Global alliance for Research and Innovation in Media

Torino, June 9 2014

News
and
Newspaper
Industry:

Towards
a
New
Leadership
in
Innovation

Manifesto
for
an
International
Alliance
for
Media
Research
and
Innovation

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
As of today, WAN-IFRA is a global network of newspaper publishers and technology providers. Looking
ahead, this international community should become more open and integrate more players into research,
development and innovation: public and private research centres and labs, start-ups and innovative
technology providers, VC, business angles, and research funding partners in order to create an overall
ecosystem of innovation to serve the media, to serve its members. This is the challenge of WAN-IFRA’s
project, Media Innovation Hub. This ecosystem of innovation will develop around four pillars: 1) a shared
strategic vision presented in this manifesto, 2) Training and coaching, 3) the co-production of innovative
services and technologies in partnership with the world of research, 4) Technology transfer with specific
interface between startups, tech providers and publishers
Acknowledgement: The content of this short paper arises from several innovation stakeholders among the
active media members of WAN-IFRA’s Media Innovation Hub. The authors present in a direct style with,
at times, provoking content that responds to an emergency situation. They aim to create an initiative that
is strong and ambitious enough to break down existing barriers, while being realistic and pragmatic in the
short-term.

DRAFT - Torino, June 9 2014 2
OUR CENTRAL PURPOSE
Our common goals are to: cooperate, do business with, collaborate, meet, interface, join forces,
participate, team up, partner up, coproduce...
The Media Innovation Hub is a change accelerator. The only stable environment for our industry anymore
is one of constant change and innovation. This change needs to be at once much faster and broader. Our
industry requires a reliable flood of new technologies, products, and business models. Indeed, we see the
future of news media being invented right now, all around the globe, by hundreds of different companies,
universities, and entrepreneurs. However, their separate efforts, research, prototypes, and roll-outs receive
inconsistent attention and analysis. Many good ideas fail only because of a lack of development support.
Others get hyped beyond their real value. Vital lessons and examples are not being widely enough or
rapidly enough disseminated. Considering these challenges, WAN-IFRA’s Media Innovation Hub intends
to serve four key missions. Everything the Hub does will directly serve one or more of these four
missions:
To SHARE a strategic vision and a clear understanding of research and development programs in the
works with potential value to the news media industry. The Media Innovation Hub is a catalyst and a
curator for start-ups and emerging technology or service providers with growth potential in the news
media sector.
To CONNECT those various efforts to partners and resources so that they might reach their potential.
The Media Innovation Hub will screen and map international technology, consumer innovation, best
practices, and key players. It keeps the international news publishing community up-to-date about the
latest trends and actionable business cases. It serves as an innovation evangelist and accelerates the
technology transfer between research centres, suppliers, and publishers.
To FACILITATE stronger and more effective cooperation between news publishers and the academic
and research environment. The Hub will share the results of those initiatives with the wider news media
industry, which is hungry for more change. The Hub provides news media companies and their
technological partners with services to access international pre-competitive, multi-disciplinary research and
innovation programs initiated by private and public funding partners, particularly the Horizon 2020
European R&D framework program.
TO TRAIN media professionals and encourage multi-discliplinary approaches enhanced by closer
collaboration with academic centres associated to the project.
1 – A BREAKING POINT
In Europe, the number of copies of daily newspapers fell by over 25% between 2008 and 2012. In the
United States over that same period, revenue from advertising in paper editions fell by 42%. We could
continue to list signs of a breaking point in the use of paper media. However, some media manage to keep
their customers and increase their global audience. They are finding a way to transfer from paper to digital
editions. This is not yet a solution: on the one hand, the ideology of the free sharing of web content
severely limits revenue opportunities and puts great pressure on subscription pages.
On the other hand, the majority of advertising revenue has now transferred to new players: platforms of
digital services such as new media (such as HuffPost or Upworthy), social networking, content
aggregators, etc. In Switzerland, 2/3 of the revenue related to the placement of banners went to these
platforms and only 1/3 to the producers of original content. These new players have an entrepreneurial
culture that is radically different in terms of its business model, innovation, financing, etc.

Over the past decade, the value chain related to information has exploded. This explosion is directly
linked to innovation – and innovation that is often directly related to academic research. In 1998, for
example, Larry Page at Stanford University published a scientific report on the principle of PageRank.
This principle makes it possible to characterize each web page to radically change the search information.
Google was thereby created. The company also invented a new business model to monetize its services
and particularly to capture new digital advertising revenue.
More recently, the advent of advanced programming languages, such as Scala, has enabled the
development of digital services for large volumes of information that form distributed systems. This is the
main language used by Twitter. The EPFL start-up Jillion became the first universal viewer in the world in
HTML5. But above all, it offers a new freedom in terms of customization and thereby the diffusion of
editorial or advertising content. This start-up was sold to Dailymotion.
A few observations can be made:
• Innovation is now mainly run by major digital platforms.
• These new stakeholders possess incomparable means in comparison with media groups: by the
end of March 2014, Google’s readily accessible investment capital was at 59 billion dollars!
• These major digital players are also trying to gain control of the entire chain: hardware, software,
and services.
• Innovation is much slower than we would like to believe. Google is based on a publication from
fifteen years ago. The web is more than 20 years old, and the internet more than 40! The
economic tipping poing is brutal, but the processes of innovation and transformation started a
long time ago – and often as no secret, since they started in academic laboratories.
2- STRATEGIC OPTIONS (FOR NEWS MEDIA COMPANIES)
Almost as a caricature, current challenges have led to several answers:
• Try to survive by cutting costs. However, rationalizations linked to new production tools and the
effectiveness of the production line limit the capacity for action without affecting significantly the
value of the information produced. Reducing costs (in investigation and reporting) often leads to
a loss of journalistic quality.
• Redeem a digital platform. Examples abound (Washington Post by Jeff Bezos, The Boston Globe by
John Henry, Le Monde and Le Nouvel Observateur by the trio Berger/Pigasse/Niel, and so on). The
danger lies in the enslavement of content to the commercial objectives for the group’s services
and products.
• Transform into a digital platform. The bet is risky against giants in the field who have
incomparable financial power and antennas on the main campuses and incubators where start-ups
are created.
• Attempt to reclaim the innovation and to influence the overall value chain, so as to reposition and
upgrade the production of content.
Is this last point utopic? No, this movement is in motion in certain regions and with certain players, such
as NextMedia of Finland, Tecnopuc and the RBS Group in Brazil, The Irish Times, Alma Media in
Finland, the Schibsted and Springer groups, to name just a few of these innitiatives. But the majority of
these initiatives face significant challenges:
• Reaching a critical mass against digital giants

• The ability to anticipate changes and developments
• Culture clash between academic laboratories and media enterprises: the concept of ROI, duration
of the projects, the formalization of requirements, mutual comprehension, etc.
• The difference between scientific evidence and a production tool
• Understanding the global innovation chain beyond technology to include the cultural dimension,
uses, and perception
• Financial resources and contributions
• A global vision of trends that can be interpreted locally
• The ability to search for new business models
• The evolution of a corporate culture that increasingly embraces a culture of experimentation
Certainly, there is no single, simple solution, but concrete actions are demonstrating that prospects do
exist.
One example:
A new company in connection with two Swiss academic laboratories is investigating a search engine and a recommendation for
a new generation that is coupled with a novel form of data aggregation. Rather than waiting for this service to line up with the
ranks of digital platforms that account for a significant share of the advertising, early versions of the interface will be
immediately explored through a journalism school, testing whether it is possible to make a useful tool for journalists. And
more importantly, can we give it a journalistic dimension, such that the tool can become a new form of expression and
dissemination of journalistic content? How can it influence the value chain? What new business models can it create?
3 – UNDERSTANDING AND LEVERAGING THE NEW VALUE CHAIN
As discussed in Section 2, digitization exploded the existing value chain and economic models. Now
people even refer to “value configurations” (Picard) to break the image of a simple linear chain.
-‐ The segmentation of benefits is being fundamentally redefined by the user. In an offering structured
by businesses, it is organized into environments that combine content, services, social interactions,
and data industry.
-‐ The components of the “chain” (raw materials, production methods, distribution, infrastructure,
logistics, etc.) and their organization are changing radically.
-‐ The instruments that control the chain have changed hands: broadcast networks, software, hardware,
platforms, etc.
-‐ The evolution of the economic model marks not only a technical and commerical revolution but also
a cultural evolution around the concepts of free content and sharing.
Faced with this trend, the authors propose the following observations:
• The production of content retains a high added value. It meets a need to produce meaning, synthesis,
authentication, accessibility, narrative quality, and contextualization in the deluge of information
available across networks.
• Such an added value in the face of such a need means that there is a significant economic potential
and a capacity to influence the innovation chain. In the United States, journalists recognize the need
to leave traditional media to found information start-ups and especially explanatory journalism, for
example Ezra Klein, who joined the group Vox Media.
• Beyond economic activities, the production of content is fundamental for a democracy, for social
cohesion, education, and cultural development.

To accept these observations is to recognize the need for content producers to positively influence the
value “chain” by actively participating in innovation. This ambition requires:
Revaluation of editorial content and distribution: Professional editorial content is at the heart of the
transformation of informative data into knowledge. It provides information in a format that can be
identified, contextualized, and assimilated by the user. It must recover, on the one hand, a central role in
the value chain, and on the other, the perceptions and behaviors of the consumer. The examination and
interpretation of new applications are essential to renewing the value chain.
An impact on the global level: digital platforms which drive the innovation in this field have now
globalized the issue, both in terms of technology and finance and the product itself. We must therefore act
globally in order to have an effect locally.
Action based on 4 pillars
-‐ Strategic vision: It aggregates critical data, analyzes value chains and business models simultaneously,
detects major changes, provides data to companies and institutions that develop new business
models.
-‐ Research: By focusing on the topics of prioritized research (see above), it produces an inventory of
existing research both within members companies of WAN-IFRA, as well as within universities and
laboratories. It then specifies, defines, and coordinates joint research at the national, European, and
international levels, for example in the framework of calls for the project, “Horizon 2020.”
-‐ Technology transfer: monitoring the world of start-ups and technology providers, which are a vital
link between a scientific result in a laboratory and a productive and reliable tool for the production of
content.
-‐ Training: It provides an understanding of these issues for various players and the acquisition of new
skills and knowledge to implement practical solutions.
-‐
4 – A CONCRETE PROJECT
The scale of this challenge requires a new look at the media market. In terms of innovation, it is primarily
a competition between digital platforms and content production. This indicates an absolute necessity to:
• Bring together content producers now to reach a critical mass that could influence innovation.
• Define the pre-competitive innovation fields where partners recognize and concretely implement
effective collaboration to deal with external competition.
• Recognize the importance of the link between long-term academic research and short-term projects,
along with the skills, contributions, and benefits for each partner.
• Develop an overall plan that combines the 4 pillars: global strategy, research, technology transfer, and
training (all discussed in Section 3).
Faced with an ongoing revolution, WAN-IFRA decided to break with traditional practices of professional
organizations to become an effective catalyst for innovation and thus boost its members’ scope of activity.
Under the leadership of its management and its president, it initiated the following actions with its direct
partners:
-‐ Digital platform for innovation with an overview of the main actors (incubators, start-ups, providers,
transdisciplinary academic research on media). It participated in presentations and meetings in the
World Newspaper Congress, the World Publishing Expo, and conferences (innovation days, pitch
series, hackdays, etc.). It provided a synthesis of information on national innovation programs.

-‐ Research in partnership with major academic campuses such as the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de
Lausanne, iMINDS at the Free University of Brussels in Belgium, UCLAN in England, Aalto
University School of Business, KTH in Sweden, and Tecnopuc in Brazil. This component covers
support of applications for public funding for long-term research (‘scouting’ different tools for
project funding by universities at boht the national and international levels), involving topics related
to content production and editors, developing case studies, calls for contribution to the member
companies of WAN-IFRA, and the definition, specification, and coordination of research projects.
WAN-IFRA will be the interface between the industrial sector and partner universities.
-‐ Research will include not only technological issues but also economic topics, as well as the
exploration of usage scenarios, assessing user perception, and the development of new visual
languages for interfaces.
-‐ Strategic report: The aggregation of data that reflect the evolution of the value chain and of business
models, the development of new trends, and impact assessment at different geographical scales.
-‐ Training: The development of specific modules to establish new collaborations between campuses of
scientific research and journalism schools.
These initiatives are the result of a close collaboration between the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de
Lausanne and NextMedia of Finland.
5- NEXT STEPS
5.1 Who?
The following stakeholders recognize the challenges presented in this document and affirm their desire to
develop an international initiative to address them in the field of pre-competitive innovation:
• WAN-IFRA, World Association for Newspaper and News Publisher
• EPFL, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Switzerland
• iMinds - Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium
• PUCRS - Pontificia Universidade Catolica do Rio Grande Sul, Brazil
• NextMedia, an initiative of Finnmedia, Finland - TBC
• Media Innovation Studio in the School of Journalism and Media at UCLan in England, England
• Aalto University School of Business, Finland - TBC
• Médias Suisses, the publishers' association of the French-speaking part of Switzerland
• AFP - Agence France-Presse, France
• Grupo RBS, Brazil
They are asking private stakeholders and governments, both of which finance research, to join them and
contribute.
5.2 What?
Structure: An initial steering committee has been set up by WAN-IFRA. Its mission is to finalize the
strategy, define the actions, develop the necessary partnerships, and identify resources.
Strategy: WAN-IFRA, with a network of 18,000 publications and hundreds of industry partners, places
particular importance in its annual reporting and in its analysis of indicators related to innovation. It helps
to create the context for research in connection with both continental and international industrial partners.
Technology Transfer: WAN-IFRA is currently developing an initial map of the innovation stakeholders
with relays on key campuses. The most promising players are invited to presentations and demonstrations

at the World Congress to also promote concrete meetings and facilitate the evaluation work of media
groups.
Research: Several research programs and institutions have agreed to share their results. They are currently
developing information systems to enable each member to express interest in a new project. The projects
are developed around a clarification of goals, skills, and funding to foster a productive and effective
relationship between academic institutions and private companies.
Training: The first modules are being developed. They are developed around synergies between existing
institutions: Schools of Journalism and Management, research centers, and professional associations.
5.3 When?
The project is based on parallel developments between structuring the program, pilot projects on the
ground with founding members, and global development in order to achieve a critical mass. It includes the
following schedule:
June 2013–2014 Definition of the steering group, development of a common strategic vision, pilot
projects (research projects, map of innovation, etc.)
June 9, 2014 First presentation to members of WAN-IFRA at the World Newspaper Congress,
Turin
July–Nov 2014 Community development
structuring of the initiative
launching and development of projects
October 2014 Engagement of Project Manager by WAN-IFRA
Nov. 27, 2014 Interim report of the launch group. Review strategy for transmission to the board
of WAN-IFRA
June 12, 2015 Presentation of the results and the development of the project at the 67th World
Newspaper Congress, Washington, D.C.
6. YOU
• Are you a member company of WAN-IFRA,
a news publisher, a technology or service
provider, a research center in the field of
media, or a stakeholder in a program to
support innovation?
• Does the project briefly described in this
document correspond to your concerns?
• Do you intend to be part of the founding
partners and participate in the development
of the project’s vision and construction.
CONTACT
Stephen Fozard,
Media Innovation Hub Project Director
stephen.fozard@wan-ifra.org
WAN-IFRA
96 bis rue Beaubourg
F-75003 Paris - France

Global alliance for Research and Innovation in Media

More Related Content

What's hot

Viewers also liked

Similar to Global alliance for Research and Innovation in Media

Recently uploaded

Global alliance for Research and Innovation in Media