Donna Smith, the Managing Director of Rise, the global advocacy membership organisation supporting gender diversity across the media technology sector, has had a career that has cut across a broad swathe of the media industry, writes John Maxwell Hobbs.
Smith’s experience covers working in the digital gaming industry, through to senior roles with companies like Rovi and NBCUniversal. This gives her an extremely well-informed perspective on the issues facing women working in media.
Primary obstacles
Over the past few years, there has been a lot of discussion about the lack of skilled applicants for broadcast technology roles, particularly among women. Smith believes that the main reason for this is a lack of awareness of the roles that are available. She also feels that the messaging around this needs to focus on more than just young people. “Parents aren’t aware that there’s a career path and good career development in the broadcast industry,” she said. “It’s an educational piece at a parents’ level, rather than a young adults’ level.”...
You are not signed in
Only registered users can read the rest of this article.
EBU’s Alan Fagan: “Eurovision Sport isn’t simply another streaming platform”
The Managing Director of the EBU’s first direct-to-consumer platform tells David Davies about two years of market growth and technological progress, recent excursions into AI, and the broader EBU sports ecosystem.
.jpg)
BAFTA Albert’s Matt Scarff: “If I had to name one challenge, it would be time”
For 15 years, BAFTA Albert has worked alongside the UK's screen industry, helping transform the power of storytelling into meaningful climate action, both behind the camera and on screen.
.jpg)
SVT’s Dennis Buhr: “‘Software-defined’ isn’t just about replacing hardware”
Dennis Buhr, Head, Digital Transformation, Production Technology, Workflow, SVT, explores how the team developed a software-defined live production platform for the Olympics.
 SR (1).jpg)
Ant Boys on The Invite and AI's promise
ACE Eddie-winning and BAFTA-nominated film editor Ant Boys, whose work includes The Great and Veep, discussed his latest film, the comedy/drama The Invite, and shared his views on the potential of AI in film editing, during a conversation at the IBC Conference yesterday, presented by American Cinema Editors.
.jpg)
Toby Scales: Building trust in an AI world
In preparation for his IBC2026 conference session, Toby Scales, CISO Media, Entertainment, Chairperson, Google Cloud, reveals what’s next for authenticity, provenance challenges, and AI.
.jpg)
