Tag Archives: Axel Springer

#GEN2012: Hyperlocal and ‘mobile interactive journalism’ in Hamburg

An interesting project in local reporting by Abendblatt in Hamburg was outlined by Felix Bellinger, managing director of mobile & apps at Axel Springer, at the News World Summit in Paris today.

The project, called Mein Quartier (My Part of Town) saw on-the-ground reporters – who were freelancers appointed based on their “matching” to the district – filing stories from seven city districts in a bid to increase “local insight and intensify local coverage”.

Mein Quartier, which is available to access via an iPhone app, started as a pilot project for Abendblatt, but this year it is being developed into a “large scale district campaign” and an “integral part of news reporting” for the title.

We found the project very successful in terms of hits and feedback and in terms of business.

He added that as well as reaching a new target group the project helped attract no advertisers.

Building up local website and mobile fields means creating new space for advertisers.

The newspaper is now moving into the “next phase”, he told the conference, which will see reporting from all 104 districts of Hamburg. And while the pilot project engaged 25 reporters on the ground, the expansion will see the entire editorial staff of Abendblatt reporting from the districts. Shop for replica rolex watches at any budget, from A grade to superclone rolex

The best thing to worship a project is to shift it to editorial and say ‘this is everyday life now, not a project anymore’

As a result the district coverage falls within its mainstream regional content, which is paid-for as part of Abendblatt’s freemium model. During the pilot the project was free to view.

Development is currently underway to create space on the website for each of the 104 districts. Work is also underway to develop the mobile app to enable it to map each district.

There are also plans to publish a book by the end of this year featuring all the stories that have been published about Hamburg’s districts.

Axel Springer blocking browser access to its newspaper on iPad to promote apps

A curious strategy from German publishing group Axel Springer – the publisher is reportedly blocking access to the website of its tabloid Bild from iPad browsers so that users can only access the title by downloading a paid-for app.

Full story on Fox Business via Dow Jones at this link…

WAN-IFRA: Ringier and Axel Springer join forces in eastern Europe

The two publishing groups will combine their operations in Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia and Serbia and create a new business with headquarters in Switzerland.

Between them Ringier and Axel Springer have 100 print and 70 online publications in these markets, including tabloid newspapers Fakt in Poland and Blesk in the Czech Republic.

Full story at this link…

Axel Springer launches new paid-for multimedia magazine

Monocle has detailed insight into the development of Axel Springer’s eMag – a paid-for, multimedia magazine that will be part of the publisher’s Welt am Sonntag division.

“Twelve stories have been enriched with animation, film and audio. Browsing feels as intuitive as turning pages on paper. But you can also watch the New York correspondent visit a party by artist Terence Koh and sit in the passenger’s seat of the new Ferrari 458 Italia as it roars along the Maranello test track. You can dive into elaborate interactive infographics explaining the Copenhagen Climate Conference or listen to the Bee Gees talk about their 50th anniversary,” writes Markus Albers.

Welt am Sonntag's emag

Access to the site will cost €1.50. According to Albers, Axel Springer has been one of Germany’s most vocal supporters of online charging.

“[But] Unlike Murdoch it does not plan to charge for the electronic versions of existing papers. Rather it will launch innovative products, hoping to lure customers into downloading them onto computers and smartphones. In addition to today’s eMag there will be iPhone Apps from its tabloids Bild and BZ later in the year – you will also need to pay for these.”

Also of significance is how the project was developed: according to Charles Apples on Visual Editors, e-magazine was developed in-house in less than eight weeks, starting from an idea from art director Jordis Guzman Bulla.

(hat tip – Robb Montgomery)

MorningStar.com: Readers will pay for online within five years, says Axel Springer exec

In an interview with Dow Jones, reproduced by the Morning Star, Axel Springer chief executive Mathias Doepfner says customers will be willing to pay for ‘online quality content’ within the next five years.

Significantly, Doepfner adds: “However, our business cases aren’t based on a breakthrough of paid content but will work anyhow.”

The chief exec plans to generate 50 per cent of Axel Springer’s sales from online operations within the next 10 years, according to the report.

Full interview at this link…

FT.com: Aggregators should pay for news, says Bild publisher

New copyright laws are needed in Europe to stop aggregators using content from news sites for free, Mathias Dopfner, chief executive of Axel Springer, tells the Financial Times.

“Asked if he wanted to see a position where Google was contributing to Axel Springer’s costs if it was going to use its content, he said: ‘Right, yes.’,” writes the FT.

Full article at this link…

Bloomberg: Axel Springer plans internet and foreign expansion

Europe’s biggest newspaper publisher Axel Springer has announced plans to expand its internet and foreign prospects to recover from its loss-making move into the German mail-delivery business.

Last year the publisher bought up titles outside of Germany to lessen its dependence on the country’s economy and newspaper industry.

Acquisitions online in 2007 included women’s web portal producer AuFeminin.com SA, financial news site Wallstreet:Online and local news site Hamburg.de.