"150 hyperlocal weeklies, 900 websites... and 90 newscafes: how Nase Adresa plans to become the most important hyperlocal news project worldwide"
17 to 19 MARCH 2010 in Prague, Czech Republic
PPF Media's hyperlocal project, launched in the spring of 2009, has been hailed from the beginning as one of the industry's most innovative initiatives in years (see below a selection of articles). It primarily consists of print weekly Nase Adresa (translation: our address), an innovation in itself as within the next two years, it will be published in 150 different hyperlocal news editions, in a country - Czech Republic - of little more than 10 million people. Along with Internet portals, they will be produced in 90 "newscafés" by local staff and external contributors (user generated content). They are under the supervision of the Futuroom, the Prague-based central newsroom, which is also a media laboratory for multimedia journalistic projects and new revenue streams.
1) The study tour itself is a unique opportunity to discover the most innovative and original endeavors which have successfully opened new markets. All Nase Adresa's seven pilot editions - based in two newscafés in Bohemia and two in Moravia - have quickly become the newspapers with the highest audience in their respective areas.
This program will also allow you to discover in detail the newscafés - a combination of newsrooms and Internet bistros facilitating contacts with readers and potential sources - and the Futuroom - an experimental field for innovative news production combining text, pictures, film, sound and interactive graphic designs.
2) Then the World Editors Forum has organized for you a workshop and brainstorming session with two guest speakers who are leading in The Netherlands and in Poland other innovative "hyperlocal projects".
The combination "study tour + workshop" means that, when you can come back to your country, you will have strong ideas and relevant business models for setting up your own hyperlocal news project.
7pm: meeting at the Futuroom (8 minute walk from Panorama Hotel, in Prague's Pankrac district)
Welcoming cocktail hosted by PPF Media. 8 - 10pm: working dinner at the Futuroom, central organisation for the Nase Adresa project Strategic presentation by Roman Gallo, PPF Media's director and founder of the project. First brainstorming session on objectives and answer to the question: why traditional media organizations were shy and why a new player decided to launch a print & online project.
Thursday, March 18th
9 - 10h30: Nase Adresa editorial presentation
(at Prague's Futuroom) How work the hyperlocal editions Which content in the print weeklies Crowdsourcing journalism at Nase Adresa and ethical issues How PPF Media's ambitious project is managed from its central newsroom How Futuroom editors are producing database-based articles & dynamic multimedia productions. 10h45am-12h15: Nase Adresa business presentation
(at Prague's Futuroom) What is the business model Black figures expected in 2013 How hyperlocal advertising works How to recruit advertising managers for hyperlocal projects Which business in the internet newscafes
Speakers:
Roman Gallo, PPF Media's director Matej Husek, Futuroom's editor-in-chief Petr Sabata, Nase Adresa's editor-in-chief for all the local newsrooms Jiri Nehasil, manager of all the newscafés Bozena Rezabova, marketing manager Ondrej Besperat, photo editor, and Jakub Sirotek, graphic designer
12h30 - 13h30: Buffet lunch at the Futuroom
1.30 -3pm: travel to the newscafés
The group of participants will be divided in two teams to visit the already operating newscafés in Bohemia (an interpreter will be present in each):
one team for Teplice's newscafé and weekly one team for Usti's newscafé and weekly
3 - 6pm: newscafés seminars: practical work with hyperlocal news professional, bloggers and "citizen journalists"
These sessions will allow to understand the functionality of the newscafés and the combination with the editorial activity. The topics covered will include:
What is the hyperlocal content of the websites and the print weeklies. The importance of sport coverage in each edition. How the reporters work, and how they relate to their readers. How, among the most pro-active readers, citizen journalists (pupils, seniors, club leaders, etc.) become regular contributors. How they make photos and prepare articles with the newsroom to feed the HLN print editions and the HLN websites. Videos about communities or social clubs involved with Nase adresa will be also shown. Readers' comments on the weeklies' contents, based on researches and on the feedbacks received in the newscafés. The "social marketing" campaign. How the location of Nase Adresa's news-point is instrumental to the success of the project. The role of the coffee shop as a meeting place for readers, for debates and for online interviews. How it boosts Nase adresa's operational income and establishes it as an important player in the region. Why and how the newscafé has already an impact on the community.
Speakers: -- the local edition's chief editor -- sports, socio-political and cultural events reporters, -- a community leader -- several citizen journalists, including a creator of a UGC naseadresa.cz designed village website.
6.30pm-7pm: registration in a nice Bohemian hotel...
8pm-10pm: dinner hosted by Roman Gallo, with the presence of the local editors. First debriefing of the study tour. The future extension of the newscafés in the Czech Republic, the 150 editions starting their two year long rolling-out. The potential for Nase Adresa's concept in other countries.
Hotel night in Bohemia
2) Workshop & Brainstorming session
Friday, March 19th
8.30 - 10am: transportation back to the Futuroom in Prague
10.30 - 12.30pm: going hyperlocal in Europe: is it sustainable and is it the future of regional media organizations?
Guest speakers:
-- Bart Brouwers, managing editor of a digital network of hyperlocal news and information platforms for Telegraaf Media Groep, in the Netherlands: How to manage a hyperlocal news project in an existing media group? The new editorial process and workflow. Citizen journalists as key contributors in the process of news distribution. Potential business models in The Netherlands.
-- Jaroslaw Tokarczyk, CEO of Edytor, publisher of Gazeta Olsztynska in Poland: Why a traditional regional daily already dominant in its region is going hyperlocal. Multiplication of print weeklies and creation of websites for each municipality. "Deep localness" with a large team of ad representatives, with measurable results.
Exchange between participants and speakers.
1pm - 2pm: Working lunch (buffet style) at the Futuroom
2.15 - 3.30pm: more on the Futuroom productions Detailed presentation of the media laboratory, where new forms of information are being experimented (dynamic multimedia infographics, mobile content). The income stream generated by these new products. Tips and recommendations for a creative newsroom.
3.30pm: end of the study tour Transportation to the airport or week-end in Prague.
MAXIMUM OF 25 PARTICIPANTS (The study tour will be conducted in English with translation Czech - English in the newscafés)
You are encouraged to sign up soon as space is limited and participants will be accepted on a first-come, first-serve basis.
PRICING: Standard price: EUR 2,900 WEF* and WAN-IFRA Members: EUR 2,300 (see www.worldeditorsforum.org)
The price includes the hotel for two nights (17 to 19 March 2010), meals and transport within the Czech Republic during the duration of the study tour, (19h00 Wednesday 17 March dinner to Friday 19 March in the afternoon). Participants are responsible for their own transportation to and from Prague, Czech Republic.
WEF can arrange hotel booking for participants who want to remain in Prague for the weekend.
