Wednesday 21st September 2022
ITN CEO Rachel Corp today delivered the keynote speech at the Press Gazette Future of Media Conference.
Read the full transcript below:
For many of us in broadcast news, marking the end of the reign of Queen Elizabeth II was one of the biggest stories of our professional lives. These were scenes and a scale we had never experienced before and quite frankly are unlikely to experience again. The responsibility weighed heavy: how to be an eyewitness to history; how to do justice to an extraordinary 70-year reign; how to celebrate and commiserate while also daring to contemplate the thornier questions about the future.
Yes, we undertook years of planning, but nothing can quite prepare you for the actual moment when it happens. And yet, right across the board, I feel news organisations struck the right chord. We provided depth and context, awe and spectacle, warmth and community. We intuitively knew when to add value with context and commentary. But we bravely knew when the stunning cinematography could speak for itself while we held a very long, very powerful, silence.
Our teams around the UK spoke to those who took great pride in the British pomp, British history and British broadcasting as it played out for the world to see.
We stand here on the brink of some of the biggest changes to the media landscape in decades; we're awaiting a new Media Bill under new political leadership; we're facing a climate of uncertainty about the future funding of the BBC and the ownership of Channel 4 and watching support for many public service channels across Europe being ripped away. But just as we can let pictures speak for themselves, so too we can let our journalism speak for itself. We have just experienced the most powerful reminder, when it's needed most, of the power of British public service television; of our ability to come together to produce extraordinary events at a global scale; of our prowess in taking pooled footage and re-shaping it for our distinct audiences, and of our continued relevance to the nation no matter how deep the pockets of the US streamers.
The hundreds of hours of effort, creative energy and expertise demonstrated by journalists, producers, planners, crew and technical staff was not only inspiring to watch, it saw incredible results. The funeral of the late Queen saw a huge 27m viewers in the UK on TV, with millions more online, and reports of over a billion globally. Over the 11-day period, ITN alone produced hours and hours of live news specials and extended bulletins, while ITN Productions turned around obituaries, documentaries and discussion programmes hosted by Andrew Neil and Jeremy Vine across ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5. We also helped satisfy the huge global appetite with bespoke programming for scores of international channels, as well as through digital specials across social platforms, including for our own Royal Family Channel on YouTube which doubled its subscribers in a matter of days.
What's more, we ensured those in the long queues or wishing to watch with others were able to, by supplying those large screens in London parks with ITV News' coverage.
We even made sure British Airways's long-haul passengers didn't miss proceedings on Monday, because 40,000 feet above sea level or not we were able to livestream ITV News' funeral coverage. Some of the images may have resembled a bygone era, but the technology was firmly 21st century.
But beyond demonstrating journalistic prowess and technical innovation in the field, in the studio - and yes, even in the sky you may be asking what does this one-off event covering an historic seven decades on the throne, have to do with the future of media, which is why we're here today?'
You could well draw some parallels between the monarchy and the media. The difficult questions we were asking about the monarchy can easily be turned on us: how do we adapt; how do we maintain loyalty; how do we reach a new generation, and even, how do we survive?
Put into consideration, the news agenda we've had in recent years. From Brexit to a pandemic; the war in Ukraine to an energy crisis; partygate to a new PM it's no wonder that journalists, I think, have been on the brink of burn out and audiences saying at times they are sick of the relentlessly negative news cycle. We could sense that, and the recent Reuters report proved it, with what they described as a rising wave of news avoiders'.
I believe, however, that our unprecedented coverage and the overwhelming response, gives us cause for optimism that goes beyond celebrating the huge numbers turning to traditional' TV news programmes at those times of national importance (surely putting paid, actually, to the idea that the TV bulletin is dead'). Once we take stock of the last fortnight, it could represent something of a turning point where news media can come back stronger. The challenge for all of us, is how to sustain the momentum and harness some of these positives, when we know that around the corner, we have a new government, a fragile Union, divisive public discourse, whatever is going on in Ukraine, and a cost-of-living crisis. (There go those news avoiders', running a mile )
We could start with our journalists. I've been struck by just how much recent events have given our teams a renewed sense of purpose; a fresh awareness of actively contributing to the annals of history. But given the challenging climate ahead, we all need to think hard about how we maintain the huge sense of motivation we're witnessing and crucially, how we harness it in the future. Is a sense of purpose' going to be enough to retain our best talent or attract the best people into the industry when business models are challenged as we know.
We should also consider our audience
Europe Stories
11/12/2025
Dalet, a leading provider of cloud-native, end-to-end media workflow solutions, ...
27/11/2025
27 Nov 2025
GSMA brings M360 Eurasia 2026 to Samarkand in partnership with VEON...
27/11/2025
Tahar Rahim and Izuka Hoyle star in the gripping six-part Sky Original from Acad...
27/11/2025
Thursday 27 November 2025
Sky Arts Reveals the Nation's Greatest Basslines - and Queen Reign Supreme
The UK's most iconic basslines have been revealed...
27/11/2025
Rating reflects rating progress across areas including policies, diversity & inclusion, health & safety and Net Zero leadership
Winchester, UK, 27 November 202...
27/11/2025
What are the industry standards for Retail Media? Kathryn explains that certification is based on the IAB Europe Retail Media Measurement Standards and the IAB ...
27/11/2025
World champion boxer and Irish sporting icon Katie Taylor will be in studio this...
27/11/2025
Roblox, one of the world's most popular online gaming platforms for primary ...
26/11/2025
Book podcasts are booming. On Spotify, you'll find everything from celebrity book clubs to deep dives with bestselling authors. And in markets where audiobo...
26/11/2025
YouView Achieves Greenly Gold Certification for SustainabilityNov 26, 2025
YouView is proud to announce a Gold Certification award from Greenly for our perform...
25/11/2025
Tracy Bonareri Onchoke, an investigative journalist from Kenya is the winner of the Thomson Foundation's Young Journalist Award 2025.
The 26-year-old-sele...
25/11/2025
The best playlists, podcasts, and audiobooks bring a little extra magic to your daily routine. With new features and offerings, Spotify Premium delivers even mo...
25/11/2025
Comprehensive new research confirms what we already knew: Australian music fans love the quality, quantity, and access they have to new and local music on strea...
25/11/2025
Applicable Products
Objectives The purpose of this application note is to give a brief background on 5G (NR) wireless communication an explain the reason a SN...
25/11/2025
25 Nov 2025
VEON's QazCode and MeetKai Sign Agreement to Power National LLM...
25/11/2025
UKTV has acquired a high-profile slate of US dramas from Paramount Global Conten...
25/11/2025
A symphony of genius, rivalry and vengeance, boldly reimagined from Peter Shaffe...
25/11/2025
Article courtesy of Cinematography World
Read the article
FilmLight has finalised the prestigious 2025 FilmLight Colour Awards jury and welcomed award-winning...
25/11/2025
Article courtesy of Prensario
Read the article
La serie fue dirigida por Juli n de Tavira, Rodrigo Santos, y David Leche Ruiz, con direcci n de fotograf a a...
25/11/2025
Article courtesy of The Hollywood Reporter
Read the article
The awards, celebr...
25/11/2025
Article courtesy of Televisual
Read the article
Already live in Los Angeles and rolling out in New York and London, Nara gives producers, colourists, conform ...
25/11/2025
Article courtesy of Digital Media World
Read the article
ARTONE post-house in Tokyo is the first facility in Japan to integrate Baselight M, choosing its prec...
25/11/2025
Article courtesy of The Hollywood Reporter
Read the article
Once hidden in post-production suites, the artists who make movies and TV shows look the way they ...
25/11/2025
Article courtesy of Deadline
Read the article
The Brutalist' & Bad Bunny's Nuevayol' Music Video Among 2025 FilmLight Colour Award Winners - Cam...
24/11/2025
Robyn made her long-awaited return to the stage this week, as Spotify and Acne Studios brought friends and top fans together for an unforgettable evening at the...
24/11/2025
After more than two years of redevelopment, FC Barcelona returned to its spiritual home on November 22, hosting Athletic Club in the first La Liga match at the ...
24/11/2025
24 Nov 2025
Kyivstar Launches Starlink Direct to Cell Satellite Connectivity in Ukraine Today's Launch Makes Ukraine the First Country in Europe Where Star...
24/11/2025
Ahead of the new ninth series of Dancing with the Stars, kicking off in January 2026, RT and Shinawil have announced the arrival of three new faces to the hit ...
21/11/2025
Fans have been counting down the days until the final theatrical chapter of Wicked is revealed. To celebrate the highly anticipated release of Wicked: For Good ...
21/11/2025
Last week, Spotify turned up the volume in Seoul with the return of Spotify Hous...
21/11/2025
Wiesbaden, November 21, 2025. The SGL Carbon site in Meitingen has reason to celebrate as one of its trainees received a special award. Elias Stemmer was honore...
21/11/2025
Sky Media's £2m award-winning sustainability initiative crowns its first charity as this year's standout changemakerFriday 21 November 2025
GoodGym nam...
21/11/2025
As COP30 draws to a close, the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), ...
20/11/2025
Your playlists are personal. They're the soundtracks to your road trips, your quiet mornings, and your biggest celebrations; collections of memories and dis...
20/11/2025
Spotify, uzun s redir zerine al t T rk m zik k lt r n n ikon haline gelmi ...
20/11/2025
For the first time, Spotify has teamed up with The Hollywood Reporter to cohost ...
20/11/2025
This year's ARIA Awards marked a turning point for Australian music, and Spotify was right at the heart of it. For the first time in the awards' nearly ...
20/11/2025
15 March 2012
SHARE Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email
Cinegy and Vericom are pleased to announce the recent deployment of Cinegy Archive for production and as...
20/11/2025
6 September 2012
SHARE Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email
FIC Turkey supplies media content to Pay TV under Fox TV Channel brands in Turkey.
At the start of s...
20/11/2025
25 June 2014
SHARE Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email
Last month VIVA finalized its Cinegy installation in order to produce and broadcast the World Cup Brazil ...
20/11/2025
1 October 2014
SHARE Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email
With 5 locations spread out around Baden-W rttemberg, Schw bisch Media required a scalable end to end s...
20/11/2025
27 April 2015
SHARE Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email
Cinegy, which develops and produces media asset management products that are used in flagship production...
20/11/2025
12 August 2015
SHARE Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email
Munich, Germany, 26 October 2015 - Cinegy, which develops and produces software technology for digital ...
20/11/2025
5 November 2015
SHARE Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email
Munich, Germany 3 November 2015 - Cinegy, which develops and produces software technology for digital ...
20/11/2025
12 February 2016
SHARE Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email
Munich, Germany 9 February 2016 - Cinegy, which develops and produces software technology for digital...
20/11/2025
22 June 2016
SHARE Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email
Munich, Germany 21 June 2016 - Cinegy today announced that ABS BROADCAST, one of the largest independentl...
20/11/2025
10 January 2017
SHARE Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email
Find us on page 12 of the Program Guide 2016
Tags
NewBay Media Awards , Program Guide 2016 , broadc...
20/11/2025
15 March 2017
SHARE Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email
Munich, Germany 15 March 2017 - Cinegy today announced that Thailand's Next Step direct-to-home Free...
20/11/2025
12 December 2017
SHARE Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email
Munich, Germany 13 December 2017 - Cinegy today announced that it is making its Cinegy Air Cloud Pack...
Wednesday 21st September 2022
