Tony Maddox doesn't run the world. But like a modern era Atlas he does carry a huge responsibility - that of running a 24 hour journalistic media machine that covers the world.
Tony Maddox is the executive vice president and managing director of CNN International (DStv 401) and was in London last week. I had the opportunity to ask
Tony Maddox a few questions.
I asked him whether CNN International and the global news operation's resources felt stretched given the massive breaking news and ongoing and unfolding news stories, especially coming from Africa this year. I also wondered about the impact that the explosion of social media is having on CNN, and asked about the many changed the CNN International schedule went through this year.
This has probably been the most tumultuous year for news, and news events, internationally ranging from natural disasters to collective man-made and man-shaped events, as well as resistance to intrusion by governments allowing journalists in places and territories. Has it been harder for CNN International to keep track of it all, to have resources available and get it there, and quickly?
Tony Maddox: It has been an incredible year and extremely hard work for our teams, but actually a lot of the key stories have been rumbling along for a fair amount of time, periodically coming to a head.
If you take the crisis in the European Union (EU), or even the situations in Libya and Egypt, all of those have ebbed and flowed over a period of months and we're able to plan a rotation of crews accordingly.
It's also important to note that we don't just suddenly show up in these places; almost invariably we have a presence on the ground that means we can cover and keep track of breaking stories.
So we're constantly asking ourselves who we need to rotate in or rotate out –
it often feels like a chess board, especially this year. But the key is to have a rotation planned around events, so if one story suddenly starts to build, we can easily draft more resources in to cover it.
'we don't just show up in these places; almost invariably we have a presence on the ground'
With the number of magazine news shows specifically devoted to Africa on CNN International growing, there has also been this intense breaking news, as well as on-going hard news narratives this whole year on this continent – civil unrest and now right at the end the climate change conference which CNN all covered in depth.
Did the events taking place in Africa create or cause CNN International to make any permanent or semi-permanent changes in coverage – from how news is gathered and reported to structural changes, for instance more people assigned to Africa on a more permanent or longer basis? How does CNN International see Africa from a news gathering perspective possibly different now than what the case might have been last year or in the past?
Africa is changing all the time, and emerging in stature on the world stage, so
I think our investment in our hubs in East Africa and Lagos and increased commitment to Johannesburg have been timely, but they have long been part of our plans.
These hubs have been an enormous help in covering big stories such as Somalia, and I think our COP17 coverage has benefitted greatly from having a strong team on the ground in South Africa, as well as through initiatives such as the CNN Ecosphere, which was a great success.
Our investment in these bureaux means we can react faster to stories in Africa, and deploy additional resources where necessary.
I think, longer term, the key to Africa is to watch closely how it is changing. Investment is coming into the continent all the time from places like China, and there are big home-grown brands in Africa that are making an impact internationally.
I think the perception of the continent has altered for good; if you look at the pace of development I can't see how Africa will fail to increase in global significance, so
we see it as a very important part of our newsgathering operation.
'it's important to state that CNN's commitment to Africa is greater than ever'
The CNN International schedule for the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region has changed a lot this year – it feels that it's changed a lot more than previous years or in the past. How far is the overall ''plan'' - for instance I would guess that American Morning which we saw, might be replaced by the new show in 2012?
How much might the CNN International schedule for African and South African viewers still change next year because of what CNN is doing at and looking at overall schedule wise? I often hear from people who say they struggle a bit to find out where their show moved to, or if it's still on.
I think it's important to state that CNN's commitment to Africa is greater than ever. Our African programmes have a very loyal following, and are successful for us as a channel, and we're also looking at ways to improve their presence online and on mobile.
I would hope viewers are always able to find out when their favourite show is airing, either from the programme pages on CNN.com, our on-air promos, or through local listings.
Of course we are always looking at our schedule to make sure it works as well as possible, but the viewers are at the heart of that process.
Naturally we also want to bring our African content to international audiences, but
we want to make sure we're bringing our viewers in Africa the programmes they want at the right times, so that will always underpin our philosophy.
What is the feeling about Inside Africa, African Voices, Marketplace Africa and what these shows have been doing so far?
I think all three shows offer something different, not just for audiences in Africa, but also for international viewers looking to find out more about the continent.
They work extremely well as a triumvirate, but also as programmes within their own right. The key for us is to make sure they remain relevant and that is down to the production teams, which I think are among the most committed in the network.
There is real passion there, and I think the stories, the quality of the guests, and the presentation of the shows themselves reflects that. We're also looking at how we add to their presence online and on mobile, both of which are important for audiences in Africa and elsewhere. These programmes are here to stay.
'social media is no substitute for professional journalism'
With social media is it becoming easier for CNN International to report and find and source news, the same, or more difficult, or how is social media changing the news gathering aspect on the one side for CNN and with the news delivery on the other side? How has it changed even this year from previous years?
Social media has become an integral and accepted part of the newsgathering process in a very short period of time; but it has also been central to many stories, from the riots in London to the uprisings in Cairo and Tripoli. We're also seeing governments and police forces using it too.
I think as journalists social media is extremely exciting, but we have to be wary about its use. Firstly, and most importantly,
social media is no substitute for professional journalism. In fact, its increasing prominence makes the rigour and experience of professional newsgathering organisations more crucial than ever.
What working in this new environment boils down to, is actually quite simple – it's good journalism.
It's about looking to as many sources as possible – including, but not limited to social media – to get the fullest picture of a story.
That's where the skill, training and professionalism of our editorial staff come in, and those elements remain critical to our approach.
We also use social media to communicate with our audiences – our journalists use Twitter enthusiastically and many have followings in five figures – and we use it alongside TV and online to break stories.
We also have
CNN iReport, which is our citizen journalism platform.
iReport now has almost a million registered contributors and submissions from around the world, and the latest version has many features that introduce a social platform too, so that aspect of community is getting closer to the heart of what we do.
So I think we're embracing social media in the right way, giving audiences more of what they would expect from CNN.
