World Assn. of Newspapers and News Publishers presents MediaHackDay challenge in Berlin on Oct. 5-6 with Axel Springer, Storyful, CCi Europe, to promote digital transformation; teams invited to compete in challenge to reengineer content archives

Kendall Sinclair

PARIS , September 18, 2013 (press release) – 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.

For further information please contact: stephen.fozard@wan-ifra.org,
+33 1 47 42 85 12

WAN-IFRA, based in Paris, France, and Darmstadt, Germany, with subsidiaries in Singapore and India, is the global organisation of the world’s newspapers and news publishers. It represents more than 18,000 publications, 15,000 online sites and over 3,000 companies in more than 120 countries. Its core mission is to defend and promote press freedom, quality journalism and editorial integrity and the development of prosperous businesses.

Inquiries to: Larry Kilman, Deputy CEO and Director of Communications and Public Affairs, WAN-IFRA, 96 bis, rue Beaubourg, 75003 Paris France. Tel: +33 1 47 42 85 07. Fax: +33 1 42 78 92 33. Mobile: +33 6 10 28 97 36. E-mail: larry.kilman@wan-ifra.org

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