Jonathan Stray, a computer scientist specialising in data driven investigations, addressed delegates at the EBU’s General Assembly in Montenegro (17 June) on the importance of big data and algorithms to the future impact of public service media.

Stray was introduced by the EBU’s Director of Public Affairs and Communications, Guillaume Klossa who outlined the EBU’s commitment to leveraging the potential of Big Data.

“We are identifying concrete ways of working together on this around 4 axes: audience measurement, media content, recommendation systems and trusted data principles,” he told delegates.

Klossa called upon Members to nominate a ‘big data coordinator’ in their organizations to actively participate in this joint EBU initiative and participate in the many activities/meetings the EBU is organizing on the subject.

Jonathan Stray said algorithms were important to EBU Members to reach audiences because “we’ve gone from a world where broadcasters decide what people watch, and when, to those people deciding themselves.”

He highlighted the importance of social media in distributing content and that traditional methods of just providing a linear TV channel are rapidly diminishing in importance.

“Different channels need different content – they have different interaction modes – viewed on different devices. There are a huge number of experiments in storytelling that are cheap and fast and should be encouraged – without taking risks it will be difficult to move forward.”

Stray discussed the value of metrics too in understanding whether audiences are being reached at all.

“You have to listen to your metrics – if you are telling a story and its important and no-one is choosing to watch that’s a problem – try a new storytelling approach. Live blogging, live streaming, infographics - the number of ways to tell a story has exploded.”

He also told delegates that EBU Members have a window of opportunity right now to create a European platform to share and distribute content with a unique European algorithm.

There are already high level of resources and high level of trust for PSM in Europe, he said.

“European media is a unique position to do this globally – by global standards PSM is well funded. You have resources and funding to do this. This will require working together – both a technical and editorial collaboration – it’s a challenge but you are in a good place to do this. If you have the platform in place you can choose the algorithm – if it doesn’t work change it.”