Transcript Many Voices, One World

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Many voices, one world…
Many languages, one system?
Karl Kathuria &
Alexi Paspalas
November 2003
The BBC: history and numbers
• BBC founded in 1922, Royal Charter in 1927
– “Inform, Educate & Entertain”
• World Service began in 1932 as the ‘Empire
Service’
• Funded by grant-in-aid
• Resources
– £205m p.a., 2000 staff
• Output:
– radio + the web in 43 languages, 66,000
broadcast hrs/year
• Radio: 150m weekly radio audience
• Online: 9.8m unique users
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Strategy: some key strategic issues
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Editorial ambition
• Multi-platform
– SW, FM, DRM, DSat, DCable, DAB, online, mobile etc.
• Interactive: not just a broadcaster
– “a global hub for high quality information and communication”
– “providing a forum for the exchange of ideas across cultural, linguistic
and national boundaries”
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Empowering Journalists
• Web presence since 1995
• Out of the box web editors
– Assumed technical knowledge
– Long time to write pages
– Frustrating
– Risky
– Language Support
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Content Production System
• Used by BBC News for English content since 1997
• Extended to support 4 World Service languages
– Arabic
– Chinese
– Russian
– Spanish
• Required native operating systems
– Separate desktop environment required
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Web Interface Tools
• Redesign of English site
– Requirement for all radio producers to submit content
– Cost and training implications
– Development of simple submission form
• Further requirements
– Faster turnaround for English content
• More complicated design
– Indexing
– Language news content
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Benefits of Web Interface
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Ease of updates
Ease of rollout
Expertise in web coding
No conflicts with corporate desktop
Less off-the-shelf software
Language support
– If our interface supports it, the internet supports it
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First Generation
• ‘Gizmo’: Perl with DBM back-end
• Other applications
– Some create pages
– Some create server-side includes only
• Hosted off-site
• Limitations
– DBM performance problematic
– Growing needs
– Non-modular design
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Ever-Evolving Requirements
• Support for all WS languages
• Syndication
– XML, RSS, multiple distribution locations
• Multiple platforms
– Mobile, PDA, third-party applications
• Search
• Archive
• Email lists
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Resilience
Database and performance management
Change Control
Supportability
Modularity
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The second generation
• One system
– Replaces Gizmo and derivatives
– Does not replace CPS
• Complete system rewrite
– Relational database
– Perl, Javascript and Java front-end
– Saxon for XSLT processing
• Process changed
– Not just one person’s work
– Long development lead time to allow database design
– Full support processes in place
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Phase 1
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USER
INTERFACE
PROCESS
DATA
XML
CONVERSION
ADMIN
INTERFACE
DATABASE
INTERFACE
SAXON
DB
XML/XSL
Processor
XSLT
HTML, RSS,
XML, Server
variables
FTP
MATRIX
Current environment
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USER
INTERFACE
PROCESS
DATA
XML
CONVERSION
ADMIN
INTERFACE
DATABASE
INTERFACE
SAXON
HTML, RSS,
XML, Server
variables
FTP
MATRIX
XML/XSL
Processor
Email
News
DPS
INTERFACE
Digital
Production
system
DB
XSLT
XSL
Search
Broadcast audio
Streaming Media
Syndication
Engine
Topcat
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Testing Content and Moving Forward
• What operating systems and browsers do we support?
• How can language text be displayed and created?
• Using Unicode instead of what’s already out there
– Display problems
• Should we use third-party tools?
– What if there are no standard tools?
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The future
• No replacement in foreseeable future
– Modular design; flexible system
• Digital production environment
– Achieving synergies with radio production / playout systems
• Challenges
– Interactivity
• Editorial and technical issues
– Additional Platforms
– Digital Rights Management
• Eventual move to CPS?
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What we now know
• Base the system on what platforms you wish to support
– Know your target audience
– Understand the technicalities of displaying the content
• Ensure modularity and flexibility in the design of the system
• Be aware of future requirements
• Encourage innovation in system design
• Take as much time as you can to get it right at launch
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