Last Word 30
I
filed this copy a week out from Content London, not really knowing what state the world would be in by the time the event came around. If it came around. If you’re reading this, we made it through. But we live in dangerous times. Years from now people will ask, ‘What did you do in the pandemic?’ in the same way we asked our parents and grandparents, ‘What did you do in the war?’ It was always possible our generation’s world war would be fought against an invisible enemy, which would arrive under cover and be more brutal than we could imagine. But the long-term consequences of this fight are perhaps more significant than any other. Beyond the death and illness Covid-19 has caused to those who caught the virus is the impact it had on everything else. We’ve all had our lives and jobs turned upside down and been forced to be as resilient as possible to survive. The pandemic also amplified broader issues, gave us time to think and magnified the very best and very worst of us, at a pivotal moment in history. It happened in an age of anxiety. From the Black Lives Matter movement, diversity, sex and gender politics, the rise of populism, Brexit, war, famine and refugee crises to the climate ast few years emergency we all now face, the past have not been a walk in the park. nd Throughout all of this, media and k the stories at entertainment have reflected back the heart of every issue and bent and flexed to rationalise and explain ourselves to ourselves, with an increasingly surreal edge. Within the content business wee saw adaptation and evolution happen at rapid ed and pace. Production stopped, restarted ries stopped again. Archives and libraries filled schedules where new supplyy failed hrough and audiences worked their way through Netflix, Amazon and all the VoD offerings of every content platform on the EPG. So what happens next, and whatt lessons 0 months have we learned during the past 20 that will inform the future? ther be wasted The opportunity to reset will either or embraced within the next few years and the role the television business plays in that future may be vital.
DAY 1
Making the most of the new normal
As the content business takes its first faltering steps towards something approaching normality, David Jenkinson asks what lessons have been learned during the pandemic and how they can be used to build back better.
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The opportunity to reset will either be wasted or embraced within the next few years and the role the television business plays in that future may be vital. David Jenkinson
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Image: CDC
What responsibility do those who commission and tell stories have to the bigger picture, and what could be achieved if all of the issues facing the world were addressed wherever and whenever possible? It’s a tricky balance. From an operations point of view, we have all probably changed for good, and the freedom to work remotely has brought about a more productive approach to work. It is unlikely that we will travel as much, so what does that mean for the traditional markets and events that are sscattered across the year and communit together? And if we’re not bring the community meeting so much in person, how does that alter con the nature of the conversation and the in-person creativity that spaw spawns new ideas? pe From a content perspective, what will audiences watch as w we move into 2022 and w beyond, and if the world continues its decline, entertainm does the entertainment business simply serenade mankind as it sails towards oblivion, or become a more active part of the solution? Content London is one of the first events peo that is bringing people back together in person, challe with all the challenges that entails. It is a small step toward towards the new normal. It will be interesting to see how people reconnect this week and what the talking points will be. But as we all try our best to get back to normal it’s th ‘normal’ really doesn’t probably the case that w exist anymore, and what happens next is r anyone’s guess. We really can’t base the future on the past. Elbow bump.
The official Content London Daily magazine is published by C21 Media Ltd (www.c21media.net). Editorial director: Ed Waller. Reporters: Jonathan Webdale, Clive Whittingham, Nico Franks, Jordan Pinto, Karolina Kaminska, Michael Pickard, Gün Akyuz, Ruth Lawes, Oli Hammett. Chief sub editor: Gary Smitherman. Senior sub editor: John Winfield. Photographer: Simon Wilkinson. Production: Eleanore Hayes, Courtney Brewster. Events: Gemma Burt, Chloe Hocking. Content London Daily client contacts (C21Media): Odiri Iwuji, Peter Treacher, Hayley Salt. Editor-in-chief & managing director, C21Media: David Jenkinson. Meet the Content London Daily editorial team in the Horsfall Room (Kings Place) or via press@c21media.net. © C21Media 2021
