Publishing News in the Digital Era: the Quest for Free Independent Quality Journalism in EuropeAuthor: EIFonline (12.January.2012)More than a decade ago now, the writing was on the wall that the business model in the newspaper industry would radically change pending the digital revolution. Some news-making organizations today have become highly innovative in providing value for their readers, but nevertheless the publishing eco-system is shaking. Who will survive and who won't? And is there still a need for old school journalism in a world where news travels instantly via social media? The EIF dinner debate on 10 January brought new insights to the table that suggest that the opportunities may well outnumber the problems (but at a price). It became clear years ago that if newspapers were to survive in the digital age, not only the industry should take part in the digital transformation, but also take the lead. That, in turn, meant taking risks ranging from cannibalizing existing business such as classified ads and setting up separate specialized classified ad sites (which in fact meant competing with oneself). Any newspaper today that has not yet been able to build a strong financially sustainable digital position will struggle to survive in the future. It will still take some time before we will see the same dramatic situation as in the United States but there will be some important newspapers in Europe that will go out of business. It is survival of the fittest in the digital arena like in any other arena. From a political point of view the most important question is if we should be concerned about the future of independent quality journalism as it is mainly created within newspaper organizations today. It will be a challenge to preserve independent quality journalism and even more to preserve the diversity of journalism in the media industry. Journalism is an important part of the democratic society in Europe. Diversity in media is probably as important as quality because it makes democracies even more democratic. However, the threat for quality independent journalism is getting closer because the majority of Europe's most important newspapers don't have a reliable way of being profitable in a purely digital business. Some say that the need for old media will diminish because social media will add so much information and diversity of information. There is something to say for that to a certain extent. Interaction between social media and traditional providers of news and journalism has become very interesting. Besides, social media are a great tool for the news sites and the news sites are also making the social media better and interesting. However, although Facebook may have infused the Arab spring, one has to realize that it will never replace Le Monde or the Frankfurter Algemeine - there will always be a need for independent quality journalism. It is argued by some that the Internet is an opportunity for journalism because the distribution of news has become cheap. However, independent quality journalism is extremely expensive to produce; and unless you can create something of high quality, there really is no point in cheap distribution. If we agree that quality journalism is under pressure and that this is a problem, then what can we do about it? News media can charge for news or work with new innovative advertising solutions but conservatism is not the answer, and embracing change is to preserve the industry. So there is a lot we can do but we must have the right political and legal framework to make this possible. Issues such as copyright should be tackled to ensure a level playing field for all concerned. It can also be questioned why there would be different levels of VAT for digital and printed newspaper industry. Because mobile apps and tablets have been such a big game changer the key to successful digital news publishing seems to be to have a strong handle on content and knowing the preferences of the customer base. With over 4 million registered users, FT.com for instance has been able to embrace content personalization, providing relevant and customized information to its users. The more relevant the information, the more clicks. Free and independent journalism is essential for promoting democracy and cultural values. If we take the right political decisions today, we have a good chance to preserve a critical mass of free and independent journalism in Europe. This is worth fighting for, as it is one of the pillars of modern Europe democracy. For more information about this event click here. | 
