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The Digital News Initiative (D NI) is a European organisation designed by Google to “supplement quality journalism through innovation and technology”. It encompasses an “Innovation Fund”, worth Euros 150m, that in 2018 issued seven grants to 6 participating media organisations across the continent. However, it’s not just online media that gets support. It also includes traditional media, online and radio, from the likes of Focus Magazine, as well as the Financial Times and La Gazette Dello Sport in Italy.

The Digital News Initiative was established in 2014 with the founding of the European Journalism Centre, a non-profit citizen media platform. The organisation now has thirty-two members from twenty countries, including France, Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and Italy. In Agency , the initiative launched its first project, the European Journalist’s Platform. This year it extended the scope, expanding to include investigations into investigative journalism, citizen journalism and Internet data protection.

As part of the digital news initiative, the publishers had the opportunity to present their own innovation projects. A majority of the projects were for platforms and formats that are already available on the internet. Others focused on ways that news can be made more accessible. Some publishers like Cheddar are working on ways to make video available to users; others like Vice are experimenting with live-casting news content.

Other projects covered by the digital news working group include improvements to the way that journalists report stories, ways to boost the quality of pictures for pictures and video, and the possibility of live-casting news content. The Innovation Working Group made a presentation for publishers at the International News Institute Annual Meeting in Rome, Italy. The report looked at some areas where innovation is needed, highlighting the need for more experimentation, more transparency and more collaboration. It also recommended that newsrooms and reporting desks should not be afraid to get help when it comes to innovations.

The Working Group believes that there is a real need for experimentation and innovation in the world of journalism. It has been suggested that digital news services need to be more flexible to accommodate new forms of business. It has also been argued that digital news should not be forced into formats before they are ready. The Working Group is looking for ideas that will make it easier for digital newsrooms and other news organizations to adapt to new formats and business models.

One way to foster innovation in journalism and the wider industry is to create business opportunities through partnerships. For example, news agencies might be encouraged to co-operate with European businesses on research and in the creation of new content. They may be asked to carry out market research, open-source their journalism, etc. to find new business opportunities. It may even be possible to create a European platform for Journalists to report from across the continent.

Another model considered by the Working Group is the European B2B platform for journalism. News organizations could engage in joint venture projects or collaborations with businesses that have significant business interests in the European continent. Newsrooms could also be encouraged to develop joint venture partnerships with European publishers who have similar values as the newsroom. Such partnerships would foster cross-media exposure and give publishers a chance to increase their online readership.

Some newsroom initiatives have already been launched in the European continent. For instance, in Germany, a new program called “neue televis” (“new television”) is being developed. Agency working group also recommends that publishers in Europe should become more proactive in providing opportunities to newsroom staff. It calls for more training and development of new digital media skills. In addition, the Working Group believes that both journalists and publishers should work more closely together to share data and stories.