Welcome and What’s the Buzz?
8:45 am - 10:30 am Wednesday, Dec. 2
session room: Mayfair
It’s been the year of the Global Financial Crisis. But has GFC also been the Great Factual Challenge? Grim and chaotic times have been good for current affairs and for the glitz and glam of distracting entertainment. But how did science and history fare? How could programs about the past and the future make themselves noticed in such a turbulent present? As all our Darwins came and went, was the well-told one-off edging close to extinction, while we dumb down to survive? Is there a shift towards Bigger, Darker, Apocalyptic – with spectacle, disaster and big big visuals capturing the global mood? Are presenters – whether celebs or new talent – moving ever more to the fore? And what about the fate of the classic wildlife strand? Your survey and our session will clarify the issues and face us forward in uncertain times.
Session Producer
Jennifer Cummins, Producer, Heiress Films (Australia)
with support from ABC-TV
Host
Bernie Hobbs, Science Writer and Broadcaster, ABC (Australia)
Co-Hosts
Steve Burns, Executive Vice President, Content, National Geographic (USA)
Martin Davidson, Commissioning Editor, History and Business Programming, BBC (UK)
Sponsored by ABC