FLEET - Multidisciplinary research on Flemish e-Publishing Trends

Flemish E-Publishing Trends (FLEET) presents

In association with the IBBT-SMIT User Research Cluster

Expert Workshop

How to involve and research the reader / consumer in the newspaper innovation process?

During the past few years, the newspaper industry, from the journalists to the newsroom leaders over the marketeers, have been confronted with the hype on Web 2.0. Newspaper readers became online news users, gathering the information they want from a wide range of websites, through a large array of new information tools. Through these tools, users increasingly found themselves able to publish information on their own through blogs, citizen journalism sites, reaction boards or forums on newspapers’ websites, etc.
leading to participatory journalism, news produsage and crowdsourcing. It is crucial to have an understanding as accurate as possible of the user, and more specifically of your target audience. This can be reached by involving the user from the very beginning in your innovation process.

We would now like to invite you and other experts on the matter to join us to discuss and exchange ideas on the role of user research in the development of innovative news products. Together we will look for answers to your questions. To which extend can research help to understand the user? Or is it all about gut feeling? What are your experiences with user research?

This workshop will provide newspaper marketeers and R&D executives with:

(a) theoretical knowledge and empirical data about the Flemish print and online news user;

(b) insights into the motivations and thresholds for traditional users to participate in news online;

(c) opportunities to discuss user involvement in innovation processes through the case of the Associated Press’ different innovative news applications, presented by Henrik Eklund, AP Director of Digital Partnerships and Distribution in Europe, the Middle East and Africa;

(d) tips and tricks to put user data in practice for the implementation of
newsroom innovations

When: Tuesday, June 23 2003, 13.00 – 18.00.
Where: Nieuws.be boat - Kuiperskaai, 24 - Ghent
Who should attend: Newspaper’s marketing and R&D executives, editors

Programme

13.00 – 14.30 Introduction
The Flemish news user: What research tells us. Tips and tricks
a. The news prosumer. Ike Picone, IBBT-SMIT: FLEET
b. The mobile news user. Tim Van Lier, VRT: Romas
c. Discussion with participants: what do you want to know about user
participation and mobile news consumption?

15.00 – 17.00 Workshop session
a. User involvement. The principles of user centred design, participatory research and Living Labs. Jo Pierson, IBBT-SMIT: iLab.o
b. Associated Press. The way to innovative news offerings. Henrik Eklund, AP
c. Discussion with participant: what do you want to know about implementing user research in the process of innovation?

17.00 – 18.00 Networking and drinks

Registration

The number of participants is limited; therefore we would like to ask you to confirm your participation by the 5th of June 2009 with an email to Ike Picone (Ike.Picone@vub.ac.be). The registration fee amounts to 75 euro. The participant will receive a more detailed agenda of the workshop.

Zoek:

Inhoudstafel website:

Over FLEET: