstein (Writer and Producer, Salford International Media Festival Patron) Compass Room, The Lowry Theatre, Salford Quays Former Simpsons Showrunner and Salford International Media Festival Patron, Josh Weinstein will officially open the 22nd Nations and Regions Media Conference. 18:35-18:45 Salford International Media Festival Reception Bar Area, The Lowry Relax and network at the Lowry to celebrate the launch of Salford International Media Festival 2015 whilst the Dean of School of Arts and Media, Professor Allan Walker addresses guests. 20:15-21:15 Nations and Regions Media Conference Achievement Award 2015 Compass Room, The Lowry Theatre, Salford Quays 18:45-19:15 We are delighted to announce that the Nations and Regions Media Conference will be awarding a member of the media industry community with a NARM Achievement Award, recognising the extraordinary contribution they have made to the industry. This year, the award is being presented to Tony Warren, the legendary creator of Coronation Street. Keynote Address: Michael Rosenblum - CEO of Rosenblum TV and NYVS Ruth Pitt Compass Room, The Lowry Theatre, Salford Quays 19:15-20:00 Producer Seamus Simpson Rosenblum confronts the question of the future of broadcasting. The digital internet revolution is analogous to the Gutenberg printing press revolution: empowering anyone and everyone to create, in text, audio, photo or video and distributing to a global audience of three billion people, for little or no cost. This disruptive technology exists in a world where until recently it had been the domain of but a handful of broadcasters and producers. The traditional media world and its players are at a crossroads: they can either embrace the reality of these new technologies and their mandate, through moving from being producers of content to editors and publishers, exactly what the print world mandated with the arrival of the printing press, or they can resist. If they resist they their role will diminish to being isolated content creators on increasingly shrinking-scales. Rosenblum argues that those who have the drive to re-invent themselves, embracing the new technologies, will thrive and survive but those that resist will most likely perish.

9 16 PROGRAMME Tuesday 17 November The World Service and the Global Young Adult Hexagon Room 10:20-11:00 17 Registration Foyer, The Lowry 08:30 Speaker Steve Titherington (Senior Commissioning Editor, BBC World Service) Ashley Byrne Josh Weinstein on Creativity Steve Hewlett Compass Room 09:25-09:50 Former Simpsons Showrunner, Josh Weinstein, talks about creativity, what the creative process in media means for him and how to nurture it in the UK s nations and regions. The BBC / Creative Skillset Media Production Skills Review Compass Room 10:00-10:15 Producer Ashley Byrne The Global Young Adult, clever connected and hungry for news but what kind of news and how to provide it? The average World Service consumer is just 32 years old and the World Service had been going through some gear changes to catch up with its audience. Senior Commissioning Editor, Steve Titherington talks about what new programmes need to do to compete in a digital age and what unites these global young adults from Pretoria to Preston to Paulo Alto. He'll be drawing not only from his own experience but also from insights from other media organisations around the world and the World Service's own new research offering suggestions on what young audiences want most from the media. Panel Gurdip Bhangoo (Head of Future Skills & Events, BBC Academy) Cat Lewis (CEO, Nine Lives Media) Donna Taberer (Media Consultant and Learning Development Specialist) Break 11:00-11:10 Campbell Glennie (Talent Schemes Director, Edinburgh TV Festival) The BBC and Creative Skillset will be presenting a session which looks at the UK s out of London production skills landscape. The session will lift the lid on where critical media production skills gaps and shortages lie, focusing on how best these gaps and shortages need to be tackled. Keynote Address: Ed Vaizey MP Minister of State for Culture and the Digital Economy Producer Steve Hewlett Seamus Simpson Compass Room 11:10-12:10 Channel 4 in the Nations and Regions Speaker Ralph Lee (Deputy Chief Creative Officer, Channel 4) Ruth Pitt Compass Room 10:20-11:00 Hear the Minister address some of the latest policy issues affecting the UK media industry. Ed Vaizey will also be in conversation with Steve Hewlett and there will be an opportunity to ask questions from the floor. Ed is responsible for a number of policy areas including culture, media, museums and galleries, the internet and creative industries and libraries. Producer Mike Lewis / Beth Hewitt In this session, Ralph Lee reflects on the creative talent in the Nations and Regions, outside of London, the opportunities there are for it to flourish and how to sustain the successes in the heart of the UK s nations and regions. As one of the UK s most innovative and creative broadcasters, C4 will expand on the plans and strategies it is pursuing to ensure creativity and production outside London is given centre stage. Commissioning Seeking the Holy Grail: How to create a returning series! Panel Compass Room Jane Beacon (Commissioning Editor, ITV Daytime) Ninder Billing (Commissioning Editor, Factual, Channel Five) James Quinn (Commissioning Editor, Factual, BSkyB) Jo Street (Acting Controller, BBC Daytime) 12:15-13:00 Cat Lewis (CEO, Nine Lives Media) Producer Sandy Ross For most producers and production companies the secret of success is the returning series. How do you develop a returning series and what are the broadcasters looking for? This is a practical session and a must for any producers to attend. We hear from commissioners from BSkyB, BBC, Channel 5 and ITV what they are looking for and how to present ideas.

10 PROGRAMME Tuesday 17 November Hits, Misses and Maybes: How (and how not) to do Visual Radio Speakers Joe Harland (Head of Visual Radio, BBC) Sam Bailey (Editor, Radio 1 iplayer) Ashley Byrne Hexagon Room 12:15-12:55 This session will explore the successes and failures that turned Radio 1 into the mostwatched radio station in the world and will look at how those lessons can help other shows, networks and producers as they look to build filming into radio without turning it into TV. In this session you ll find out about the production and creative processes involved at a range of radio stations, and how to capitalise on this opportunity. Commercial Radio Crossroads - What Next? Panel Producer Liam Fisher (UTV National Radio Controller) Matt Deegan (Creative Director, Fold Media) Trevor Dann (Writer and Broadcaster) Ashley Byrne Hexagon Room 12:55-13:35 What is next for commercial radio in the UK? Leading players including TalkSPORT's Liam Fisher (now UTV's National Radio Controller) and Matt Deegan (Creative Director, Folder Media) debate the future of commercial radio including plans for extra stations online and innovative ways of creating bespoke personalised radio stations. Can the radio indie sector tap into the new developments? Lunch and networking Lowry Bar area 13:00-14:00 Meet the TV Commissioners Participants Lowry Bar area Jane Beacon (Commissioning Editor, ITV Daytime) Christian Bennett (Global Head of Video and Audio, The Guardian) Ninder Billing (Commissioning Editor, Factual, Channel 5) Amy Buscombe (Script Editor, Independent Drama, CBBC) Jennifer Byrne (Head of Video, Dazed Media) Mario Dubois (Executive Producer, CBBC and CBeebies Independents) Jordan McGarry (Head of Curation, Vimeo) Lynda McQuaid (Director of Content, TV3) Jody Smith (Commissioning Editor, Multiplatform and Online Video, Channel 4) Jo Street (Commissioning Editor, BBC Daytime and Early Peak) 13:00-14:00 Book in to a session with a range of high profile TV commissioning editors to pitch your ideas and gain invaluable feedback on your work. Slots will be available to book on the day on a first come, first served basis. Keynote Address: Jenny Baxter (Chief Operating Officer, BBC England) Producer Break Steve Hewlett Seamus Simpson Compass Room 14:00-14:45 Jenny Baxter will talk about the future of the BBC as it approaches its charter renewal. The chief operating officer of BBC England will also discuss the BBC s nations and regions work, the development and success of BBC North and the importance of the BBC s out of London activities. 14:45-15:15 19

11 PROGRAMME Tuesday 17 November Britain Broadcasting to Britain the 60 Year Health Check Panel Producer Blink and You'll Miss It! How to Get the Best Out of Short Form Commissioning Speakers Producer Hexagon Room Christian Bennett (Global Head of Video and Audio, The Guardian) Jennifer Byrne (Head of Video, Dazed Media) Jordan McGarry (Director of Curation, Vimeo) Jody Smith (Commissioning Editor, Multiplatform and Online, Channel 4) Claire Stocks (Head of BBC Children s Interactive) Sam Lewens (Change Director, mybbc) Beth Hewitt Compass Room Gurdip Bhangoo (Head of Future Skills and Events, BBC Academy) Helen Bullough (Head of CBBC Production) Ian MacKenzie (Nations and Regions Manager, C4) Andrew Sheldon (True North) John Whiston (Creative Director, Serial Dramas, ITV Studios) Polly Williams (Head of Scripted Drama at Entertainment One and Creative England) Ben Robinson (MD, Isis Media) Mike Lewis / Beth Hewitt 15:15-16:00 In 1955, the birth of the ITV franchise system brought regional broadcasting to the UK. It was a huge success as finally Britain was broadcasting to Britain, and a host of enduringly popular programmes followed. Diverse creative communities were able to flourish, giving a voice to all parts of our nation and opportunities for people who had never imagined they could work in the industry. 60 years on, it s time for a health check. 15:15-16:00 Short form seems to be the new buzz word, but what exactly is it that commissioning editors are looking for and how does it fit into the wider broadcasting sphere? What is it that audiences want from short form viewing? As Channel 4 launches specific short-form commissioning strategies, the BBC develops its interactive content, and the Guardian and Vimeo promote niche film-making appealing to large audiences, what does the future of short form look like? How can it work alongside more traditional formats whilst continuing to push the boundaries to appeal to new audiences? Channel 4, Vimeo and BBC Interactive will be exploring the landscape of shortform commissioning and content development, whilst searching out the commonalities across the genre, putting short-form commissioning at the heart of the Nations and Regions Media Conference What s my Vision? Serving Digital Audiences into the Future Speakers Producer Compass Room 16:15-16:45 Robert Bagshaw (New York Producer) Caroline Norbury (CEO, Creative England) Cheryl Taylor (Controller of CBBC) Josh Weinstein (Former Simpsons Show Runner and Executive Producer of Strange Hill High) Steve Hewlett Beth Hewitt In this final panel, find out what s on the minds of a diverse of leading media figures. What are their take away tips for how digital audiences will be served in future and how do they see this being achieved in the brave new world of broadcasting? Meet the Radio Commissioners Participants Hexagon Room Sam Bailey (Visual Content for Radio 1 in iplayer) Mohit Bakaya (Radio 4) Liam Fisher (TalkSPORT) Richard Maddock (5Live) Kerry McGeever (Radio Wales) Lisa Percy (BBC Learning) Ed Richmond (Radio Wales) Steve Titherington, (Commissioning Editor, BBC Word Service) Ynyr Williams (Radio Cymru) Andy Worrall (Radio 1) Jeff Zycinski (Radio Scotland) 16:15-18:00 Book in to a session with a range of high profile radio commissioning editors to pitch your ideas and gain invaluable feedback on your work. 21 Break 16:00-16:15

12 22 23 A range of world class executive courses for multimedia professionals At the School of Arts and Media we offer a range of short, intensive professional courses all designed to meet the increasingly diverse needs of today s multimedia producer, all taught in the heart of MediaCityUK. Short courses include: Presenting and Interviewing for TV Video Journalism Animation Developing TV Formats Producing and Directing for Factual TV Multi-Camera Studio Production for TV Production Management Post Production From Producer To Content Maker Developing Ideas for TV Drama Creation, Character and Production For more information, please visit: or media@onecpd.co.uk.

13 25 Keynote Speakers Ed Vaizey MP (Minister of State for Culture and the Digital Ed Vaizey MP was appointed Minister of State at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, with responsibility for digital industries on 15 July He is the Conservative MP for Wantage and Didcot. He is responsible for the following policy areas at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport: broadband, spectrum and telecoms culture heritage and the built environment internet and creative industries libraries media museums and galleries He was Shadow Minister for the Arts from 2006 to In 2004 he became a political speech writer. He was appointed Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Culture, Communications and Creative Industries in May After university he worked as a political researcher, before training and practising as a barrister. From 1996 to 2004 he was director of a public relations company. Josh Weinstein (Executive Producer and Showrunner) Highlights of Josh s illustrious career in the media business include being writer and showrunner on the iconic The Simpsons animated sitcom, as well as, more recently, Executive Producer for the acclaimed CBBC series Strange Hill High. Most recently, Josh has written one of the new episodes of Dangermouse for CBBC. Josh is also the Salford International Media Festival Patron. Jenny Baxter (Chief Operating Officer, BBC England) Working alongside Helen Boaden, Director BBC England, Jenny oversees BBC activities from its three key bases in Salford, Birmingham and Bristol. BBC North at MediaCityUK (MCUK) is now the BBC's second biggest creative hub, the biggest news centre outside London and base to some of the biggest BBC brands - including BBC Sport, Children's, Radio 5 live and the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra. BBC Birmingham is the new home of the BBC Academy, the BBC s centre for training, covering all of the BBC s key divisions and content areas, including Journalism, Production, Leadership and Technology. It is also the centre for BBC English Regions headquarters, plus much loved content like The Archers and Doctors. Bristol is another major production base for the BBC with the world renowned Natural History Unit at its heart. Jenny was previously Controller of Production for BBC News, leading News' move to MCUK as well as the move of BBC News teams into their new W1 London base. As Controller of Production she was Head of Change for the News Division as well as leading a department of 400 operational staff. In 2013 she undertook a Knight Wallace Fellowship at the University of Michigan, USA, studying the digital transformation of large media companies. Earlier, as the BBC s Foreign Editor, she headed up the teams from across the globe delivering the BBC s news coverage of international stories. Jenny was also the BBC's first Live News Editor, building the infrastructure and teams to transform the BBC s ability to cover news events live from location. Her background is in TV and Radio production and operations, having joined the BBC as graduate trainee with a degree in modern languages. As a senior leader at the BBC, Jenny has managed big teams undergoing massive change and helped the BBC deliver outstanding results from complex projects that had to get the best of technology, editorial and operational activities coming together successfully. Michael Rosenblum (CEO of RosenblumTV and For more than 25 years, Rosenblum has been on the cutting edge of the digital video journalist revolution. During this time, he has led a drive for video literacy, and the complete rethinking of how television and online video is made and controlled. As a TV producer, Rosenblum has produced or overseen production on more than two thousand hours of programming for both network and cable television. His shows have included the long-running Trauma: Life in the E.R., Paramedics, Police Force, Labor and Delivery, and Science Times. These series have aired on TLC, Showtime and National Geographic channels. He has also produced for ABC, CBS, Oxygen and the BBC. Most recently his groundbreaking 5 Takes series for Discovery has completely rewritten the production paradigm. The company currently has more than 300 hours in production for this year alone. His world leading work in the field of video journalism has included: The complete transitioning of the BBC s national network (UK) to a VJ-driven model, starting in The complete conversion of The Voice of America, the United States Government s broadcasting agency (and the largest broadcaster in the world), from short wave radio to television broadcasting and webcasting using the VJ paradigm (1998-present). The construction of NYT Television, a New York Times Company, and the largest producer of non-fiction television in the U.S. Rosenblum was both the President and founder of NYT TV, (all based on the VJ paradigm ). He was also President and founder of Video News International, a global VJ-driven news gathering company, with more than one hundred journalists around the world ( ). In partnership with Al Gore, he conceived of, and founded, Current TV. In partnership with Lisa Lambden, he founded The Travel Channel Academy and the New York Video School. Michael has designed, built and implemented VJ-driven news channels around the world, including Time Warner s NY1 News, Associated Newspapers (UK) London based Channel 1, Young Broadcasting stations in the U.S., Switzerland s largest commercial TV broadcaster, TeleZuri, as well as a host of smaller projects such as Eritrea s ERI-TV and Sri Lanka s SLBC. His consulting clients include The BBC, TV-24/Germany, TV4/Sweden, Oxygen Media, BBC, KBC, TVL, Danmarks Radio (DK), TV-3 Sweden, Norway & Denmark, Tokyo Broadcasting, and Korea Broadcasting. Michael is author of Videojournalismus (Germany) and iphone Millionaire: Six Weeks To Change Your Life (McGraw Hill 2012). He is a regular blogger for The Guardian (UK) and The Huffington Post.

14 Radio Commissioners 27 Sam Bailey (Editor, Visual Content, Radio 1 iplayer) See bio on page 34 Mohit Bakaya (Commissioning Editor, Radio 4) Mohit Bakaya is Commissioning Editor, Factual, at Radio 4. He takes lead responsibility for current affairs, politics, history, science, natural history and religion on Radio 4. He joined the BBC as a production trainee and worked on the Radio 4 s arts programme, Front Row, before becoming editor of Night Waves on Radio 3. When he manages to escape the clutches of the BBC he enjoys cooking, and is on a mission to cook the perfect beef consommé.so far without success. Matthew Dodd (Commissioning Editor, Radio 3) Matthew Dodd is Head of Speech Programmes and Presentation at BBC Radio 3 where he oversees programmes such as The Sunday Feature,The Essay, Between the Ears, Drama on 3, The Verb and Free Thinking. Prior to his current role he was editor of Night Waves and an Executive producer making documentaries, and in his time at the BBC has worked at BBC Radios 2, 3, 4 and 5Live. Liam Fisher (National Radio Controller, UTV) See bio on page 37 Jeremy Grange (Assistant Editor, BBC Radio Wales) Jeremy is Assistant Editor, BBC Radio Wales. Based in North Wales, he looks after programmes and staff outside Cardiff, including the science series Science Café and the Adam Walton show which highlights new Welsh music. He is part of Radio Wales commissioning team for features and comedy. He is also an experienced network radio featuremaker and his programmes have won Sony Gold and Silver, a Celtic Media Award and a Prix Marulic. He continues to make programmes and this year he has travelled to India, Nigeria, Germany and Orkney for Radio 4. Richard Maddock (Commissioning Editor, BBC Radio 5 live & 5 live Sports Extra) Richard Maddock started off his career as a freelancer in the news room of Radio City in Liverpool in After working his way across a variety of departments he soon rose through the ranks to join the programming team as Head of Production and Head of Music, and in 1999 Richard became the youngest Programme Director in the country (taking the reins of Radio City 96.7 and Magic 1548). In 2008 Richard then launched City Talk 105.9, the UK s only commercial talk radio station outside London, whilst Station Director at Radio City. During his time at the helm, Richard led Radio City to unprecedented success, producing record audiences and receiving the highest industry recognition. In his ten year tenure in charge of programming, the station was regularly awarded the industry s highest possible honour, winning 7 Gold Sony awards, including being crowned the UK s Radio Station of the Year four times (beating all UK commercial and BBC stations). The station was also named the World s Best Top 40 Format Radio Station and due to his personal contribution, Richard himself was recognised as the UK s Radio Programmer of the Year. In 2013, after 8 months as Regional Director of Programming for Bauer Media s NW portfolio of stations in Liverpool, Manchester and Lancashire (including Radio City, Key 103 and Rock FM), Richard left commercial radio to join the BBC. He is currently the Commissioning Editor at BBC Radio 5 live & 5 live sports extra. Kerry McGeever (Assistant Editor Speech, BBC Radio Wales) Now Assistant Editor Speech, BBC Radio Wales, Kerry started her broadcasting life as a researcher at the station before producing the Welsh contribution to the late night schedule on Radio Five (before they put the Live bit in). Her presenter Rob Brydon went on to find his fortune in London while she moved to Network Features in Bristol and oversaw the final years of Down Your Way whilst also being Sony nominated for a feature about condoms. She returned to Wales some years later to run the features output for Radio Wales. Her portfolio now includes the morning show, the lunchtime Phone In as well as the in house and Indie features. Lisa Percy (BBC Learning, Executive Editor (Bitesize) Lisa is responsible for a number of areas in BBC Learning, including commissioning content for BBC Bitesize and School Radio. With many years of experience in the education field, Lisa specialises in formal learning. She leads the production team working across content for students and teachers. Lisa began her career as a school teacher. With a particular passion for arts education and the new learning opportunities created by technology, she began to pursue these interests through academic study and went on to work at organisations including Warwick University, Becta and The Guardian before joining the BBC in 2005.

15 28 Radio Commissioners 29 Betsan Powys (Editor of Programmes for BBC Radio Cymru) Betsan Powys is BBC Radio Cymru s Programmes Editor, and has led the station since July Before that Betsan was BBC Wales Political Editor and led the political unit through the days of unexpected coalitions and the referendum that put greater powers in the hands of the Assembly. She spent many years as a news reporter in Cardiff and joined the Panorama team in London eventually heading back to Wales when the challenge of trying to raise children bilingually in London became evident. Be warned too: Betsan was the presenter of Mastermind Cymru on S4C. Steve Titherington (Senior Commissioning Editor, BBC World Service) See bio on page 42 Ynyr Williams (Deputy Editor, BBC Radio Cymru) Ynyr Williams is Series Producer Pobol y Cwm the BBC s longest running TV series which has just celebrated its 40th anniversary. He is also Executive Producer BBC Cymru/Wales on HINTERLAND and BBC Cymru/Wales National Eisteddfod productions. Before joining the BBC he was an independent producer for almost twenty years. He has won many awards including best documentary for Johnny Owen The Long Journey, best documentary film for Dal,Yma/Nawr, best childrens programme for Uned 5. He was Executive Producer on Olympic Stories for the European Broadcasting Union 9 country co-production with partners including Ireland, Finland, Poland, Czech Republic, Romania, Croatia, Greece, Slovenia and Wales. He has worked extensively throughout Europe and with companies in the US. He is board member of Skillset Cymru and Taikabox and is his spare time he likes to write poetry, play golf and watch rugby. Andy Worrell (Commissioning Editor, Radio 1) With over 15 years of production and leadership experience in music and speech radio, and more recently across visual platforms, Andy Worrell commissions radio documentaries for BBC Radio 1 and 1Xtra, and visual documentaries for Radio 1's iplayer channel, in addition to overseeing most of Radio 1's specialist music programming. Jeff Zycinski (Head of Radio, BBC Scotland) Jeff Zycinski is Head of Radio at BBC Scotland. He commissions and schedules programmes for BBC Radio Scotland and has responsibility for the production teams making programmes for the BBC s U.K. radio networks. Jeff began his career in radio as a journalist at Moray Firth Radio in Inverness and then at Radio Clyde in Glasgow. He joined the BBC twenty years ago, producing award-winning programmes across a wide range of genres including topical discussion, culture, comedy, entertainment and music. This year he made significant changes to the Radio Scotland schedule to ensure there was sufficient coverage of the Commonwealth Games and then the Referendum on Scottish Independence. The station also worked in collaboration with networks such as Radio Five Live and Radio 4 to reflect the political debate in live phone-in programmes, built documentaries and drama. On the day after the Referendum vote, Jeff was in Glasgow city centre, witnessing an angry clash between Yes and No supporters. Jeff alerted the Radio Scotland newsroom and then sent back photographs as police tried to control the situation. Contracts and Terms of Trade: Mark Waring (Legal & Business Affairs Manager BBC Radio 1 & 1Xtra) This is an opportunity to meet one of Radio & Music s Legal & Business Affairs Managers. Previously at Sony, Mark has substantial music experience. He can provide guidance on the BBC s Terms of Trade with Radio Independent Producers, Music Labels, Events & Commercial projects. Lesley Eaton (Business Affairs Manager, Radio 4, 4Extra & World Service) This is an opportunity to meet one of Radio & Music s Business Affairs Managers. Lesley has over 25 years experience at BBC contracting speech programmes. She can provide guidance on the BBC s Terms of Trade with Radio Independent Producers, Equity, Writers Guild & radio commissioning practises.

16 TV Commissioners 31 Jane Beacon (Commissioning Editor, ITV Daytime) See bio on page 35 Christian Bennett (Global Head of Video and Audio, The Guardian) See bio on page 35 Ninder Billing (Commissioning Editor, Factual, Channel 5) See bio on page 35 Amy Buscombe (Script Editor, Independent Drama, CBBC) Amy is the Script Editor for CBBC Independents and joined the commissioning team in September Working across comedy, drama, Cbeebies co-commissions and interactive drama, current projects include EVE, SO AWKWARD, HANK ZIPZER, JAMILLAH & ALADDIN and online interactive series DIXI and SECRET LIFE OF BOYS. Before joining CBBC Amy was Head of Development at LA Productions, where she edited Jimmy McGovern s BAFTA and International Emmy nominated film COMMON along with series including MOVING ON, JUSTICE and RTS NW-winning children s drama STEPPING UP. Previously she has held various roles in BBC writersroom and BBC Radio Drama. Jennifer Byrne (Head of Video, Dazed Media) See bio on page 36 Mario Dubois (Executive Producer, CBBC and CBeebies Independents) Mario Dubois is the CBBC Interactive Executive Producer, Independents productions. Responsible for interactive projects for CBBC. Mario has responsibility for enabling, developing and supporting interactive content across all genres for CBBC. In the past year, projects such as Ludus and CBBC s first app, made by Boom Pictures, Gory Games from Lion TV and also Dixi, the safer internet interactive drama from Kindle Entertainment, have helped to enhance CBBC s reputation for innovation and digital creativity. Whilst games such as All Star Racing and Shaun The Sheep s Super Sheep Shearer, have continued to appeal to the children s audience. Jordan McGarry (Head of Curation, Vimeo) See bio on page 39 Lynda McQuaid (Director of Content, TV3) Lynda is the Director of Content at TV3, based in Dublin. Having graduated from the University Of Ulster Coleraine Campus, with an Hons Degree in Theatre and Media, Lynda joined Granada Television in 1990 and very soon had a CV populated with all the large shiny floor entertainment shows synonymous with the Manchester broadcaster; Stars In Their Eyes, You ve Been Framed! Cluedo and This Morning. In 1998 she moved to BBC North and produced The Travel Show and The Sunday Show where she launched a very young Peter Kay. The following year she returned to Granada as the launch producer ITV2. In 2000 Lynda returned to Dublin and made a niche for herself series producing and directing large scale international formats, starting with Popstars, The Apprentice, Masterchef, The Voice. In 2001 she wrote and devised You re A Star Ireland s longest running entertainment series. In 2013 she returned to Manchester and was an Executive Producer for CBBC. In 2014 she joined Communicorp, home of some of Europe s leading commercial radio stations before taking up the position in TV3 Spring Jody Smith (Commissioning Editor, Multiplatform and Online Video, Channel 4) See bio on page 40 Jo Street (Commissioning Editor, BBC Daytime and Early Peak) See bio on page 41

17 32 33 Huge career opportunities in a major UK media hub, MediaCityUK My Media MA helped me to get ahead of the crowd. My year as a postgraduate student at the University of Salford has proved to be invaluable. I d highly recommend it to anyone who s really determined to work in the media industry." Sunny Kang, Assistant Producer Nine Lives Media Alumnus MA Documentary Production Masters courses include: MA Media Production: Animation MA Media Production: Children s TV Production MA Media Production: TV Documentary Production MA Media Production: Post-production for TV MA Media Production: TV Drama Production MA TV and Radio Scriptwriting MA Wildlife Documentary Production MA International and Online Journalism MA Journalism: News/Broadcast/Sport For more information, please visit:

18 Speakers 35 Robert Bagshaw (Senior Vice President, Bunim Murray Productions) Executive Producer Rob Bagshaw is one of the leading format producers in unscripted television worldwide. He has produced over 1700 TV hours with UK daytime formats The Big Breakfast and This Morning, late night talk shows with hosts Clive Anderson and Des O Connor, large-scale location productions Castaway and Paradise Hotel and US competition formats Project Runway All Stars and Top Chef Masters. In America, Rob specialises in celeb reality and competition formats. He created Bloomberg Network s first original format The Mentor before extending Bravo s Emmy winning Top Chef franchise with competing professionals in Top Chef Masters. He went on to create formats with Charlize Theron for Glam Squad, General Motors for Motor City Masters and Brian Henson for the critically acclaimed Jim Henson s Creature Shop Challenge. As Executive Producer, Programming & Development for BBC Worldwide, he and Oprah Winfrey created Lovetown USA for OWN, winner of Mipcom s Best Factual Entertainment format. For The Weinstein Company, Rob created and showruns Project Runway All Stars (Emmy nomination), currently in season 5 and nominated for Best Reality Show at BANFF World Media Festival. Rob is a format consultant for British companies ITV Studios, Two Four, Shine America and Shed Media, a regular guest lecturer at UCLA, a member of AMPAS, PGA and serves on BAFTA s US Board of Directors. He also works for the United Nations promoting the #GenEndIt campaign with Charlize Theron. Based in New York, Rob is Senior Vice President, Bunim Murray Productions, the company responsible for pop culture programming such as the Emmy Award winning Project Runway (Lifetime), The Real World, Road Rules, The Challenge (MTV), Keeping Up With The Kardashians, I Am Cait, Total Divas (E!) Best Ink, Bad Girls Club (Oxygen), The Rebel Billionaire (FOX) and HBO feature documentaries Autism the Musical (Emmy Award) and Valentine Road, shortlisted for the Academy Award. Sam Bailey (Editor, Visual Content, Radio 1 iplayer) Sam Bailey is the Editor responsible for Radio 1 s channel in BBC iplayer, which launched in November 2014 as Radio 1 s official destination for visual radio. Having started out running his school radio station aged 16, Sam spent the next 20 years balancing his love for radio with a fascination for new technology. He studied Interactive Media Production at Bournemouth University and worked on both student and BBC local radio, before joining Radio 1 s award-winning Multiplatform team in Sam was among the pioneers of visual radio. During his tenure he made videos for almost every show at Radio 1; led a week-long multicamera OB from Scott Mills house; took a musical to the Edinburgh Festival; streamed Radio 1 s Big Weekend for the first time; and established live streaming from Radio 1 s studios. After four years at Radio 1, he moved into digital event production, delivering the online coverage of Radio 1 s Hackney Weekend 2012, and re-inventing the BBC s digital coverage of Glastonbury in After a further year on secondment as Editor of BBC iplayer, Sam returned to Radio 1 to launch the network s own iplayer channel which has since had more than 15m programme requests. He manages a small in-house production team, and commissions a wide-range of music-led entertainment programmes from the independent sector. Sam was elected as a Trustee of The Radio Academy in He lives in East London with his wife, cat, chickens, quails and VW Campervan. Jane Beacon (Commissioning Editor, ITV Daytime) Jane is currently commissioning editor for ITV Daytime a role which she has been in for 18 months. ITV Daytime is responsible for content from 6am to 6pm daily this includes Good Morning Britain, Lorraine, The Jeremy Kyle Show, This Morning with Phillip & Holly, Loose Women, Judge Rinder, Tipping Point and The Chase. Jane began her career at GMTV, then went on to be one of the launch producers of Loose Women and has worked across various other daytime shows such as the Vanessa Show and The Time The Place. Jane worked extensively as a producer in Entertainment for around ten years most recently as an executive producer on Dancing on Ice. She also worked on shows which include Celebrity Big Brother, I m A Celebrity Get Me Out of Here, The Match and Comic Relief does Fame Academy. Jane spent four years working in factual programming and made documentaries for ITV, BBC1, Channel 4 & Channel 5. Jane also spent around a year working as a development executive for ITV Studios. Christian Bennett (Global Head of Video and Audio, The Guardian) Christian Bennett is the global head of video and audio at The Guardian. He moved back to London after roles as head of video in Sydney and New York for the same organisation. The Guardian s online video is a unique mix of storytelling and journalism appealing to a very large global audience, reaching 15m viewers monthly on-site. Their video represents a commitment to global digital journalism, covering news, documentary, returning series, entertainment features, branded content and more, originating from 3 key offices in London, New York and Sydney. Like the written word in The Guardian, the video covers light and dark, with an expert approach to culture, sport and lifestyle taking its place alongside hard-hitting news video. Gurdip Bhangoo (Head of Future Skills and Events, BBC Academy) Gurdip is part of the BBC Academy s senior team heading up Future Skills and Events. Under his portfolio he looks after the roll-out of training for digital skills; major Pan BBC strategic projects and external partnerships with Creative Skillset, NFTS and other training providers. Before working with the Academy, Gurdip forged a successful production career as a Executive Producer in BBC Factual; CBBC and BBC Worldwide. In addition to his career at the BBC, Gurdip was Senior Vice President & Head of Programmes for Sony Pictures based in Mumbai and led the creative renewal of Sony Entertainment India commissioning and adapting global entertainment formats such as Dancing With The Stars, X Factor and I m A Celebrity. Ninder Billing (Commissioning Editor, Factual, Channel 5) Ninder Billing is Commissioning Editor for Factual at Channel 5. Her remit spans all prime time factual sub-genres with a particular interest in popular and contemporary factual. Ninder joined C5 in August 2015 from the BBC where she was in-house Executive Producer in Documentaries and also for factual formats on CBBC. During her 6 years at the BBC Ninder s output won a BAFTA in 2013, was awarded the Stonewall Broadcast of the Year, and shortlisted at the RTS Awards. Before the BBC Ninder set up and ran her own independent production company Class Films which produced hit shows for Channel 4, UK digital channels and US broadcaster Comedy Central. She lives in London, and is married with two children.

19 Speakers 37 Helen Bullough (Head of CBBC Production) Helen Bullough is Head of CBBC Productions. She s the editorial lead for the vibrant and successful in house department in Salford which produces everything from award winning dramas like Wolfblood and The Dumping Ground to key interactive output for the CBBC website, flagship brands like Blue Peter, distinctive factual strands including Newsround and its indepth specials, and engaging entertainment from performers like Sam and Mark and Dick and Dom. Before joining BBC Children s in July 2011 Helen ran BBC Entertainment North and Vision North. Jennifer Byrne (Head of Video, Dazed Media) Currently Head of Video at Dazed Media, which includes the influential magazine titles Dazed, AnOther and Another Man and their respective online platforms Dazeddigital.com and Anothermag.com, as well as in-house creative agency. Overseeing strategy for video across all titles. Editorially, commissioning and producing original films across music, art, fashion and documentary. Commercially, developing and producing oneoff videos such as Kendall Jenners Burn Book and commissioning series ideas with brands. Working with broadcast on original TV series, such as Music Nation for Channel 4. Has an excellent knowledge of the emerging digital landscape, with excellent relationships with new directors and production companies globally. Previously worked at the Institute of Contemporary Arts, London, Blink Productions and Forever Pictures. Trevor Dann (Producer) Trevor Dann is an award-winning independent radio producer, honorary professor of journalism at Nottingham Trent University, visiting professor of radio at the University of Lincoln, visiting lecturer in radio at the University of Salford and presenter of the industry s leading podcast, the Radio Today Programme. He was formerly Chief Exec of the Radio Academy, Head of Music Entertainment for BBC Radio & TV and Head of Pop at Emap. Matt Deegan (Creative Director, Folder Media) Matt is Creative Director of Folder Media. Working at the Radio Academy, bidding for FM and digital licences for GWR and then leading strategic projects at Classic FM, XFM and Capital were all warm up for his current job as Folder Media s Creative Director. Folder s a radio and new media consultancy firm with clients including Absolute Radio, UTV and the BBC. It owns ten local DAB multiplexes that have been rolled out across the country, runs the Radio Academy awardwinning digital radio station Fun Kids and makes radio programmes for BBC Radio 1, 1Xtra and Radio 2. Liam Fisher (National Radio Controller, UTV) Liam Fisher is the UTV National Radio Controller responsible for the 2016 launch and management of talksport 2, talkradio and Virgin Radio. In addition he runs talksport and talksport International, which is the global audio partner of the Premier League. Previously talksport Programme Director, Liam revamped the Alan Brazil Sports Breakfast leading to the highest ever figures in the timeslot, persuaded Colin Murray to swap Salford for Southwark and host weekday mid-mornings and create a new weekend football show The Warm Up now hosted by comedians Jon Richardson & Matt Forde (Saturday) & Max Rushden (Sunday). During his tenure the station has twice broken their reach record and is the UK s only 24 hour sports radio station. Campbell Glennie (Talent Schemes Director, Edinburgh TV Festival) Campbell is Director of Talent Schemes at the Guardian Edinburgh International Television Festival. Prior to this, he was Marketing & Business Director at Sheffield Doc/Fest, and on the board of Four Corners, a centre for film and photography. He was also Head of Exhibition at Future Shorts/Secret Cinema, owned and edited Fest Magazine and has produced projects for Screen International, BBC Worldwide and Radio 4. Joe Harland (Head of Visual Radio, BBC) Joe and his small team create the videos that have made Radio 1 the most-watched radio station in the world, and make the shows for BBC iplayer's Radio 1 channel. From Taylor Swift viral hits to the Live Lounge, mulitmillion view MC sessions to hit video shows for Radio 2 such as 'Sounds Of The 80s', Joe and his team devise and deliver hundreds of videos every year that are watched hundreds of millions of times. Born and raised in Marlow, he studied at the University Of Kent where he started in student radio before becoming a football commentator for Invicta Radio. In 1995 he became an Independent Producer making documentaries for Radio 1 and Radio 2, joining the Evening Session in Since then he has produced Jo Whiley and Zane Lowe amongst others before taking up a role as Executive Producer overseeing the stations specialist output - garnering several Sony Awards for his shows along the way. Away from work he is currently making a dug out canoe, and intends to row it the length of the Thames next summer. He released his first book, 'Live Fast Die Young' in 2010.

20 Speakers 39 Steve Hewlett (Broadcaster and Commentator) Steve Hewlett is currently a Guardian Columnist, broadcasting consultant and independent television producer whose clients have included Tiger Aspect, the Guardian Media Group, Ofcom, DCMS, Channel 4, BSkyB and New South Wales FTO. He is visiting Professor of Journalism and Broadcast policy at the University of Salford. He is also a regular contributor to and presenter of programmes on Radio 4 and Five Live and now presents BBC Radio 4 s weekly Media Show. He is a board member of DocFest the Sheffield International Documentary festival (chair from ) and a fellow of the Royal Television Society. Ralph Lee (Deputy Chief Creative Officer, Channel 4) Ralph Lee is Deputy Chief Creative Officer at Channel 4 where he has been a factual commissioning head since He and his team commission documentaries and specialist factual programmes ranging from Gogglebox to 24 Hours in A&E, Benefits Street and Guy Martin s Speed. His role also includes leading the channel s Short Form commissioning for digital platforms and overseeing the Creative Diversity and Nations and Regions teams. Sam Lewens (Change Director, mybbc, BBC) An Exec Producer making programmes for Entertainment, Current Affairs, Digital, Documentaries, Children s, Factual and Features, Sam is currently working on the digital transformation project mybbc, which is creating personalised experiences that sit alongside the existing broadcasting ones. Key highlights include leading Dragons Den for five series, introducing Hilary Devey to the Den which then became the most successful period for the brand, helping launch The One Show, being Creative Director of CBBC, and working with Adil Ray on a documentary about political correctness that involved filming undercover with him playing the role that eventually became Mr Khan, community leader! Consistent across all the roles Sam has held, has been his interest in innovating ways of telling stories using new platforms, talents, formats and technologies, hence his current obsession with digital shortform. Cat Lewis (CEO, Nine Lives Media) Cat is a BAFTA and Royal Television Society award winning Executive Producer, who runs her own Manchester based independent production company usually employing around 30 plus people to make documentaries, current affairs, factual formats and drama documentaries for BBC One, Channel 4, Channel 5, BBC Three, CBBC, C&I Network, Bio and TLC (The Learning Channel in USA). Cat set up Nine Lives in September 2007 and is the company s owner, CEO and one of its Executive Producers. Nine Lives is one of three companies in the UK which has an output deal with Channel 4 s Dispatches and is the biggest factual producer in the North West. Cat is also Vice of PACT, the UK s professional trade body for TV and film producers; the founder and chair of the North s Indie Club, is on the RTS Committee in the North West and is on Creative Skillset s TV Panel and its Northern Panel. Jordan McGarry (Director of Curation at Vimeo) Jordan McGarry is Vimeo s Director of Curation, heading the team that programs the site s illustrious Staff Picks channel, the Vimeo On Demand homepage and its new Curated Categories, ensuring that the site s 170million monthly visitors can always find something to entertain their eyeballs. Before Vimeo she worked as Executive Producer at Partizan London for five years, working on everything from branded content to installations and interactive music videos; and before that worked as a journalist at titles including shots, Res, Media Guardian and Screen International. She has commissioned films for Dazed & Confused and Nowness, and curated programs and chaired panels for the British Film Institute, the British Council, the Edinburgh International Film Festival, onedotzero and ResFest. Caroline Norbury (CEO, Creative England) Caroline Norbury, MBE is the founding Chief Executive of Creative England and dedicated to championing the creative industries. Creative England invests in and supports creative ideas, talent and businesses in film, TV, games and digital media. Creative England is working to build the right environment for the future of the creative industries by helping them raise their ambition, create jobs, grow turnover and build the confidence and networks they need to be truly innovative. It also lobbies for change and uses its unique local, regional and national perspective to feed back to the UK Government and policy makers. Prior to establishing Creative England Caroline was the Chief Executive of regional screen agency South West Screen; the public body responsible for the leading the strategic development and promotion of the film, TV and digital content industries in the South West of England. She has extensive experience of the media industry as a producer, director and commissioning executive and was previously an independent producer and Chief Executive of First Take Films. Caroline is a member of BAFTA, the Royal Society of Arts, the UK Trade & Investment Creative Industries Sector Advisory Group and leads on the work of the Creative Industries Council Access to Finance working group. She was awarded an MBE in 2012 for services to the film industry. Rutt Pitt (Producer and Editor) Ruth Pitt is an executive producer, journalist and writer. Previous posts include head of factual programmes at Tiger Aspect Productions, creative director of documentaries in BBC Religion and Ethics, head of documentaries at Granada Television, executive producer with Century Films, reporter and presenter at Yorkshire Television, founder and managing director of Real Life Productions and executive director of the funding body Screen England. Ruth is a regular session chair, interviewer and broadcaster and has chaired the Guardian Edinburgh International Television Festival. She is BAFTA nominated and awards include Royal Television Society, Broadcast Production and International Emmy.

21 Speakers 41 Ben Robinson (Managing Director, Isis Media) Ben is a multi award-winning media professional who has made Birmingham his home for the last 20 years. He trained as a TV producer at the BBC in London and moved to the West Midlands to run MBC, one of the country s most successful independent production companies. After making prime time shows including BBC1 s Question Time, Ben set up his own independent production company in 2000 and has since made scores of TV shows for ITV, five, Discovery, UKTV and many more. He has played an active role in the city for two decades, engaging with stakeholders ranging from charities to festivals, arts organisations and educational institutions. Over the last two decades Ben has been asked to speak in various forums on subjects from media training and business strategy to diversity and community engagement. He is a visiting media lecturer at Lincoln University, Birmingham University & Birmingham City University and has held directorships and been a board member for a variety of organisations. Andrew Sheldon (True North) Andrew is an award winning journalist and film maker. He began his career in newspapers, before moving into the documentaries department at Yorkshire Television. He founded True North in 2002 with two colleagues, and since then the company has grown to be one of the UK s best factual independents, working with all the key broadcasters in the UK and internationally. The company is based in Leeds, where a team of 80 people make television across all factual genres from reality to documentary, features to current affairs. It s also the home of True North s Post Production department, where 14 edits and a dub give the company great flexibility. In 2015 Channel 4 took a minority stake in True North as part of its Growth Fund Initiative. As one of the company s two Creative Directors, Andrew currently has responsibility for a wide range of programmes from current affairs like Panorama and Dispatches, to lifestyle programmes like Homes By The Sea, to specialist factual shows like Secret History. Jody Smith (Commissioning Editor, Multiplatform and Online Video, Channel 4) Jody is Commissioning Editor, Multiplatform & Online Video at Channel 4. Jody commissions shortform series and interactive television formats for Channel 4. His shortform commissions include videogame chatshow, Two Players, comedy format Bad Dates and documentary series such as Rich Kids Go Shopping, Man Vs Wave and Internet Famous. He works with a range of TV, digital and games producers from across the UK and is responsible for ordering the live, interactive singing gameshow app, The Singer Takes It All and The Million Pound Drop play along game. He also works on Comedy Blaps an online pilot scheme that has revolutionised the way Channel 4 finds and nurtures new comedy talent. Claire Stocks (Head of BBC Children s Interactive) Claire Stocks is Head of Interactive at BBC Children s, where she runs the digital editorial team and leads the strategic development of digital services & experiences for kids. She joined in January 2015 from BBC Sport where she was Digital Development editor, one of the senior figures running the Interactive team and platforms. Claire worked in a variety of roles within BBC Sport including planning and delivering the digital coverage of the London Olympics, leading the streaming & red button team, and launching Get Inspired, the BBC s participation initiative. A graduate of Aberdeen University s Politics and International relations department, and the University of Central Lancashire s postgraduate Journalism centre, Clairebegan her career in regional newspapers initially at the North West Daily Mail in Barrow-in-Furness and then the Daily Post & Echo in Liverpool, before joining the BBC in 1999 to move into digital content. Jo Street (Commissioning Editor, BBC Daytime and Early Peak) Jo has directed, produced and Exec d across factual and entertainment working on everything from Countryfile to the Weakest Link before moving into Commissioning. She now commissions hit shows across all genres and works with some of the industry s most talented and demanding people both on screen and behind the camera. Her current slate covers a range of network programmes including everyone s guilty pleasure Homes under the Hammer, Antiques Road Trip, Eggheads, TV that Made Me, Money for Nothing, Countryside 999, Blitz Cities, Holiday of My Lifetime with Len Goodman and the forthcoming wildlife series for BBC 2 Into the Wild with Gordon Buchanan. Jo is based in Glasgow where she commissions for the BBC 1 & BBC 2 schedule. She s a passionate advocate for Out of London production and can usually be found wandering between the edit houses of Glasgow or at Heathrow Terminal 5, which is the worst possible place to pitch to her. Cheryl Taylor (Controller, CBBC) Cheryl Taylor was appointed Controller of CBBC in September 2012 and continues the grand tradition of commissioning inspiring experiences for all UK children aged Recent commissions include Hetty Feather, interactive drama Dixi, Our School, Art Ninja, My Name is Leo, Technobabble and So Awkward. Previously BBC s Controller of Comedy she commissioned Bad Education, Twenty Twelve and Citizen Khan amongst others. Before joining the BBC, Cheryl was Head of Comedy at Hat Trick and a Commissioner at Channel 4.

22 Speakers Steve Titherington (Senior Commissioning Editor, BBC World Service) Steve has been Sr. Commissioning Editor at the BBC World Service for the last five years with a special brief to lead bold editorial projects and create new programme formats. New shows include The Why Factor; Trending, the Food Chain and The Inquiry and BBC MINUTE, a new 24/7 global news service for young people listening via pop music stations or music streaming sites. Before that Steve was Executive Editor of Global News: Deputy Head of WS News Programmes and Editor of the World Service Newsroom. He was Launch Editor of the WS 24 hour News stream. He has also led major news coverage of elections and the transition of power in the USA, Russia and China and reported from around the world from Haiti to Hong Kong. James Quinn (Commissioning Editor, Factual, BSkyB) James Quinn is an award-winning documentary filmmaker and executive producer, now commissioning editor for documentaries and factual programmes at Sky TV. He has occupied senior positions at several industry-leading independent production companies, including Head of Special Projects at Oxford Film & Television and Head of Factual Television at October Films. He is also Honorary Research Fellow at Royal Holloway, University of London, and has a PhD in philosophy. His books include Adventures in the Lives of Others, a collection of essays by some of the biggest names in factual film making, and This Much is True, a landmark volume on the art of directing documentaries. Josh Weinstein (Executive Producer and Showrunner) Highlights of Josh s illustrious career in the media business include being writer and showrunner on the iconic The Simpsons animated sitcom, as well as, more recently, Executive Producer for the acclaimed CBBC series Strange Hill High. Most recently, Josh has written one of the new episodes of Dangermouse for CBBC. Josh is also the Salford International Media Festival Patron. John Whiston (Creative Director, Serial Dramas, ITV Studios) John Whiston is Managing Director, Continuing Drama and Head of the North at ITV Studios responsible for Coronation Street and Emmerdale. John started his career at the BBC producing arts programmes for strands such as Bookmark, Timewatch, Omnibus and The Late Show including award winning documentaries such as Absurdistan and Naked Hollywood. Moving to Manchester to head up the yoof department John built up a broad slate of BBC programming in the North from The Sunday Show to Red Dwarf, from Mrs Merton to Mastermind. Moving to Yorkshire to become Director of Programmes, he helped nurture important ITV shows such as Emmerdale, A Touch of Frost and Heartbeat. As well as growing Emmerdale from 3 episodes to 6, he also launched some of ITV s most popular dramas including The Royal, At Home With The Braithwaites, Fat Friends and the Emmy winning Lost For Words. He then moved west and took responsibility for Coronation Street, and later all of ITV Production s drama such as Poirot, Marple, Prime Suspect, Blue Murder, Lewis and the Oscar winning feature film, The Queen. A further move saw him become responsible for all of ITV Studios (as it was renamed) UK production, including amazing hits such as GMOOH, Dancing On Ice and Come Dine With Me as well as attending the birth of some significant new ones such as The Chase. Now working with two of the most talented production teams in the UK, he reckons he has the best job in Television not least because it comes with the nickname The Pope of Soap. Polly Williams (Head of Scripted Drama at Entertainment One and Creative England) Polly Williams began her career in television as an assistant to Leah Schmidt at The Agency. She then worked as a script editor and in development at United/LWT and Granada on numerous dramas (including The Last Detective, Northern Lights and Donovan) made for BBC and ITV. Polly then became series editor on Holby City for BBC1, and co-produced Secret Smile for Granada/ITV. She went on to produce Holby City and after that joined Carnival where she produced two seasons of Hotel Babylon. Polly produced Lip Service for Kudos/BBC3 and has worked as Head of Development for Sally Head Productions. She is currently Head of Scripted Drama for a joint development fund, set up by EOne and Creative England, developing original content for the UK and US markets and co-developing projects with various smaller production companies across the country. 43

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