Tuesday, March 30, 2010

The future revealed

It's hard to know what to make of Erik Huggers' reorganisation of the BBC's online management structure - Paid Content has all the details. He seems to be saying he's taking control for the time being (Online Controller Seetha Kumar will be leaving as some stage in the future - and anyway, she now only 'supports and organises' the new Online Direction Group) and a new role, called Director, Digital Media, will be filled in due course. Is that to be an editorial or a technology role ?

In the wild west days of web growth at the BBC, the trick for successful divisions was to shout loud, win investment, drive the hits up by every possible means, and then reap the reward of more investment. If you thought the technologists weren't with you on this mission, you recruited your own. So each division has/had a group of developers dedicated to delivering the perceived goals of Audio & Music, Vision, Knowledge, Nations & Region and Journalism. The departure of Nic Newman, Controller Future Media for Journalism, in this re-organisation is significant. Erik Huggers will have had to convince Mark Byford that this change would not hamper the work of BBC News Online. It may not - the BBC Trust is now in charge of hampering.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Other people who read this.......