A Silent Revolution
Embedded publishing and it’s
consequences for the newspaper sector
Sander Spek, Jan Bierhoff
INM-EC/DC
Zuyd University
The Netherlands

Flemish E-publishing Trends
• Strategic research
• Multi-disciplinairy
• Focus on production, content,
and user
• Validation tracks
– www.fleet-research.be (en)
– www.fleet-project.be (nl)

Agenda
• Embedded publishing
• Embedded publishers: cases studies
• Motives
• Characteristics
• Implications and strategies

Embedded publishers?
• Organisations and professionals that
publish on a regular basis and a
significant scale…

Embedded publishers?
• Organisations and professionals that
publish on a regular basis and a
significant scale…
• …but that don’t do so for the publishing
itself. It’s just a mean, in support of a
main goal.

Embedded Publishing
Source-generated Content

Business goals

Political goals

Public safety

Science

Or higher goals

What is happening here?
• Why are these organisations and
persons doing this?
• What does it mean for traditional
independent media?

Motives

Motives
First of all:
Because now they can

Motives
Secondly:
Discontent about the
current media

Discontent
• Unfair business model
• Media coverage of themselves
• Media coverage in general
• But also happy customers

Characteristics
Control-driven

Characteristics
Stake-driven

Characteristics
Instrumental

Characteristics
Freedom of format

Characteristics
Refuge for
talent

Characteristics
Incremental
(incidental?)
growth

Five strategy options

1 – Counter
• Focus on own strength,
and the flaws of EP
• Be the independent and
qualitative alternative
• Innovate content and form

2 – Allow-in
• Open up
• Yet separate

3 – Collaborate
• Joint venture
• Selected partners
• Blending of editorial
and commercial content

4 – Facilitate
• The brand as a platform
• Portal function
• Focus on skills of packaging content
and reaching large audiences

5 – Service
• Provide journalistic services to
embedded publishers
• Focus on skills of content creation

Conclusions
• EP is a silent revolution
• EP is growing and becoming
more of a threat to incumbent
media
• Newspapers need to come
up with strategies. We’ve
presented five models.

Thank you
• Sander Spek
a.spek@hszuyd.nl
• Jan Bierhoff
jan.bierhoff@hszuyd.nl