Q&A Series

Colin Benedict, Vice President of News at Morgan Murphy Media and Broadcast Content Summit panelist, answers some questions about staying ahead of the curve and fostering innovation.  

Add the Broadcast Content Summit to your registration to gain more valuable insight!

_________________________________________________________

How does your organization proactively foster innovation and creativity to stay “fresh”?
As a small family-owned broadcaster, we try to lean into what we can do best compared with large companies – and that’s to be nimble. We are quick to try new techniques and approaches knowing it might not work but what we learn will be valuable. We encourage and empower our local teams to innovate and share those learnings. For example, we found a framework for us to experiment with the use of AI in our newsrooms that was ethical and responsible. Will it be transformative, we’ll see, but we are in the space trying. We encourage that as much as we can.

How do radio executives stay on top of and adapt to the continuous changes in technology and ensure those are leveraged as opportunities?
Part of our job is to understand our consumers, so to that end, you have to invest the time to understand how technology is changing the world and their lives. Find people who are genuinely curious and interested in these topics and empower them to help. 

What are the top three things that attendees should go hunt down on the show floor to expand what they just learned in your sessions?
My focus right now is on streaming video adoption and AI. With streaming video, and as a small broadcaster, I’m in search of how we can thrive in this ecosystem. How do we meet consumer demands in this space with high-quality news and information? What’s the revenue path? What opportunities exist now and what is coming? On AI, I see it as transforming how we create and distribute content – almost at every level. I believe AI will disrupt our lives in a similar way to the internet. So, if you aren’t asking every technology provider how they see AI changing their products and workflow, I think you’re missing the moment. 

What discussions should they be having with the exhibitors to ensure they are finding the right fit for their organizations?
I’d recommend you be direct at the outset. What are you looking for? Can you help me with this? Sometimes the product offering doesn’t fit and there’s not a match. That’s okay, move on to the next but just be clear about intentions from the first moment.