For many journalists the Covid-19 pandemic will be the biggest and most complicated story of their lifetime, with many reporting global events from home without the facilities of a studio.  

By Chloe Howcroft

With the virus now affecting over 180 countries, producers, journalists and other content creators face the challenge of reporting on the pandemic while adhering to strict government and WHO guidelines for physical distancing in order to limit the spread of the disease.

In a report last month, PMA explored the many contingency measures put in place by public broadcasters, and the adaptations being made to ensure that vital services are still provided for the public during these unprecedented times. 

Now, from towel-covered furniture and laptops balanced on stacks of books, to the use of mobile technology and user-generated content (UGC), we highlight some of the innovative and creative ways that our members, and other public media organisations, are keeping you informed, educated and entertained during the Covid-19 pandemic. 

Scroll down to view some of our highlights:

Swedish Radio

Music flows despite COVID-19! For Swedish Radio’s P2 channel, many staff have been broadcasting from home since March, which has inspired a little creativity to ensure the best quality sound.

BBC

Radio studio director, Ash (below-left), demonstrates how the production team for The Today Programme keep their studios up and running. Some examples include red tape on the floor to follow the 2 metre distancing rule as well as fewer staff working on shifts at any one time.

Presenter, Sarah Montague (below-right), shares her new home studio for the BBC Radio 4 programme, The World At One.

France Télévisions 

Takis Candilis, Deputy Managing Director of France Télévisions, explains how the French public broadcaster has adapted some of its production and programming:

RNZ

Teresa Cowie records (below-left) a story for RNZ’s Morning Report inside her wardrobe for better sound quality.

RNZ presenter, Suzie Ferguson (below-right), provides a detailed account of the realities of broadcasting at home: towel-covered furniture and the fear of children interrupting live broadcasts. Read the experiences of other RNZ staff members here:

ABC

ABC Perth Breakfast show presenters, Nadia Mitsopoulos and Russell Woolf (below-left), successfully keep the breakfast programme on air while working separately via video calling technology.

Director of ABC News, Gaven Morris (below-right), promotes ABC’s own roundup of staff members that are “broadcasting in the age of working from home.”

ABC has also been encouraging the Australian public to upload their own videos as part of a national sing-a-long to connect people of all ages during this time of crisis:

SABC

SABC’s Metro FM DJs are providing the South African public with Friday night entertainment via televised “house parties” while also remembering “safety first”:

WNYC

The team at New York’s public radio station, WNYC, are keeping the Morning Edition programme up and running with some employees in the studio while the rest report from home:

NPR

These are particularly unprecedented times for NPR Education’s Production Assistant,Sequoia Carrillo, whose first “reporting from the field” experience is from home:

CBC

Lineup Producer of The National, Meg Banks (below-left), shows viewers how CBC’s flagship nightly news and current affairs programme continues to broadcast during the Covid-19 lockdown from her “makeshift control room that she has put together at her Toronto home”.

Meanwhile, Editor of CBC News, Brodie Fenlon (below-right), shares photos and videos of the various ways that CBC News staff are providing much-needed news about Covid-19.

RTÉ

It is not a new phenomenon for RTÉ News Digital Native Video Journalist, Eleanor Mannion, to be using mobile devices and gadgets to produce stories. We can also see how RTÉ has been using user generated content from Irish citizens abroad.

NHK

This is a behind-the-scenes snapshot of one of the Japanese public broadcaster, NHK’s programmes in production. ‘ETV’ is a special documentary programme that covers a wide range of social issues and in this episode, “Emergency Talk: A World Changing by a Pandemic, 60 Minutes with Yuval Noah Harari”, Special Affairs Commentator, Aiko Doden, uses video calling technology to interview her guest:

Rai Radio Kids

Culinary expert, Marco di Buono, shares fun cooking recipes for kids from his home during Italy’s lockdown. Episodes and podcasts can be found here.

SVT

Swedish public television has also been using utilising UGC to document the Coronavirus crisis by encouraging the Swedish public to send in videos about their everyday experiences during lockdown (below-left),

SVT’s News Editor, Charlotta Friborg (below-right), explains how Sweden’s public television broadcaster has had to adapt during the Covid-19 pandemic. 

Do you work for a public media organisation?

We’re interested in how you’re adapting to working under lockdown. Get in touch and let us know your stories

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Header Image: Professional camera filming a video podcast stock photo. Credit: Mixetto/iStock