Cathy Loughran
is an editor of the BBC Academy blog
Blog posts in total 20
Posts
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The World According to Kids: A year of safeguarding, patience and rich rewards
Over a year, a BBC Studios production team filmed with 70 five to 11-year olds to find out what they think about some of life’s biggest issues. We asked executive producers Samantha Anstiss and Rachel Arnold about the logistical, editorial and ethical considerations involved.
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BBC Expert Women’s Day: In at the deep end for media stars of tomorrow
The BBC’s latest Expert Women’s Day brought together 24 subject specialists, keen to share their knowledge as on-air contributors or presenters. It was a day of broadcast skills training and industry networking that could be a springboard to a media career.
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Fake news: How CrossCheck is debunking false election reporting
An international fact-checking project has brought together 37 publishers, including the BBC, to investigate possible fake news in the run up to the French elections. We asked BBC News social media editor Mark Frankel how the CrossCheck experiment is playing out.
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Storm Doris: What it’s like when the weather’s the story
Storm Doris led the UK news bulletins last Thursday and the BBC’s weather experts were in high demand. Here’s a snapshot of what Doris entailed for four key members of the BBC Weather Centre team.
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When BBC News went to Stanford: Insights from Silicon Valley
Last November a handful of senior BBC News journalists spent a week at Stanford University, in the heart of Silicon Valley, gaining insights from the digital designers of tomorrow and key players from the likes of Facebook, Apple, Google and Buzzfeed.
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How social tactics (and Tinie Tempah) engaged a young black British audience
Two digital campaigns around the BBC’s landmark Black and British output reached a young black British audience on social media who might otherwise not have engaged with the season. Lead digital storytelling producer Anya Saunders briefed BBC staff on the tactics.
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SEO might be more about the basics than you think
Good SEO (search engine optimisation) is less about “dark arts” than rigorous process, says Rob Millard, who leads on SEO for BBC News. He offered three golden rules and other optimisation tips at a recent presentation to BBC staff.
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Newsjack: Crafting a half-hour comedy show from 1000 jokes and sketches
Creating a weekly comedy sketch show from scratch in three and a half days, using material sent in by the public, can be nerve-racking and rewarding in equal measure, says Newsjack co-producer Adnan Ahmed.
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Who needs the press? Reporting Trump could be a very different assignment
The President and the Press, a World Service documentary by BBC North America editor Jon Sopel, suggests that if tweets replace briefings under Donald Trump, his presidency could change the very nature of the job the White House press corps is used to doing.
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What has 2016 taught you, as a journalist? Part two
The digital year was characterised by an explosion of fake news, unsettling evidence of the power of social media to distort the truth and a torrent of tech developments that challenged the news media. Here is what some journalists will take away from an extraordinary 12 months.
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What has 2016 taught you, as a journalist? Part one
The seismic year of Brexit, Trump and fake news knocked the stuffing out of old assumptions and left the traditional media with plenty to chew over. We asked a cross-section of journalists, including some Academy bloggers, what they’d learned from the turmoil of 2016.
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Social broadcasting: Can quality and authenticity cut through?
An all-day BBC conference on the future of social broadcasting brought together industry leaders and innovators to debate fake news, live streaming, who owns the news and a host of other challenges for the social environment.
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Reporting on Brexit (and Trump): Political journalists take stock
Leading political journalists John Pienaar, Beth Rigby and Steve Richards discussed the experience of and fall-out from coverage of the EU Referendum, as well as the US elections, in a debate at London’s City University.
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Operation Gold Rush: An epic production challenge
Over 27 gruelling days in the wilds of Alaska and Canada, the team behind Operation Gold Rush with Dan Snow faced complex physical, logistical and editorial challenges, as series producer Ben Crichton explains.
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Children on camera: Taking care of the kids in factual TV
Factual TV producers with wide experience of filming with young contributors offer insights into the techniques and ethics involved in working with children at a recent BAFTA masterclass.
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Disruptive influences, 'uncomfortable voices' at Radio Festival 2016
Media disruption was debated at the 2016 Academy Radio Festival, ranging from social media and new distribution models to political upheaval and partial news.
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Just a minute – am I really in charge of Nicholas Parsons?
The latest series of Just a Minute is the 76th run of the programme on BBC Radio 4, but the first for producer Matt Stronge. I asked him about the job of steering one of radio’s crown jewels into its 50th year.
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What makes a great radio voice? After Radio Times poll, experts have their say
Experienced voice coaches Kate Lee and Elspeth Morrison give their take on this week’s Radio Times readers’ poll of favourite radio voices and offer tips on sounding your best on air.
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Creative teams draw their own conclusions on power of digital graphics
The BBC’s Visual Journalism unit and the BBC Chinese Service have been experimenting with digital graphics to tell stories in new ways, with interesting results.
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Heard the one about the literacy campaign that’s coaching young stand-ups?
BBC Comedy Classroom is trying to encourage young comic talent while improving teenagers’ writing skills. They’ve got top comedy talent on board, including David Walliams and Miranda Hart, to search for the best budding stand-ups, sketch and caption writers.