So, I have recently found myself applying what feels like an entrepreneurial mindset in my full-time job.
I work as a Digital and Social Media Producer in the newsroom of NBN Television, a regional broadcaster serving the north coast of NSW from the Central Coast to the Gold Coast in Queensland.
Recently, I have been working on trying to get a regular podcast recorded by some of the journalists and newsreaders in the newsroom as a way to generate extra content.
I believe that this has required me to adopt an entrepreneurial mindset in the following ways. Firstly, I identified a gap that was existing in the content that was being produced. Also, I simultaneously identified that this content, if it was produced, could be monetised or exploited in a that could generate revenue for the organisation. Lacking the requisite skills to do this myself, I needed to utilise the network of other employees at the station to get it done. This included the Chief of Staff, the Head of News, the Head of Digital Strategy, the post-production department, such as one80 Digital Post, the Graphics department, not to mention the other journalists and producers in the news room that have also come up with ideas and added to the content as we've gone along. Also, this project has required me to continually keep my motivation and enthusiasm levels up, as you face a huge number of hurdles in trying to get this across the line, and that energy level makes it also easier to recruit people to your end, and get buy-in. Most people have seen this as a worthwhile project - I hope it turns out that way, because it could be damaging if not. So obviously, there is an element of risk-taking involved, in that it might not work, or it might die out after a few weeks, or it might not get the audience interest to be sustainable.
What were my motivations for doing this? Firstly, I listen to a number of podcasts myself, and I genuinely believe that many people now want to get their content this way. I also felt that this was an opportunity for me to earn some recognition and credentials in the workplace. I've basically taken on the role of producer (self-appointed) and if it comes off, I think this will give me some clout at the next performance review. I was also hoping this would be a way for me to generate extra revenue. My job doesn't pay very well, and my first idea was to try and sell sponsorship and/or commercials on the podcast, and that I would take a cut of the revenue. This way of thinking was obviously too radical for the established model... It was flatly refused. It is written into my contract that any content or revenue raised while employed by the company remains the property of the company, so I wasn't expecting anything different, but I tell myself that this was my entrepreneurial mindset taking over, and looking at I guess non-traditional ways of approaching the situation.
There are also elements f the systems model and structuration in this. Obviously, I needed to understand the rules and resources available, and I saw these as both enabling and constraining. For example, the journalists (i.e., the resources) are already heavily worked, and I was cognisant of not wanting to give them more work to take on as it could dim their enthusiasm. My solution, was to come up with two 'teams' of people that would be involved in the podcast, and then record each team on alternating weeks. This way, the people involved only have to be asked to do something once a fortnight, which hopefully is not too big a burden. In order to further get the buy-in from everyone, I've agreed to take on some of their responsibilities (i.e., some of their rules) by writing updates for them on the weekends. Obviously I've had to learn new parts of the domain - such as the equipment involved, and elements of creating a rundown in the ENPS software that we use, and I've heavily relied on the field to get it done. Ultimately, I'm also looking to the field to validate the project. Other producers, the Head of News and so on will all give the indication of whether this is something that should be accepted into the domain or not.
So anyways, we've booked time in the audio recording booth, and a rundown has been created and some journalists are lined up to record it. Today is our first day.
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