Over the past century, American newspapers and news agencies have played an enormous role in transforming journalism around the globe. Today, it is those same organizations that are being transformed. American news establishments have embraced the country's entrepreneurial spirit, experimenting with all things digital in order to increase efficiency in their newsrooms and produce better journalism for their readers.

During the "America's Transition to the Digital Newsroom" study tour, you will see first-hand the steps US newspapers have taken to evolve from print to multimedia as well as how purely-online publications are affecting the media landscape.


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NEW YORK (2 days)

Afternoon: arrival of participants
20h00: welcoming dinner (speakers and venue to be announced)


Tuesday, 22 April

9h00-12h00: WSJ/Fox Business Channel (to confirm)

• 09h00-09h30: Corporate presentation and tour of newsroom
• 09h30-10h15: Speakers to confirm: Transforming one of the world's most respected titles into a quality website (talk of print content vs. original content, cross-print/Web content, the fast pace of business journalism in the Internet era, customization/user-friendliness etc.), with Q&A
• 10h15-10h30: Coffee Break
• 10h30-11h15: Speakers to confirm, Editor-in-Chief or Robert Thomson: Changing content; broadening the Journal's scope to compete with general interest papers; presentation with Q&A
• 11h15-12h00: Speakers to confirm: Collaboration with Fox Business Channel: how print journalists benefit other media within News Corp., Q&A 
  

12h00-13h30: Lunch, buffet at Wall Street Journal

14h00-17h00 Associated Press: Just like American newspapers, the country's premier news agency, The Associated Press (AP), faces significant digital challenges. For over 150 years the AP worked smoothly as a cooperative, but its traditional business model is now threatened due to the ease of Internet distribution. During our visit, you will discover the innovative ways in which the AP has reacted to digital news, including a borderless newsroom and partnerships with the likes of Google.

• 14h00-14h30: Introductory presentation and tour of newsroom
• 14h30-15h30: Tom Kent, Deputy Managing Editor: How the AP has integrated its traditional and digital operations, modified the physical layout of newsroom and changed the workflow of its headquarters and bureaux; with Q&A.
• 15h30-15h45: Coffee Break
• 15h45-17h00: Jim Kennedy, Vice President, Director of Strategic Planning: The AP's changing relationship with newspapers, the immediacy of publishing for the web, and Kennedy's vision for the future of newspapers; with Q&A
  

19h00 - Dinner

• Jeff Mignon and Nancy Wang, 5W Mignon Media:  5W is working with papers on both sides of the Atlantic, helping them adapt to local media transformations. Jeff and Nancy have helped papers design websites and improve functionality, and created tools such as blogs and widgets. They'll give you an idea of how to improve your paper's digital offerings as well as clarify the differences between the two markets in which they work. 

 

Wednesday, April 23

9h00-11h00: Google: As it has done in many aspects of modern society, Google is also revolutionizing news with its Google News aggregator. During our visit, you will learn how one of the world's most well known companies views the future of newspapers, how it is working with traditional publishers, and how your newsroom can maximize its exposure on the Internet's most popular search engine

• Josh Cohen, Vice President of Business Development and other suggested speakers: What is Google News?, including Google's strategies in dealing with traditional publishers.
• Tour of the Google facilities
  

11h45-13h15: lunch with Jay Rosen, Professor of Journalism, New York University and founder of New Assignment: NYU Professor Jay Rosen has been at the forefront of innovations in journalism for decades. His latest project, New Assignment (http://newassignment.net), combines the work of professional journalists and concerned citizens to achieve well-investigated stories. You'll find out what "pro-am journalism" and "crowdsourcing" mean, as well as how Rosen has helped add a new dimension to the American Presidential elections with Off the Bus (www.huffingtonpost.com/off-the-bus), a joint project with the Huffington Post (www.huffingtonpost.com) with Q&A. 

14h00-18h00: The New York Times: For decades The New York Times has printed its slogan, "All the news that's fit to print", next to its masthead. Since the start of the Internet age, the paper of record has successfully transformed itself into the "website of record", essentially becoming "all the news that's fit to click". You will visit the Times' brand new Times Square building, tour its spacious newsroom and discover the innovative steps the Gray Lady has taken to become more colorful in the digital age.

• 14h00-15h00: Rich Meislin, Associate Managing Editor: How the New York Times has adapted to the Web and turned a national newspaper into the international paper of record; with Q&A.
• 15h00-15h15: coffee break
• 15h15-16h00: Sewell Chan, City Room journalist (http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/): Veteran journalist Sewell will talk about using blogs to connect with readers and bringing the Times closer to its hometown, New York City; with Q&A.
• 16h00-17h00: Kevin Mackenna, Deputy Business and Financial Editor: Newsroom workflow is not the same as it was 10 years ago; how has the Internet changed the every day functions of NYT journalists? With Q&A.
• 17h00-18h00: Michael Rogers, Futurist; Michael Zimbalist, VP, Research & Development Operations: What will the news look like in 2020 for newsrooms and their readers? With Q&A.
  

19h00 Dinner (venue to be announced): Nick Denton, Founder and CEO, Gawker Media: A former newspaper journalist builds a successful blog empire; with Q&A (to confirm)

WILMINGTON / WASHINGTON (2 days)

Thursday, April 24

08h00-9h30: Train to Wilmington, Delaware

10h00-13h00: Gannett/Wilmington News-Journal / delawareonline.com
The News-Journal, owned by America's largest newspaper publisher, Gannett, has embraced a revolutionary experiment in local coverage: the Information Center. The News-Journal and its online brother, www.delawareonline.com, no longer produce from a standard newsroom, but from a 24-hour operation of constant information, flowing both to the printed paper and the Web. You'll discover how a medium-sized, regional paper has taken the digital bull by the horns for the benefit of its readers and staff.

• 10h00-11h00: David Ledford, Editor-in-Chief, delawareonline.com: How are American regional newspapers adapting to the Internet: the implementation of Gannett's Information Center; transforming the newsroom to dig deeper into the local community; with Q&A.
• 11h00-11h15: Coffee break
• 11h15-12h00: Mobile Journalists (MoJo); portable digital devices are giving new birth to local journalism allowing journalists to publish stories on the go; speakers to be announced.
• 12h00-13h00: The importance of local coverage on the Web; journalists working in teams to develop multimedia story packages; speakers to be announced.
  

13h30-15h00- Train to Washington DC, lunch on train

10h00-13h00: : The Politico:Launched in January 2007, The Politico is a multimedia pioneer focusing on the niche topic, American politics. Two Washington Post political reporters were lured by the prospect of leading an upstart publication and since it's launch, many more traditional journalists have joined the Politico's staff. You'll find out how this journalistically experienced team is breaking new grounds by printing an analytical newspaper with a circulation of 25,000 while maintaining an up-to-the-minute website which has gained recognition for the unconventional manner in which it treats news on Capitol Hill.

• 16h00-17h00: Jim Vandehei, Executive Editor: Jim will explain why The Politico is unique and how his job in the multimedia world has changed from that of a print reporter.
• 17h00-18h00: John F. Harris, Editor-in-Chief: John will describe workflow in The Politico's newsroom and talk about his experience in organizing a multimedia newsroom from scratch.
  

20h00 - Dinner, venue to be announced


Friday, April 25

10h00-13h00: The Washington Post/Newsweek Interactive/Slate The Washington Post's website has helped to boost the paper's presence to be truly international, yet the print and online newsroom functions remain separate. During our visit at WPNI, you will see how a purely Web-focused newspaper newsroom relates to the print newsroom, how its journalistic practices differ, and how it has created multimedia stories to strengthen its famous reporting.

• 09h00-09h15: Introductory presentation and tour of the newsroom
• 09h15-10h00: Liz Spayd, Editor-in-Chief, washingtonpost.com: Why print and online aren't integrated; the strategies behind separate newsrooms and workflow in the WPNI newsroom; with Q&A.
• 10h00-10h15: Coffee break
• 10h15-11h00: Rob Curley, Vice President of Product Development: Rob, a master of local multimedia journalism, will intrigue participants with examples of the many innovations he has developed for WPNI; with Q&A.
• 11h00-11h30: Chet Rhodes, Deputy Multimedia Editor: Considering sending your reporters off with video cameras? Chet will tell you what you need to know when preparing your newspaper newsroom for the motion picture; with Q&A.
• 11h30-12h00: Tom Kennedy, Managing Editor for Multimedia: Tom has been behind much of washingtonpost.com's successes including online chats with popular figures and the Post's array of blogs; with Q&A
  

12h30-14h00: Closing lunch, venue to be announced

Afternoon: flights home