News Broadcasting
BroadcastAsia to highlight digital convergence technologies
MUMBAI: Asia’s digital multimedia and entertainment technology event, BroadcastAsia, will return to Singapore Expo from 19-22 June 2007 to showcase the latest digital technology, professional equipment and services.
Over 800 exhibiting companies including Harris, Sennheiser, Miranda, Vizrt, Magna, Innoxius, Conax and Qualcomm will demonstrate a full spectrum of products and applications from media content creation to delivery including new technologies birthed as a result of digital convergence.
Strong group participation is also expected at BroadcastAsia2007 with pavilions from Singapore , China , France , Germany , Italy , Korea , USA and UK . More than 80 per cent of the show floor has already been filled.
This year’s BroadcastAsia will also feature a high definition (HD) studio demonstrating a full suite of high definition production workflow – from production to final content output. Industry professionals will be on hand to explain the features and processes of the studio as well as highlight the differences in quality between standard definition and HD transmissions to visitors.
Over the years, BroadcastAsia has proven to be a one-stop sourcing ground for broadcasters, production and post-production companies as well as network with the industry. BroadcastAsia2007 expected to attract over 10,000 industry professionals, decision makers, vendors and buyers from 50 countries.
Adding greater depth to event is the BroadcastAsia International Conference. In partnership with various industry organisations, the conference features a series of sessions focussing on critical industry issues and will bring greater clarity to the new technological and business opportunities within the industry.
Addressing the “how”, “what”, “where” and “why”, the BroadcastAsia2007 International Conference will cover areas in file-based production, media production & development, digital multimedia, IPTV, content delivery to creating new opportunities.
Calvin Koh who is the project manager for communications events with organizer Singapore Exhibition Services “This year’s conference saw over 60 representatives who responded to its call for contribution. The overwhelming response was an indication of the industry’s enthusiasm to use the conference to share and update fellow professionals”.
Spread over a total of eight halls, BroadcastAsia, alongside with CommunicAsia, EnterpriseIT, InteractiveDME and ComputerGraphics Overdrive — will see the gathering of over 2,400 companies as they come together to demonstrate the transforming powers of digital technologies that are redefining the boundaries of traditionally-segmented telecommunications, networks, enterprise solutions and entertainment arenas.
Reflecting the growing importance of the interactive digital media industry in Singapore , which had been identified as a key growth sector for the local economy, interactive and digitised media and entertainment content will be a highlight on the show floor.
The convergence of media, communications and IT has dramatically changed the landscape of the media and entertainment industry, and is revolutionising the way we think, live, work and play. According to industry observers, the estimated size of the global media and entertainment industry in 2009 is expected to hit $1.78 trillion, while the Asia-Pacific market is predicted to reach $431 billion in the same period. Some ‘hot’ converged applications include digital cinema, IP TV, connected digital home devices and online gaming, amongst others.
Some ‘hot’ converged applications that visitors can expect to see include mobile entertainment, IPTV, connected digital home devices, as well as mobile and online gaming, amongst others.
Some of the key enabling technologies that will occupy top prominence on the show floor this year are:
Wireless — covering 3G, HSDPA, WiMax/ WiBro, Fixed-Mobile Convergence (FMC), as well as Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) and Embedded technologies Broadcasting — covering Satellite, Digital Multimedia Broadcasting (DMB) and Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB) Digital Networks — covering Next Generation Networks (NGN), Voice over IP (VoIP) and Information Security.
CG Overdrive will also be held alongside BroadcastAsia for the first time, to answer the growing interest in animation and demand for Asian animated content. Despite being a relatively young trade show, CG Overdrive has built a reputation as a must-see event for computer graphics and animation enthusiasts in the Asia-Pacific region.
One of the main highlights of CG Overdrive is a knowledge-centric conference that will address topics such as character animation techniques, character modelling and production of CG cinematics for gamers. Fringe activities like digital film screenings, digital art gallery and networking parties will be staged to connect CG enthusiasts to the gurus.
News Broadcasting
Newsrooms rethink AI, trust and revenue models
Editors and tech leaders debate tools, deepfakes and viability.
MUMBAI: If yesterday’s newsroom ran on caffeine and chaos, tomorrow’s may well run on code but with a human still holding the pen. At the 22nd edition of the Video Broadcast and Broadband Tech Summit hosted by IndianTelevision.com, some of the sharpest minds in Indian media gathered to examine how artificial intelligence, automation and shifting audience behaviour are reshaping journalism. The session, titled The Newsroom of Tomorrow Tools, Trust, and Business Viability In Focus, did not descend into techno-utopian hype. Instead, it wrestled with a more uncomfortable question: how do you stay relevant, credible and profitable when the audience is changing faster than the headline cycle?
The panel featured Govindraj Ethiraj, Editor of The Core, Dr Nilesh Khare, COO of Sakal Media Group; Prakaran Tiwari, Chief Executive Producer at NDTV Profit; Manoj Padmanabhan, Head of Business Media and Entertainment at AWS; Neeraj Mishra, Key Account Manager at Vizrt and session chair; and Mayuresh Konnur, Bilingual Correspondent at Collective Newsroom, publisher for BBC in India.
Govindraj Ethiraj set the tone with a frank assessment. “The reason people do not consume as much news through us is because they are consuming news through other sources they trust more,” he said. In a fragmented ecosystem flooded with content, trust has become the real differentiator.
Yet AI is undeniably transforming workflows. Ethiraj admitted he now uses AI tools to proofread his own articles. “Sometimes it is scary how much it picks, but it helps,” he said. What once required layers of sub-editing can now be assisted by machines trained to flag errors, inconsistencies and structural weaknesses.
He pointed to how newsroom roles have evolved. The desk editor, widely advertised over the last 15 years, barely existed in its current form before the internet boom. As digital publishing accelerated, tasks such as curating listicles, ranking stories and optimising headlines became specialised functions. Now, many of those responsibilities can be performed or at least supported by AI systems. The disruption is not hypothetical; it is operational.
Dr Nilesh Khare approached the issue from both a business and technological standpoint. Sakal Media Group is developing its own large language model, built on 60 years of text and photo archives. The goal is independence. “We won’t need to depend on other platforms to develop ours,” he said, underscoring the strategic value of proprietary data.
For Khare, AI represents opportunity as much as anxiety. It can help expand content across geographies and languages, particularly in bridging North and South Indian markets. It can streamline production and reduce costs. He did not shy away from the implications. “As a journalist I feel bad but as a content producer I feel good that we will require less manpower,” he said, articulating a tension many in the room recognised but few openly admit.
He also highlighted how audience behaviour is evolving. Today, a retail investor can follow a stock using Gemini or GPT instead of toggling between multiple news channels. News is no longer consumed linearly; it is queried, personalised and synthesised. The newsroom must therefore produce content that survives not just on screens but within AI-generated summaries.
Prakaran Tiwari offered a more philosophical reflection. “AI has developed itself and adapted on the basis of how news is consumed. It’s all about giving a perspective,” he said. In his view, the competitive edge will not lie in speed alone but in interpretation. Facts are increasingly commoditised; context is not.
He also suggested that formats are fluid. While short-form video dominates social feeds, long-form audio is resurging. Govindraj Ethiraj noted that in the United States the 2024 election was described as the “podcast election”, reflecting how audiences are investing time in deeper, long-form discussions. The newsroom of tomorrow must cater to both scrolling and sustained listening.
Manoj Padmanabhan of AWS reframed the debate. Technology, he argued, is not an existential threat but an amplifier. “The power is given to the human journalist with all this technology in their hand, with it acting as a support or assistant to deliver the correct and relevant news to the people,” he said.
The traditional divide between a “normal” newsroom and a “digital” newsroom is fading. “It will not be two newsrooms,” he said. “It will be one newsroom.” In that integrated environment, the storyteller remains central. AI may assist with research, editing and distribution, but editorial judgement remains human.
Neeraj Mishra of Vizrt echoed the assistive narrative. India, he said, is a market of organised chaos, where news broadcasters are pushing ever-increasing volumes of content. AI will help manage scale. It is not here to replace people but to assist them.
Production barriers are already collapsing. “You don’t need a green screen to produce content now,” Mishra observed, hinting at virtual production tools and real-time rendering technologies. And this, he said, is only the beginning. In a cost-conscious market like India, AI adoption in both B to B and B to C segments is likely to rise sharply. The skills are available, he argued, the real question is whether organisations are willing to invest.
If opportunity was one half of the conversation, risk was the other. Mayuresh Konnur warned that fake news is now being peddled with alarming ease using AI tools. Deepfakes, synthetic audio and fabricated visuals can damage credibility overnight. Several journalists, he said, have already faced instances where manipulated content was circulated in their name.
“Eventually it becomes a question of how authentic you are in the market,” Konnur noted. In a crowded information economy, credibility is the ultimate moat. Regulations and clear guidelines, he argued, are necessary to curb misuse without stifling innovation.
Mishra added a note of caution against overuse. “AI should not be everywhere. It has to be used optimally,” he said. The value lies not in blanket automation but in strategic integration.
One of the most resonant metaphors came from Padmanabhan. AI, he suggested, is like a brush in a human hand. Powerful, versatile, transformative but inert without the artist. It cannot survive without the human touch.
Konnur distilled the session’s core takeaway, AI is inevitable, but the art of storytelling will never disappear.
In a media landscape defined by speed, shrinking attention spans and intense competition, the newsroom of tomorrow is not simply a technological upgrade. It is a recalibration. Between efficiency and ethics. Between automation and authenticity. Between reducing manpower and retaining meaning.
The algorithms may write cleaner copy and generate sharper graphics. They may even predict what audiences want before audiences know it themselves. But the enduring task remains unchanged to tell stories that inform, interrogate and inspire.
And for that, the human newsroom is still very much open for business.
