(Left) Susan Clandillon, Communications trainee at EMMA/the Future Media Lab..
In the latest edition of our bi-weekly news roundup (the earlier posts can be read here), Susan Clandillon shares the news that caught her eye in the past two weeks. The news round-up is a way for the Future Media Lab. team and members of the Future Media Lab. network to share articles about innovations and developments in the media sector, including references to relevant media policy debates.
Here are Susan’s picks for this week:
1. Heads of Cabinet selected for the Commission
As we focus in on the Commission this week, EurActiv provided us with a list of the selected Heads of Cabinet for each of the Commissioners. In the accompanying article, you can find a breakdown of their credentials.
2. The Commissioner Hearings
Over the last two weeks we have seen suspense building in the lead up to the Commission hearings. There has been much speculation as to which Commissioners will have a tough time. EurActiv predicted that the EPP would throw out Pierre Moscovici if the left were to challenge their Commission candidates - notably referring to either Spaniard Miguel Arias Cañete or Hugarian Navracsis.
Fast-forward one week and European Voice’s Dave Keating is reporting that Cañete’s raucous confirmation hearing has led to a tit-for-tat battle between the EPP and the S&D. To get the inside track on this tense hearing, it is worth looking at the live blog of the event.
The EPP lawmakers were said to have left the Cañete meeting furious with S&D, and vowing to take a hardline with their candidate Moscovici. Indeed during Moscovici’s hearing on 02 October, Burkhard Balz (EPP spokesman on the economic and monetary affair committee) was quoted as saying, ‘In today’s presentation Mr Moscovici did not convince us at all.’
Reuter’s reports today that Moscovici will be forced to answer a new round of written questions, while Arias Cañete, who currently does not face additional policy questions, will have to wait as the S&D has postponed a vote on him until the legal committee clarifies his financial statement.
Georgi Gotev from EurActiv depicts a hostage situation, and confirms that six commissioner-designates have already fallen victim to the internal political alliances of the European Parliament. Those in hot water are reportedly: Jourová (cz), Cañete (sp), Navracsics (hu), Creţu (ro), Moscovici (fr) and Lord Hill (uk).
3. The Google Case
The Google anti-trust case could end up costing the company more than Microsoft’s 2.2bn euro settlement. EC competition commissioner, Joaquín Almunia, has indicated that Google - unless it offers an acceptable settlement - could be making its way down a path towards a fine that would be equivalent to 10 per cent of the company’s global revenue or $6bn, the Guardian reports.
In response to Google search domination in Europe, author and theorist Evgeny Morozov looks at ways in which Brussels can seek to boost European innovation in the tech-sphere. However, Morozov warns against the mere development of a European search giant to rival Google. Instead he champions a European vision of data protection which would provide security through homegrown innovation and looks at the idea of data as a public good.
4. Media Innovation - Sustainable journalism
In March 2012, Matter, a crowdfunded, subscription-based, online journalism platform that provides long-read journalism, wowed the press when it raised nearly three times its funding goal on Kickstarter. Two weeks ago, Matter put an end to their pay-wall and began to offer up their content for free. The International Business Times examines how some publications are making the pay-wall work, while others can’t.
It’s not doom and gloom for all of the start-up crowdfunded journalism scene however. The Dutch long-read crowdfunded journalism platform De Correspondent has declared that one year after their official launch on September 30th, 2013, they are thrilled to announce that more than half of their crowdfunding group has already renewed their membership and will stay with them. As their focus has been on building relationships with their readers, this news is promising.
Interestingly for De Correspondent, they have also branched into book publishing this year and have written a book on the ideas they have shared on the platform. Their strategy is innovative; they made their e-book 60 percent cheaper than the print edition and sold the book on their own platform with a Shopify shop, allowing them to not charge any shipping costs (since they don’t have to split the revenue with a store).
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