Studio Network Solutions (SNS) was honored to receive Best Journal Article for Q2/Q3 2026 at the IAMT (the International Association of MediaTech) Impact Awards during IBC in Amsterdam. Now, that article is one of seven finalists for Best Journal Article of the year, alongside pieces from Blue Lucy, Calrec, Etere, MASV, NETGEAR AV, and wTVision.
We’re thrilled to be recognized among the best of the best in this category. We read through all the shortlisted articles (with our own eyes, not just the AI-generated summaries), and were surprised to see the similarities and differences they all make.
Then again, it’s not that surprising after all.
Everyone in the industry, whether you’re making media technology or using it, is facing the same challenges. And the articles that are rising to the top in this category lean into the same reality: New technology only pays off when it fits the people, workflows, and budgets they have in place.
Here’s where the finalists agree, and a couple of key takeaways for media teams.
Look Past The Buzzwords
The loudest trends rarely tell the whole story.
In our article, we tackled the biggest buzzword of all: AI. But we weren’t the only contrarians to take a deeper look at some of the major trends in mediatech.
MASV challenged the cloud repatriation narrative. NETGEAR AV asks whether AV-over-IP and broadcast IP are truly converging or just building on shared foundations. Blue Lucy focused on workflow orchestration, warning that: “When a word this specific becomes fashionable, it quickly loses its value.”
The takeaway: Don’t fall for flashy headlines. Before you buy into a trend, find out what it means for your team and your workflow.
People Over Products
Humanity was another key theme across the field.
When our article looked at what creatives want most in the AI era, people came out ahead of products. When surveyed, networking and community topped the list at 57.5%, followed by mentorship at 53%. New tools came in at just 31%. As we put it in the article: “The path to being irreplaceable is being present.”
Etere reached a similar conclusion from the workflow automation side. Automation will shrink repetitive tasks, but they assert: “The most valuable roles won’t disappear.” Storytellers, creative technologists, and systems thinkers become more valuable, not less.
The takeaway: Invest in people as deliberately as you invest in tools, and let experienced team members guide those facing their first big shift.
Read the shortlisted articles
The finalists come from very different corners of the industry: audio consoles, file transfer, workflow orchestration, AR graphics, network switching, and (of course) shared storage.
Here are the shortlisted articles. We encourage you to read them all for yourself:
- SNS: What Video Editors Need When Everything Is Changing Around Them
- Blue Lucy: Orchestration Is Everywhere at IBC This Year. Is it Real?
- Calrec: Choosing Agility and Flexibility in a Shifting Broadcast Landscape
- Etere: Creativity Needs Orchestration: What Automation is Really Changing in Media Jobs
- MASV: Cloud Dominance vs. On-Prem Repatriation: Why M&E is All-In On ‘Workload First’
- NETGEAR AV: AV-over-IP and Broadcast IP: Convergence or Shared Foundations?
- wTVision: Mobile-First AR: A Strategic Frontier in the Next Media Economy
When Will The Winner Be Announced?
IAMT will name the Best Journal Article of the year at the IAMT Annual Conference & Awards, December 1–2, 2026, at the Richmond Hill Hotel in London.
Whatever the judges decide, we’re proud to stand alongside these six companies. Each of them is asking the right questions about where media technology goes next, and we’re looking forward to being part of that future.