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
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
01/05/2026
January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...
01/04/2026
January 4 2026, 18:00 (PST) DOLBY AND DOUYIN EMPOWER THE NEXT GENERATON OF CREATORS WITH DOLBY VISION
Douyin Users Can Now Create And Share Videos With Stun...
10/01/2026
This year, podcasts are making their Golden Globes debut with a new category honoring the medium's leading shows and creators. To mark the occasion, Spotify...
09/01/2026
RT Player has 157 million streams, up 10% year-on-year
An increase on 2024, RT...
09/01/2026
RT 2FM has today announced the highly anticipated list of 2FM Rising Artists for 2026, kicking off 2FM Rising week for the eighth year on The Tracy Clifford Sh...
09/01/2026
RT to Host the 2026 RTS Ireland Awards
Thursday, 16 April 2026 | Dublin Royal Convention Centre
The RTS Ireland Television Awards 2026 | Gradaim RTS 2026 | R...
08/01/2026
An evidence-based analysis on disinformation and information manipulation in Sudan's ongoing conflict is published today. (January 8th 2026).
Thomson Found...
08/01/2026
In 2025 we launched the Spotify Partner Program to give creators more ways to tu...
08/01/2026
On Wednesday in Los Angeles, Spotify welcomed creators and press to a brunch cel...
08/01/2026
TSA awards Rohde & Schwarz contract for advanced airport screening ahead of Socc...
08/01/2026
The review looks back at DPA's miniature microphone development over the years. It compares the evolving technologies from the original mics through CORE an...
08/01/2026
Comscore Launches Audio Targeting and Measurement Capabilities with The Trade De...
08/01/2026
Tonight, on RT Prime Time at 9:35pm on RT One and RT Player
Tonight, Prime T...
08/01/2026
The Late Late Show celebrates the very best of traditional Irish music with its first-ever full special dedicated entirely to the tradition
Lisa Canny | Kevin...
08/01/2026
It will be murder on the dancefloor when Dancing with the Stars returns this S...
07/01/2026
Spotify is launching a week-long celebration spotlighting creators at the center...
07/01/2026
We know people use Spotify not just to listen, but to share the songs, podcasts, and audiobooks they love with their friends and family. When we launched Messag...
07/01/2026
This week, all eyes are on the podcast industry as the Golden Globes recognizes ...
07/01/2026
Podcasts are stepping onto a new stage this week as the Golden Globes recognize the medium for the first time. To mark this milestone moment, we're hosting ...
06/01/2026
Spotify is launching a week-long celebration spotlighting creators at the center...
06/01/2026
Lorde. A$AP Rocky. JENNIE. Baby Keem. KATSEYE. That's just a taste of who...
06/01/2026
Channel 4 and UKTV are giving viewers even more reasons to stream, with UKTV's U service set to feature thousands of hours of free, unmissable and bingeable...
06/01/2026
Tuesday 6 January 2026
An update on our Sky Mobile prices
Devesh Raj, Chief Operating Officer, Sky
Today, we've announced some changes to the prices of ...
06/01/2026
Comscore Launches Daily Program-Level Reporting with Deduplicated Insights on Sh...
06/01/2026
Comscore Completes Recapitalization Transaction with Preferred Stockholders Foll...
05/01/2026
Bad Bunny's DeB TiRAR M S FOToS defined the sound of 2025 for listeners eve...
05/01/2026
As the clock struck midnight and 2026 was born, so was an exciting range of new ...
05/01/2026
These Sacred Vows starring Tom Vaughan-Lawlor, Justine Mitchell and Jason O'...
05/01/2026
DANDANCING WITH THE STARS RETURNS TO SHAKE UP SUNDAY NIGHTS
Reigning Rose of Tr...
02/01/2026
Any Given Day: Cork University Hospital premieres Wednesday 7 January on RT One and RT Player at 9:35pm
RT will debut a powerful new six-part documentary se...
02/01/2026
Friday 2 January 2026
All episodes of Heated Rivalry will be landing on Sky and...
02/01/2026
Sequins, chat shows, live sporting action, ground-breaking docuseries and brand-new Irish drama to kick off 2026
New Year, New Content Coming Soon across RT
...
01/01/2026
The Quantum 852 is situated in the 6,500-seat Seoul-based place of worship, a church which is home to a 1,000-person choir and a 50-piece orchestra. There are f...
01/01/2026
Formed in 2002, OneRepublic have enjoyed huge international success, with over 18 billion streams on Spotify alone. Their current tour, Escape to Europe, contin...
01/01/2026
We had been using the club's previous console for the last ten years, so we researched manufacturer information very carefully, says venue audio manager Mr...
30/12/2025
Your live countdown to 2026 with Inhaler, David Gray, Lyra, Garron Noone, Sharon...
29/12/2025
From crisper Lossless audio and immersive music videos in beta to new Audiobooks+ plans, custom transitions between tracks, and in-app Messages, we keep levelin...
24/12/2025
RT has unveiled an exclusive first look at the new Dancing with the Stars promo...
23/12/2025
The year is winding down, the weather outside is frightful, and it's the perfect time to escape into a story that warms the heart. For listeners looking for...
23/12/2025
23 Dec 2025
VEON's Beeline Kazakhstan and Rakuten Symphony Collaborate to A...
22/12/2025
For a decade, popular German podcast Fest & Flauschig has hosted an annual Chris...
22/12/2025
Monday 22 December 2025
Sky extends PGA TOUR partnership until 2029, as Sky Spo...
22/12/2025
Siobh n McSweeney, Rory McIlroy, Elon Musk, Catherine Connolly, Jim Gavin, Ivan Yates and Traitor Paudie Moloney lead new characters for Callan Kicks the Year 2...
22/12/2025
Winner announced in the picturesque surroundings of Wicklow's Avondale Tower and Treetop Walk
Andrew Trimble wins the show in his first series as coach
Th...
22/12/2025
The 2025 winners have been announced today, Sunday 21 December, for Ireland's largest choral competition Choirs for Christmas hosted by RT lyric fm.
Ove...
21/12/2025
John Shortt named Young Sportsperson of the Year Kerry are the Team of the Year
...
19/12/2025
With Playout Release 2025.4, ToolsOnAir continues to push professional playout w...
Wednesday 21st September 2022
