The 5th Future Media Lab. conference took place on 20 January 2015 in The Panoramic Hall at The Square in Brussels. This conference, titled “Media Diversity in the Digital Age“, was a half-day event that included panel discussions, “innovation moments”, a keynote address and interactive sessions (World Café format). Approximately 150 politicians, media experts, start-ups, journalists, publishers, and other key industry professionals joined the event to discuss media diversity in Europe and how it is impacted by changing media consumption patterns, technological disruptions, and business innovation.
The Future Media Lab. team is pleased to present a summary of this very interesting event in the form of a post-conference report. For a pdf of the report, please click here.
To hear what other people have to say, check out the twitter trail for the event’s hashtag, #FML15. You can also find the pdf of the conference packet here.
8.30h Registration & welcome coffee
9.00h Opening: Auke Visser, President of the European Magazine Media Association, EMMA
9.10h Media diversity: setting the scene
Introduction: Robin Foster, Communications Chambers, UK
PANEL:
- Media: Xavier Bouckaert, COO, Roularta Media, Belgium
- Journalism: Mario Tedeschini, Gruppo Espresso, Italy
- Politics: Jonathan M. Hill, Head of Cabinet, European Commissioner Navracsics
- Expert: Robin Foster, Communication Chambers, UK
Moderated by Christophe Leclercq, Founder of Euractiv.com, Belgium
9.55h Future Media Lab. “Innovation Moment”: Andy Grant, Agfa Graphics
10.00h Panel discussion: Technology innovation – facilitating or hindering media diversity
Introduction: Paul Lee, CEO, Ecuiti, US
PANEL:
- Media: Jens Henneberg, Executive Vice-President and Editorial Director, Bonnier Publications, Denmark
- Technology: Paul Lee, CEO, Ecuiti, US
- Academic: Natali Helberger, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Expert: Dominic Young, Copyright Hub, United Kingdom
Moderated by Angela Mills Wade, European Publishers Council, Belgium
10.40h Future Media Lab. “Innovation Moment”: Zohar Dayan, WIBBITZ, US
10.45h Networking break
11.15h Future Media Lab. “Innovation Moment”: Ywein van den Brande, Permission Machine, Belgium
11.20h Interactive session: Boosting media diversity by business innovation
Think-tank module: What drives media business innovation today?
World Café format with leading media start-ups: Thomas Smolders, Blendle / NL; Juan Margenat, Marfeel / ES; Stefano Valentino, Mobile Reporter / IT
Interactive session with all participants run by Martijn Bal, iMinds, Belgium
12.20h Future Media Lab. “Innovation Moment” Alicia Navarro, SKIMLINKS, UK
12.25h Panel discussion: Is the EU set for media diversity across Europe?
Introduction: Jörgen Gren, Member of Cabinet of Vice-President Ansip, European Commission
PANEL:
- Media: Christoph Keese, Executive Vice-President, Axel Springer SE, Germany;
- Politician: MEP Ramon Tremosa (ALDE, Spain);
- Politician: Jörgen Gren, Member of Cabinet of Vice-President Ansip, European Commission;
- Expert: Christoph Fiedler, Managing Director for European Affairs and Media Policy, VDZ, Germany
- Academic: Dirk Wauters, Visiting Professor Innovation Management, KULeuven, Belgium
Moderated by Daniel Knapp, IHS Technology, UK
13.05h Closing keynote: Susan Athey, the Economics of Technology Professor at Stanford Graduate School of Business, US
13.30h Wrap up & outlook
13.40h Networking lunch
14.15h End
To see the biographies of the different speakers, please click here.
A goal of this conference was to examine how advances in technology and media innovation effect consumer trends and vice versa. Therefore, the Future Media Lab. invited the following start-ups to join this event:
- Blendle (NL) operates a digital kiosk (blendle.nl) selling individual articles from newspapers and magazines to internet users.
- Ecuiti, LLC (USA) helps companies that depend on technology close the iterative innovation gap by simplifying their complicated data.
- Marfeel (ES) partners with online publishers to improve the experience of reading content on tablets and smartphones and increase monetization.
- MobileReporter (BE) is a collaborative journalism platform where ordinary citizens can promote original content produced by journalists/creators who seek financial support through crowdsourcing.
- Permission Machine (BE) helps photographers and photo buys come to an agreement that is legal and fast.
- Skimlinks (UK) is a content monetization platform that rewards publishers for the role their content plays in creating purchase intent via smart links and in-text affiliate monetization.
- Wibbitz (USA) is an innovative startup company creating a unique technology that automatically turns long text articles into informative video summaries based on algorithms and artificial intelligence.
The Future Media Lab. is hosted by the European Magazine Media Association
