Meinolf Ellers, Founder and MD of Germany’s dpa infocom, discusses how news agencies and newspapers can work together to cut costs.
The main challenges in the modern newsroom are that there are now more platforms and channels, which lead to more complexity.
“We need more and better customized content, but at the same time we are forced to reduce costs,” Ellers says.
The key to moving forward, he says, is using the strict reporter/editor principle: media-neutral news reporting and multi-channel publishing.
In doing this, Ellers says that metadata, structure planning and real-time workflows are essential.
“Newspapers are becoming local news agencies,” Meinolf Ellers, Founder and MD of Germany’s dpa infocom.
“We have to talk about metadata, and I know for editors this is witchcraft, but it’s the only way,” he says.
Metadata is already being produced, he says – it’s just not being used regularly enough by newspapers. For example, once a digital photo is rendered, the metadata is carried through all the processes, all the channels.
“In the end, it’s about increasing efficiency,” he says.
