The Digital News Initiative (DNI) is a European organisation established by Google to “promote high-quality, independent journalism through innovation and technology”. It encompasses the Innovation Fund worth Euros 150m, that in 2021 issued new grants to 461 different projects in thirty-six countries across Europe. This initiative also sponsors a range of international digital news projects. Its first major development effort was the building of a newsroom at Google X.

The goal of the digital news initiative is to increase the value provided for customers and to foster the spread of knowledge across Europe and beyond. “The ultimate goal is to help enhance the diversity of information available on the web, so that it can provide users with a better experience and a broader range of topics and viewpoints,” said Michael J. Deutsch, managing director of the newsroom at D NI. “The first step in this direction is to expand the reach of our newsrooms, to enable us to report on digital newsworthy events from key regions around the world.” In its first year, the initiative made significant progress: more news portals appeared; more journalists appeared more often on European news channels; more stories were translated into other languages; more product launches were published on European website directories.

Beyond that, it is uncertain what the success of the European digital news initiative will mean for the future of digital news journalism and the development of online information and its distribution across the rest of the globe. “It is hard to imagine any kind of long term impact for the initiative,” admitted Ruediger Kiesling, CEO of the European Publishers Association (EPA), “but I am convinced that the results so far are a very positive step forward in terms of increasing visibility and sharing of high quality content.” Kiesling went on to compare the situation with that of the internet: “If you look at the history of the internet, it shows a period of rapid development followed by a period of slow development, and then an explosion in growth. We are now at the point where the need for international co-operation can be assessed”.

The European digital news initiative launched its first pilot programme in May this year, reporting on the work of two dozen newsrooms across the continent. At its core, this pilot project is an innovation challenge, with a view to kick-start the development of new technologies in the field of European journalism. This pilot project was accepted by newsrooms representing a range of major news media and publishing houses in all of Europe, with the aim of creating a working group to develop the use of digital technology in the field of European journalism. As part of the working group, the project developed a range of tailored applications and prototypes to present the potential of emerging technologies to enhance the quality of European journalism. As a result, the first pilot project represented a major step forward in terms of the innovation agenda of the ERI. The successful application of the innovative principles developed within the ERI, in combination with the expertise and experience of the participating newsroom teams, will form a basis for the ongoing development and implementation of this pilot programme.

In parallel to the pilot project, the Journalism Innovation Lab of the ERI is developing a series of policy papers and case studies to guide organisations in their innovation strategies. The aim of the Lab is to provide a template for European journalism organisations to follow when developing their innovation strategies. This policy paper sets out a set of recommended guidelines, drawing from the experience of organisations in the area of innovation to provide a solid basis upon which to base their own strategy. These policy statements are designed to support all areas of the media, to influence digital news consumers and to create a more cohesive European media landscape. The Lab will also be publishing regular reports, providing an overview of the progress made by the first six participants in the European digital news initiative.

Although this is a pilot programme, the ERI has indicated that it will be expanding the operation into a series of pilot programmes running across all the EU member states. The expansion of the operations means that there will be an increased emphasis on business interests rather than purely national interests. It is hoped that this will draw the attention of national media owners who are keen to maintain a strong foothold in the continent, but who are concerned at the impact that losing market share may have on their business.

As part of the Journalism Innovation Lab, the organisation has launched a range of related publications. These include an open source magazine and a website, both of which are designed to improve the functioning of the European Journalism Forum. The forum provides a platform for independent, professional European Journalist to report on stories that are relevant to their area of expertise. The magazine is aimed at a younger audience, focusing on informing and educating young people about developments in business, culture and society. The website, aimed at the UK public, features content by award-winning Journalist including feature stories, comment pieces, and interviews with leading figures in the business world.

There is no evidence to suggest that the digital news initiative has had any impact on the decline in the UK’s newspaper industry, and whilst the Association of Independent Publishers (AIP) did complain that the scale of the project was too large, they said that it was still planned to be released in autumn/winter 2021. Similarly, the European Business for Competition (EBC) did not take a position on the Digital News Initiative but issued a caution about publishing without proper supervision. This group represents many of the small, medium and new companies in the UK’s business sector. They will now need to take a position on the way in which any proposed changes in the UK press regulation will affect their ability to continue to publish competitively.