WAN-IFRA launches a new programme in the Middle East to drive newsroom transformation towards reader revenue success
A programme tailored to pioneering Middle Eastern newsrooms, the Newsroom Transformation Programme 2021 will be launched on May 18, 2021. It will provide intensive coaching, training and mentoring over three months to senior editorial and commercial participants. Ten selected news publishers across the Middle East will be able to speed up the transformation of their newsrooms to ensure they are both audience-centric and sustainable.
The participants will be drawn from the 10 news organisations which are selected from applications by WAN-IFRA members in the region. A formal call for applicants will go out next week.
Facebook and WAN-IFRA have partnered to launch the new initiative. Mechthild Schimpf, Director Middle East of WAN-FRA said: “All over the world, newsrooms are having to transform to stay relevant and sustainable – and not only because of COVID-19. We are delighted that through this partnership with Facebook, we can be a catalyst and help news publishers in the region develop the skills and generate ideas to move their newsrooms and products to the next level.”
“Facebook is committed to ensuring traditional news outlets can create thriving digital businesses. Our partnership with WAN-IFRA to bring the Newsroom Transformation Programme 2021 to the Middle East reinforces these efforts that support the news ecosystem in the region,” said Mohamed Omar, Strategic Partner Manager, News Partnerships Middle East, and North Africa at Facebook.

The World Association of News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) announces a new DKK 6.5M (€900k) partnership with the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs to support media freedom in nine countries across Sub-Saharan Africa.

WAN-IFRA, the leading world association of news publishers and media tech companies, launched today its new corporate brand identity, including a redesigned logo and website. These changes come at a time when the association is evolving its service offerings and expanding its global reach.

The Washington Post Press Freedom Partnership, a public service initiative from The Post to promote press freedom worldwide, today announced the addition of WAN-IFRA, the World Association of News Publishers, to its growing coalition of partners.

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, WAN-IFRA postpones the 72nd World News Media Congress, which was to be held in June 2021. The event is now scheduled in Taiwan from 28 to 30 September 2021.

Southern Lithoplate’s (SLP) Strategic Alliance, formed in 2006, continues to grow and evolve with new partners that enhance the organization’s advantages for US printers seeking affordable, quality consumables and services in a single-call/single source format. RBP Chemical Technology Inc., is the newest partner to join the trendsetting Alliance, SLP announced this week

“I am proud every year this report comes out, but perhaps a bit extra proud this year. We are all under immense pressure in several ways, yet I see much hope for the future when I see the many exciting opportunities and competence that people at Schibsted represent,” says Kristin Skogen Lund, CEO at Schibsted.

UNESCO and the World Association of News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) are joining forces to address the impending global emergency facing independent journalism. The announcement of the co-operation was made at the 40th-anniversary celebration of UNESCO’s International Programme for the Development of Communication (IPDC), an inter-governmental forum for media development.
As the world continues to battle the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact, the decimation of journalism in many areas of the world constitutes a growing threat, bringing existing challenges to a tipping point. Each month brings new reports of job losses in journalism and the closure of once-vibrant local media outlets.

The results of this year’s Asian Digital Media Awards were announced in a virtual ceremony held during the online edition of WAN-IFRA’s Digital Media Asia conference, and presented by veteran BBC, CNBC and Al-Jazeera news presenter, Teymoor Nabili, who is now CEO and Publisher of Tech for Impact Asia.

More than 120 newsrooms across the world will mark World News Day 2020 on Monday 28 September, highlighting the critical role that journalism and professional newsrooms play in helping citizens make sense of the world. World News Day is an initiative driven by the Canadian Journalism Foundation and the World Editors Forum, the network for editors within WAN-IFRA. It was initiated in Canada in 2018, and this is the first year it is being celebrated as one integrated global event.

WAN-IFRA is announcing today ten new members who will be serving on its Supervisory Board of Directors. They were elected the Association's Annual General Assembly of Members held on Wednesday 16 September. Four new members will be serving on its Executive Board of Directors and twenty-five Supervisory Board Members were also reappointed for a new term of office at the same meeting.

The Golden Pen of Freedom, the annual press freedom award of the World Association of News Publishers (WAN-IFRA), has been awarded to Colombian journalist, Jineth Bedoya Lima.