#Media4EU research results

Europe’s MediaLab (Fondation EurActiv), together with the Institut d’Études Européennes (ULB) and a steering committee, launched the ‘Media4EU Tour d’Europe’ project in October 2016. More than 30 editors, publishers and media experts were interviewed and a number of associations was consulted. The project came up with practical solutions.

THE MEDIA, A SECTOR IN CRISIS:

  1. Advertisement on paper no longer a value proposition
  2. Google and Facebook absorb most of online revenues.
  3. With fewer resources, traditional media organisation struggle to offer quality journalism.
  4. As a result, they resort to agencies or cut coverage of certain topics, notably non-national political developments.
  5. Combined with the rise of fake news on social media, this represents a danger for democratic processes and the survival of the EU project.

#MEDIA4EU RESEARCH AND RESULTS:

  1. Based on estimates obtained through qualitative research, up to 25% of political journalism could lend itself to cooperation-based coverage.
  2. There is a potential to cut costs and gain more diversity by exchanging content across borders with media partners.
  3. The process involves syndication, translation, localisation and curation. It applies to articles and: subtitled videos, infographics, pictures and data-journalism.

ADVANTAGES AND HURDLES:

  1. This process has the following advantages:
  • DIVERSITY: by limiting the re-publication of agencies, news outlets could publish more high quality and diverse content
  • AFFORDABILITY: The costs of a journalist producing original content would be reduced, and more topics could be included
  • BETTER COVERAGE: complex topics such as EU-policy or internal political developments of neighbouring states would be covered more often and better.
  1. However, the following hurdles to cross-border cooperation have been found:
  • Lack of a EU strategy for the media sector
  • Translation efficiency, CMS (Content Management Systems) incompatibility

AND FIRST AND FOREMOST:

  • Journalists are often more inclined to share their content rather than accept articles from others.
  • Editorial and commercial sections of news organisations struggle to cooperate on innovative solutions to keep their media organisations sustainable.
  • Media professionals both on the editorial and commercial side lack the skills and contact network facilitating innovative cross-border projects.
Stars4Media Project