BBC News is undergoing a major transformation with the launch of two new departments, including an AI department aimed at delivering content to younger audiences via smartphones and TikTok.
Deborah Turness detailed the changes in an email to staff.
The new BBC News Growth, Innovation and AI department will use machine learning to curate personalised stories based on users’ previous content consumption. It will incorporate the existing Digital Development team, led by executive news editor Nathalie Malinarich, as well as the Growth, Social, and Weather teams under executive editor Jonny McGuigan. Malinarich will serve as interim lead until a director is appointed.
Alongside this, a second department, BBC Live and Daily News, will merge digital and broadcast operations to streamline content distribution across all platforms. Led by John McAndrew, it will oversee the News Channel (led by executive news editor Paul Royall), the website and app (led by Stuart Millar), streaming (led by Chris Achilleos), and news programmes on TV and radio, which fall under McAndrew’s leadership.
Both departments will officially launch on 10 March.
BBC News chief executive Deborah Turness outlined the changes in a staff email, stressing the need to counter “the growing trend of news avoidance” and adapt to evolving audience habits. She emphasised a “ruthlessly focused” approach to audience needs, leveraging AI to enhance personalisation and user experience.
Turness added that BBC News is operating in a “fiercely competitive digital environment and fighting against long-term broadcast decline as audience habits shift”.
As the BBC navigates an increasingly competitive digital landscape, these changes mark a major shift in how it delivers news to audiences across platforms.
