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Week ending September 21, 2013

EBU - JURY RULES TIGHTEN FOR EUROVISION SONG CONTEST 2014 - September 20, 2013
from Sue Neilen/EBU

Processes governing the jury system of the Eurovision Song Contest have been strengthened for next year's event.

New rules released today increase the openness of jury practises, which contribute 50 per cent to the tally of participating countries.

Under the changes, the names of jury members will be announced on May 1, a week before the first semi final of the Contest (6/5/2014) in Copenhagen.

Additionally, EUROVISION will publish the ranking allocated by each jury member immediately after the Final of the contest. To increase diversity, jury places will not be granted to music industry professionals who have served on at least one of the two prior editions of the contest.

Contest Executive Supervisor Jon Ola Sand says the changes have been approved by the Contest's governing body, known as the Reference Group, and the EBU TV Committee.

"Fundamentally, the rules remain the same," he said. "However, increased openness enables the Eurovision Song Contest to build on its success."

“Participants, viewers and fans know that we will always do our utmost to secure a fair result," Mr Sand added. "These changes are a reminder that the Contest is an evolving tradition, which adapts to the spirit of time.”

In recent months, the EBU, which operates EUROVISION, has investigated reports questioning the integrity of voting procedures during this year's Contest in Malmö, Sweden.

"If our investigation brings about evidence of wrongdoing, we will take the required action," said Mr Sand. "Additionally, we plan to open an official page on our website to receive reports of any voting irregularities."

Allegations will be investigated by the organisers, the contest’s voting partner Digame and consultants PricewaterhouseCoopers, which oversee the voting procedure.

In May, Emmelie de Forrest won the 2013 Contest with 'Only Teardrops', securing Denmark’s right to host the next edition of the Contest for public broadcaster DR.

The Contest will be held at the B&W Hallerne in Copenhagen under the theme ‘Join Us!’ The list of represented countries will be released early January.

WAN-IFRA - MediaHackDay in Berlin Promotes Innovation and Transformation - September 18, 2013
from Larry Kilman/WAN-IFRA

The World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) has teamed up with Axel Springer, Storyful and CCI Europe for an international MediaHackDay in Berlin on October 5 and 6 to promote innovation and digital transformation in newspaper companies.

Up to fifty teams of developers, designers, journalists and imagineers (concept designers) are invited to compete in a challenge to rethink and reengineer content archives for the digital age. Teams and interested individuals from around the world can register via http://www.mediahackday.com.

The top prize is a trip to Silicon Valley for the winning team sponsored by Axel Springer.

WAN-IFRA CEO Vincent Peyrègne said driving digital transformation was vital and urgent: “The world of news publishing is changing fast. Rapid advances in digital technology and a spirit of innovation have transformed almost all aspects of newspapers and news media. Yet the value of one of the biggest assets that publishing houses hold -- their content archives -- has yet to be unlocked. We look forward to some innovative ideas that will help the industry transform this aspect of their business.”

The WAN-IFRA MediaHackDay is being powered by Axel Springer’s Media Entrepreneurs initiative and will be hosted at the Axel Springer Plug & Play Accelerator premises in Berlin.

“Axel Springer is aiming to become the leading digital media company,” says Dr. Ulrich Schmitz, CTO Axel Springer. “For us this does not only bring the necessity to develop new, digital business models but also to enhance our cooperation with the best tech companies and developers, as their skills are essential to bring new digital business models to life. We are happy to host WAN IFRA's hackathon as this is a great opportunity to not only think about future media publishing theoretically but also to see first technical prototypes.”

Teams will be able to hack archives and mash content provided by Axel Springer, The Guardian, AFP, Storyful, EyeEm, Watchmi and Readmill.

The MediaHackDay is taking place on the eve of the World Publishing Expo in Berlin and is part of a series of WAN-IFRA innovation initiatives taking place around the world. Last week, teams competed in an App Development challenge in Bangalore, India, as part of the Publish Asia conference and expo, and the Newsplex Asia News App Challenge is taking place in Singapore in October.

MediaHackDay API and Community partners are: Axel Springer, storyful, Agence-France Presse, Hacks/Hackers, EyeEm, watchmi, the Guardian, Readmill and Create Berlin.

With more than 300 exhibitors and 18,000 visitors expected in Berlin for the World Publishing Expo, the event lives up to its reputation as the largest global trade exhibition for the news publishing and media industry. In addition to the Hack Day, the Expo includes something for everyone in news media: five strategic business conferences, four open stages, workshops, and more. Full details can also be found at http://www.wan-ifra.org/ifraexpo2013

The MediaHackDay’s twitter hashtag is #mhd2013.