44 BCBUSINESS MARCH 2016 TANYA GOEHRING
J
ill Krop rose through the
ranks as reporter, host and
news anchor at Global BC,
and last April was named
its first female news director
and station manager. Over her
three-decade career in journal-
ism (including 20 years at
BCTV/
Global), she has seen the disrup-
tive impact of technology on her
industry. When cellphones allow
anyone to broadcast news, and
every organization has a Facebook
page and a Twitter account, how
does television remain relevant?
"Really basic storytelling," she
says. "I think that's the appeal.
Everybody now is putting out
information. But the thing that we
do is bring context, hold people
accountable and get to the bottom
of things."
Krop took over at a time when
ratings of B.C.'s most-watched
local newscast were sagging.
She rearranged some of the best-
known personalities at the net-
work, making Sophie Lui a co-host
of the News Hour, and also boosted
online news coverage. In a time
when animal videos score millions
of hits, she is mindful of eroding
standards. "I've had to take pro-
ducers to task for some of the
lighter stuff. I'm like, 'We didn't
need a dog wedding on TV!'"
The
Media
Mavens
FROM "MSM" TO THE NEW
MEDIA GIANTS, THESE THREE
JOURNALISTS ARE SHAPING
HOW WE SEE THE NEWS TODAY
b y M A R C I E G O O D
W O M E N O F I N F L U E N C E : T H E P O W E R T O D I S R U P T
