In 2014, WBNS 10TV in Columbus, Ohio commissioned Osborn not only to renovate their physical newsroom, but to develop an operational concept that addresses the rapidly changing media landscape.

Findings in 2016 by the Pew Research Center show that although the leading source of news for adult Americans is still television at 57%, online consumption of news is quickly trending to be the leader among Americans below the age of 49. As younger generations search for larger variety of access to news and information, media outlets must adjust their news ingest and distribution models for a more rapid and continuing current deployment of information.

Osborn’s approach to this challenge was to restructure the traditional linear news production, which is focused on the evening news broadcast, by strategically positioning key components of the news generation and distribution model at the core of the design. The traditional “News Desk” becomes an information “Aggregation Center”. This concept is designed to facilitate the rapid distribution of news to multiple media platforms simultaneously. The design then layers supportive functions around the core in order to organize and edit the final news product before release to the media platforms.

To further support and track evolving news stories and social media strings, the newsroom is equipped with (2) 30-foot-long video walls. These video walls act as the monitoring points for social media boards, website trending, raw video footage and other media outlets. Additionally, they also act as pocket studios for quick, live or taped news segments, giving the producers multiple options for breaking news coverage.

Ultimately, the intent of the WBNS Newsroom design was to provide the directors, producers, anchors, reporters and photographers with an integrated space that streamlines how news is generated through collaboration and technology.