The 2015 CIRCOM Regional Annual Conference was jointly hosted by RTÉ Irelands national broadcaster and DkIT - Dundalk Institute of Technology, one of Irelands foremost Educational Institutions. The conference took place in Dundalk on the East coast of Ireland.
Wednesday 20th May
20:00 Official Welcome Reception
Hosted by RTÉ & TG4
Venue: Oriel Arts Centre, Old Jail, Dundalk
Thursday 21st May
13:30 - 13:45 Official Opening
Jean-Marc Dubois, President of CIRCOM Regional and Denis Cummins, President of Dundalk Institute of Technology
Welcome to the 33rd Annual Conference
Keynote speakers
14:45 - 15:45 Conference Session 1: Surviving an Economic Recession
The recent economic recession has had a profound effect on public service broadcasters across Europe. In Spain and Greece two actually ceased to broadcast as a result of the downturn.
In this session we will hear the unique experiences of two of Europe's most successful broadcasters HRT, Croatia and RTÉ, Ireland. In two case studies they will outline the steps they had to take to in order to survive and even grow with less funding, increased competition and scarce resources.
While this session will focus on Croatia and Ireland it will also aim to examine the impact of what happened in Europe over the last eight years and the lessons we can learn from this experience.
Speakers:
Kevin Bakhurst Deputy Director-General, RTÉ Ireland
Goran Radman, Director-General, HRT Croatia
Moderator: Dr. Johan Linden, General Secretary CIRCOM
Session overview
14:45 - 15:00 Coffee
15:00 - 16:00 Who is watching us, Where and How? Ericssons's Europe-wide Media Landscape Consumer Survey
The TV landscape is changing from one where traditional TV providers dominate and where the consumer experience is inflexible to one where consumers decide what they want to watch, how to watch it and where. Ericsson ConsumerLab gathers its data through a global research programme based on interviews with more than 100,000 individuals in over 40 countries.
Speaker: Anders Erlandsson, Senior Advisor, Ericsson ConsumerLab
Moderator: Nikki O'Donnell, BBC East, UK
16:00 - 17:00 Conference Session 3: The Future of DroJo
This sessions aims to explore the potential of drones for broadcasters-particularly for newsgathering and live-streaming while at the same time outlining the policies and guidelines to which broadcasters must adhere in order to remain legally compliant and to avoid endangering their staff and the general public.
Speakers: Glen Mulcahy, Innovation Lead, RTÉ Ireland and Ola Helnnes, DroJo NRK, Norway
Session overview
18:15 Assemble for departure to Gala
19:00 Prix CIRCOM Gala Reception and Awards Ceremony
The Awards Ceremony was presented by David Lowen, President of Prix CIRCOM and Carla O'Brien, TV Presenter with RTÉ2, former CIRCOM Mojo student and world champion Irish dancer. The winners of nine categories received their awards: Music (new), Documentary, Citizenship Co-production, Rising Star, Minorities in Society, Video Journalism, Most Original, Magazine and News Magazine and Investigative Journalists as well as announcement of the Grand Prix.
Entertainment was provided by NOCTU, the award winning Irish dance international troupe local musicians KERN. The Awards Ceremony was streamed live.
Friday 22nd May
09:30 - 17:00 Prix CIRCOM: Meet the Winners
Opportunity to meet the winners from the various Prix CIRCOM Categories and view the winning entries
09:30 - 10:30 The New Swedish Model for News Gathering
2015 is the year when Swedish regional television will undergo its biggest change so far. While commercial regional television has closed all their stations SVT is going in the total opposite way. The change is the result of almost two years of socio-demographic analysis, planning, training of all staff in VJ and Mojo and the final roll out. Christina Ågren will share success factors, what went wrong and what works. The session is a must for all interested in change and the development of journalism.
Speaker: Christina Ågren, Head of Regional and Minority News at Swedish Television, SVT
Moderator: Jean-Marc Dubois, President CIRCOM Regional
Session overview
10:30 - 11:00 Coffee
11:00 - 12:15 Conference Session 5: Social Media: Making Us or Breaking Us?
The disruptive revolution of social and mobile media for regional news
Speakers:
Mark Little, Founder and Director of Editorial Innovation at Storyful, Ireland
Annewil Neervens, Social Media Strategist, Netherlands
Joseph Hoban, Head of Communications & Brand Development, RTÉ, Ireland
Moderator: Tone Kunst, NRK, Norway
12:15 - 13:30 Lunch with the Honeycomb Creative Works project
Honeycomb Creative Works project is an EU funded cross border initiative to provide support to digital start-ups and entrepreneurs. From MoJo to DroJo and a new video-exchange platform, this is an opportunity to meet some of the participants in this unique project from North and South of Ireland and Western Scotland.
Venue: DKIT, Restaurant Building
13:30 - 14:45 Conference Session 6: Mind Your Language!
The European Union has over 60 indigenous regional and minority languages, spoken regularly by up to 40 million people. What are the pressures and challenges faced by regional broadcasters in their attempt to fully represent minority languages and their speakers across all platforms and in the midst of scheduling and economic constraints? Can advances in technology provide possible solutions that are adaptable and affordable to all and is there a ‘best practice’ model in this area?
Speakers:
Dite Dinesz, Head of TVR, Romania
Loredana Cornero (RAI), Former president COPEAM Gender Equality Commission
Mile Boca, Development Centre Director, RTV, Serbia
Rónán Mac Con Iomaire, Group Head Irish Language, RTÉ, Ireland
Moderator: Sarah McCann, Head of Creative Media, DkIT
Session overview
14:45 Coffee
15:00 - 16:00 Conference Session 7: Music Sans Frontiers
Music knows no frontiers.
As giant broadcasters grabble to secure music formats such as 'The Voice' and 'The X Factor' in a desperate attempt to halt the exit of under 35's from mainstream TV, regional stations too can use music to attract and interact with young audiences and bring a smile to our TV schedules and online services. Music programming is flexible, needs no language or subtitles can be consumed in big or small chunks and... increases audience ratings. Hence, the new CIRCOM programme exchange pilot to be showcased at this workshop.
Speakers:
Philip King, music producer, presenter and singer, Ireland
Willem de Vries, Producer Omprop Fryslan, The Netherlands
Kateria Ondrejkova, producer, Můj pokus o mistrovský opus (My Efforts To Make a Masterpiece), the winner of Prix CIRCOM award for music, Czech Television
Moderator: Proinsias Ní Ghráinne, Commissioning Editor, TG4, Ireland
Session overview
16:00 - 16:30 Close of Conference
Presentation from participants in the Mojo Journalism Training Course
Stories produced by the participants of the course
18:00 Assemble for 'The Dublin Experience'
Evening dinner and entertainment in the famous The Guinness Storehouse, Dublin.
The Guinness Storehouse is Ireland's biggest tourist Venues and is located at St. James' Gate, the site of the Guinness brewery since 1759. The Dublin Experience includes dining in the rooftop restaurant with 360º panoramic views of Dublin city, and an insight into the brewing of the world-famous 'stout' beer and a chance to taste the product in its home.
Venue: Crowne Plaza Dublin and return