Lessons on digital transformation from the BBC World Service

Speaking at the recent WAN-IFRA International Newsroom Summit in London, BBC World Service Digital Development editor Dmitry Shishkin narrated intersection of editorial and technical initiatives, driving the digital transformation of editorial teams around the world. Currently, the BBC World Service is undergoing its largest expansion since the 1940s, adding 12 language services, including Serbian, Pidgin and Korean, to the original 28, with the goal of completing the process by March 2018.

Dmitry has the huge remit of managing and allocating resources for this massive project, while keeping the big picture in view. As a result, and thanks to his past projects, he has logged many miles on the BBC’s digital transformation journey. Drawing from his experience at the World Service, he explained to the audience what he thought were the key components of successful digital transformation: leadership, content, and workflow. “If you lack one of those, you’re not wanting to succeed,” he hinted.  He said news organisations need to adjust their content strategy to fill a variety of audience needs, such as “update me”, “inspire me”, “educate me” or “amuse me”.