Notes

Digital News Initiative in the European Journalism Forum
The Digital News Initiative (DNI) is a European organization launched by Google to support high-quality online journalism through innovation and technology. It encompasses an "innovation fund" of around Euros 7m a year, which this year issued complementary grants to 461 projects in more than sixty countries. Among the projects funded are journalism initiatives in the areas of health, environment, transport, information and new applications in education. There is also funding available for feature stories, video and visual media development. Other projects include investigations into citizen journalism.

The first pilot project was launched last year in the Nordic region, which is due to launch later this year. It is part of the European Journalism Centre for Research and Public Affairs' project entitled "Caught between a rock and a hard place". This study focused on the Nordic countries Denmark, Finland, Iceland and Norway, where traditional media had been heavily relied upon for years. In doing so, the authors concluded that there was a new challenge for digital news organizations, namely coping with a changing media landscape and the changing consumer expectations. The study looked specifically at the role digital news agencies play in promoting innovation and new technology in the area of health, digital culture and politics.

The aim was to examine whether the growth of online publishers was compatible with European values and institutions, and whether European leaders were prepared to work with the digital news initiative. agency showed that the publishers were ambivalent about the role played by the digital news initiative in promoting innovation. However, it also showed that newspapers and journals were reluctant to change their editorial priorities. agency expressed doubts over the sustainability of the innovation programs, especially when faced with competition from new digital news publishing houses. The report said that the initiative needed to be carefully monitored, as it was an experiment that could fail.

The European Commission has launched another innovation challenge, this time focusing on the digital news sector. The Commission is encouraging publishers to take the lead in developing new and innovative business models. It is concerned that many traditional players may not be quick to adapt. It also says that there may not be sufficient market demand, in terms of audience size and specific sectors, to justify a wider range of platforms for delivering digital news. agency calls for more concentrated efforts across several sectors in order to address the key challenges and promote globalization at the same time.

The first Innovation challenge focused on the need for more accessible, affordable and relevant content for digital news platforms. The second one was about the need for a better platform for distribution, in line with the increasing focus on local content. The third one called for a more flexible, open and collaborative approach for innovation, covering areas such as translational innovation, data and social media innovation. The final one looked at the need for more strategic initiatives.

It says that some of the proposed solutions could have a positive effect on the performance of the news aggregator or news aggregators themselves, but that other benefits will come from other commercial and social business interests. For example, the need to innovate around news categories and the need for more accessible platforms for accessing aggregated content are likely to drive significant improvements to the way that journalists get breaking news. The Commission also looks forward to encouraging publishers to take a broader perspective on their activities.

There are several ways that the Internet and online journalism can enhance the quality of news. The European Journalism Forum report highlights four areas where it sees a great deal of potential growth. These include business and consumer audiences, increased access, mobility and diversity. Digital publishing can help increase diversity, especially in industries such as finance and banking, while also improving the business interests of consumers. Some of these interests include improved understanding of products and services, transparency in governance and increased consumer access.

The European Journalism Forum is conducting research into how the digital age can shape up the working group for the forthcoming European Journalism Awards. A submission to the Working Group will be launched in autumn and is expected to be launched in late spring or early summer. Details can be obtained via the Journalists' forum, which is linked from the Journalism news portal. The EJF says that more details will be available in the coming months.
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