The term “digital first” gained currency in June 2011 when the publisher of the Guardian announced plans to become a digital-first organization. A growing list of news organizations followed suit, including the Financial Times and the BBC. I‘ve argued that for public broadcasting to remain relevant, we need to stop thinking of ourselves as broadcasters and become digital first.
We’ve got ourselves a real buzzword here.
But what does “digital first” actually mean? Here are a few definitions offered by early proponents:
- Digital first, print last
- Producing stories for the web that can then be adapted and delivered via print and other mediums
- Cross-platform roles at every level
- Make digital strategy everyone’s job
- Digital communication is the first thought not the afterthought
- “A mode of being that promotes innovation and excellence” …Woah!
No wonder we’re still confused. In all the exhortations about the importance of digital first, I’m not sure there’s even a good definition of the word digital.
Here’s my definition of digital first:
How we now produce media.
The term “digital” encompasses all previous forms of media, accessible in digital formats on demand. Our core media technologies are now completely digital. We record, edit, and publish content using digital tools and platforms. We store, manage, and access media using computers, servers, and software. Digital technology is essential in every aspect of news reporting and content production. Even our transmitters are now digital.
Broadcasting continues to serve the largest audiences for our content. But rapid growth of users on Internet-based platforms foreshadows the day when online audiences will predominate. This shift is occurring even more rapidly with younger audiences, who are increasingly less likely to consume broadcast media or subscribe to cable or satellite television. And across all audiences, the adoption of mobile technology is outpacing any previous form of consumer media.
The digital shift is accelerating, and it’s time to accept that even broadcasting has become digital first.
Your biological and technological distinctiveness will be added to our own. Resistance is futile.
To date we are much better at producing content for our long-standing broadcast channels than we are for Internet-based and mobile channels. Yet it’s all digital content, crafted in particular ways.
A digital first production model would start by thinking of content as something that can be produced in different ways to fit the formats and strengths of multiple media platforms and channels: radio, television, syndication, websites, blogs, podcasts, social media, mobile apps, data presentations, interactives, maps, the Public Media Platform, OTT devices, print, events, etc.
We don’t have to use all platforms and channels for every bit of content, but it makes sense to leverage every possibility for adding value and reaching audiences everywhere we can.
Digital first production requires additional skills. Crafting content for the web, social media, and OTT platforms requires not just digital audio, video, and image editing, but knowing the specific formats, writing styles, and metadata requirements for each platform. Anyone can launch a WordPress blog, but going beyond the basics requires knowledge of good design practices with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. Digital media production requires software, servers, networks, storage, user authentication, backups, and security. And as digital technologies, platforms, and best practices continue to rapidly evolve, we need to adjust roles as needed and keep on learning.
News reporters building mobile apps?
It’s natural to fear change on a personal level. Are my skills obsolete? Am I being asked to do new kinds of work I don’t understand? Will I still be valued if I admit what I don’t know? Is broadcasting still considered important? These fears are only reinforced by recent events in Seattle, where eleven television production staff were laid off as KCTS shifted to what it called a “digital first” content model.
We need storytellers and content producers of all types more than ever. We also need new digital skills. But digital first doesn’t mean every radio reporter must now become an expert photographer, videographer, video editor, web designer, social media expert, analytics guru, database administrator, and app developer. And it doesn’t mean people without “digital skills” aren’t still important.
A better approach to digital first is increased collaboration among people who collectively bring a broad range of skills. Too often we enforce departmental silos that inhibit development of a multidisciplinary team. We need someone producing photos for the website and social media. We need website content that isn’t copy-and-pasted from a radio script. We need someone with a good sense of visual and user-centered design. We need to organize and manage audio, video, images, text, data, and other digital media. We need usable systems, training, and support for a digital first workflow. Most importantly, we need buy-in from leadership that understands a culture of collaboration is essential in the digital media age.
The fundamental barrier in moving from broadcasting first to digital first is our self-definition. If we think we’re broadcasters, we’ll only focus on roles and tasks associated with broadcasting. If we understand ourselves as digital media professionals who do broadcasting along with many other things, we can begin to see the changes we need to make.
Otherwise we’re stuck trying to make digital a part of broadcasting when it should be the other way around.
But digital first isn’t enough
I started this blog with the intention of exploring ideas important to the future of public media. Digital first is a concept we need to embrace as we transition from a broadcast first mentality. But let me declare for the record: I hope we can then kill the term “digital first” once and for all.
Public media can adopt a digital first approach to producing and distributing media. We can put digital skills in the right places, adjust our roles and organizational models, and learn to craft content for the full spectrum of digital platforms and channels. We can replace the metaphors we use for our technologies of production and distribution. But it won’t be enough.
Becoming digital first public media is only the necessary first step in fulfilling our promise to serve the higher aspirations and interests of our communities. The term “digital first” fails to capture the most significant aspect of the emerging digital media system: its capacity to empower people not just to receive and consume, but to participate and create.
I think that’s a project worthy of the term “public media.”
Related Posts:
- From Public Broadcasting to Public Media: Becoming Digital in the Post-Broadcast Age
- Designing the Future of Public Media: A report from Detroit
- The New Media Operating System: Digital, Personal, Social
Image by Luiz Fernando Reis is is licensed under CC BY 2.0