Whether we like it or not, technology platforms, as de facto publishers, are rapidly reshaping journalism, and the future of the news industry.

The trade-off between acquiring huge audiences and the loss of audience data, brand control and revenue potential is not always balanced. So much so that Emily Bell, Director of the Tow Center, warned in a recent report that “if the speed of this convergence continues, more news organisations are likely to cease publishing - distributing, hosting, and monetizing—as a core activity.”

WAN-IFRA recently established a specialist group to tap our members experience with platforms and get a measure of their relations with the tech giants. We want to understand what’s working and what’s not - and what you, as an industry expert think could be done.

There is strength in numbers. We believe that it has become essential for publishers around the world to get together around these issues. Right now our focus is on Facebook and its impact on revenues and journalism. There is much intelligence to be collected, aggregated and shared.

That is why we would like to invite you to be part of this expert group.

We will connect using targeted emails, newsletters and our events. We will ask for your input and aggregate and share information from our members.
We already have some ideas to share, gleaned from our first round table discussion in Paris in March.

Join the group now by registering your interest with the form below and we will be happy to share this with you. Our group will meet again in Durban on 8 June during the World News Media Congress. (www.wan-ifra.org/durban17)