At its inaugural NewFronts presentation, the BBC echoed a message set forth by competitor The New York Times last week: “the truth is sometimes hard to come by,” according to an introductory video — particularly, BBC executives said, in our current era of “fake news.”
The 100-year-old British broadcaster, which entered the NewFronts fray this year after a slew of companies — including Machinima, Studio71, Fullscreen, BuzzFeed, and Yahoo dropped out — said that its 9,000 journalists in 72 bureaus across the globe strive for accuracy and impartiality above all. To this end, Fran Unsworth, deputy director of BBC News, said that the organization is hoping to pursue more “slow news” in coming months — or easily digestible explainers that delve into the ‘what’ and the ‘why’ behind the news.
At its NewFront, the BBC also touted its accomplishments in drone journalism, which it utilized in the hit video (below) about a Brazilian surf pro who wasn’t considered pretty enough to garner sponsorships. And one of the company’s tech shows, BBC Click, is also harnessing boundary-pushing production methods: it currently has in the works an entire episode that will be produced by artificial intelligence.
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Finally, the BBC, which says it is the most-followed news organization on all of Facebook, highlighted its branded content studio, Storyworks, which it launched at Cannes Lions in 2015. The BBC says it specializes in targeting “affluent millennials”. Storyworks will launch several new verticals this year, according to the company, including Future You, about all things health, and D:Signed, which will encompass fashion and architecture.
