The Outlook: Inside the Media Innovation Festival in Sarajevo

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This is The Outlook, IPI鈥檚 media innovation newsletter, where we take a look at strategies and tools for innovation and business development, and learn from newsrooms that are implementing them.

In this week鈥檚 newsletter, we give you a recap and the main highlights of the Media Innovation Festival 2024.

Participants at IPI's Media Innovation Festival — *Participants during the 海角乱伦大神 and Media Innovation Festival 2024, in Sarajevo, from 22 to 24 May. Photo by Almin Tabak*

Around听400 leading journalists, editors, and publishers from around听the听world gathered in Sarajevo for听the听海角乱伦大神 and Media Innovation Festival 2024, from 22 to 24 May.

The听conference hosted a series of engaging panels, designed to address听the听most pressing challenges and opportunities in听the听media landscape. We captured some of听the听key media innovation learnings and other resources to put you up to speed.

Here is what we have learned from听the听辫补苍别濒蝉:

Good journalism doesn’t mean good money

The听Festival took off with听the听Investigative Journalism鈥檚 Profit Puzzle: Going beyond breaking even.听The听central question was: Should investigative journalism generate revenue? And, if yes, how?

A key idea was that 鈥�Good journalism doesn鈥檛 mean good money. People need to have a business model.鈥�
Have dedicated teams with constant communication between听the听editorial and commercial departments.
Independence is of听the听essence, and some offers from funders and advertisers will have to be refused.
Don鈥檛 reinvent听the听wheel. It’s okay to borrow (and share) successful business strategies from other media.

>> Read more:

Innovate to grow

Understanding your resources, strengths and values comes in handy when facing crises like wars, authoritarian regimes, pandemics, or even the climate crisis. Journalists across the world are faced with the need to keep expanding their reach and serving their communities while also dealing with extreme outside pressure, as tackled during the panel听Pivot under Pressure: How Media Innovate Through Crisis.

Create a setting where 鈥渏ournalists are empowered to do their job, but also open their minds鈥�.
Innovate to grow:听rethinking and strategize听is key.
鈥淔lexibility and persistence鈥� and being fast in acknowledging the crisis are must-have attitudes.
Taking control and ownership of stories that serve your communities, despite the perceived lack of control.

The panel: Daraj Media, Lebanon; Denn铆k N, Slovakia; Rappler, The Philippines; The Kyiv Independent, Ukraine; Rise News Uganda Network, Uganda.

Listen to your community

The panel听Audience-first Journalism: Innovative Strategies to Build Trust in Your Brand, explored tapping into data and understanding your audience as another critical asset that media organizations need today.

Harness the power of private messages. 鈥淧eople believe more in what their friends send them鈥�.
Explore the benefits of content creation and its unique audience engagement.
Bring young people on board. Have people on your team that are in touch with the realities of that community.
Embrace honesty and humility while interpreting your audience’s data.
Let go of preconceptions. Combine audience feedback with data to generate powerful insights.

The panel: UNESCO; ABO Local Media Development Agency, Ukraine; RTV Slon, Bosnia and Herzegovina; Portal Ul-info, Montenegro; Agencia Mural, Brazil; Nakypilo Mediagroup, Ukraine.

Move the conversation

On the last day of MIF, we delved into the feminist discourses on the panel听Bursting Bubbles: Feminist Media Innovate to Reach Wider Audiences.

Challenge the narratives of women鈥檚 stories听that 鈥渁re either sob stories or that you have to do something challenging to get coverage, like climb the Everest.鈥�
Focus on building loyalty, instead of educating or convincing the people who are against women鈥檚 rights.
Emphasize intersectionality, both through your stories and your organization’s values.
Be creative with the revenue sources and tailor funding for specific projects.
Move the conversation to the structural approaches.

The panel:听Ag锚ncia Mural, Brazil; Alharaca, El Salvador; Africa Women Journalism Project; Women Forum Prijepolje, Serbia; Boju Bajai, Nepal.

Speakers on the panel “Bursting bubbles: Feminist media innovate to reach wider audiences”. From left to right: Izabela Moi (Ag锚ncia Mural, Brazil), Laura Aguirre (Alharaca, El Salvador), Catherine Gicheru (Africa Women Journalism Project), Aldina Salkanovi膰 (Women Forum Prijepolje, Serbia), Bhrikuti Rai (Boju Bajai, Nepal). Photo by Dinara Satbayeva

AI, the hotspot

The panel听AI’s Impact on Journalism: Evaluating Risks and Opportunities,听sent a clear message: AI should complement, not replace, journalists.

Strengthen journalism鈥檚 accuracy and emphasize the uniqueness of your media.
Let journalists focus on high-value work by using AI for data-heavy or repetitive tasks, such as document scanning, real-time transcription, and social media scraping for news alerts.
Leverage AI to reach more diverse audiences. Translate articles into multiple languages, adapt your language for readers with dyslexia and more.
AI can help journalists avoid tedious, repetitive tasks, like document scanning, real-time transcription, and social media scraping for news alerts.
Fill in the gaps with data visualizations.

The panel: Schibsted, Norway; Factiverse, Norway; Associated Press, USA; Journalism AI; Rappler, Philippines.

>> Read more:听How AI can redefine tasks in the newsroom听

海角乱伦大神