Innovation Journalism program spreads its wings - brings in new international partners

The term innovation journalism still raises eyebrows among those who have never heard of it. But now that six Swedish innovation journalism fellows have completed their work at major U.S. publications including Fortune, Business 2.0 and the San Francisco Chronicle, word is spreading about the new mindset, and the potential for a new beat.

"Everything has gone according to plan," says David Nordors, director of the Innovation Journalism program who came to SCIL as a visiting scholar to establish the program one year ago. This fall he was named Senior Research Scholar in innovation journalism at SCIL.

The fellows have all returned to Sweden and are making plans based on their experience. Several are starting new innovation publications or changing their current beats to include innovation journalism. The host publications are so happy with the experience of having these journalists on staff that they are accepting more fellows this month, and new publications - IDG News Wire and Science - are joining the program, which currently has funding for six scholars. Several other top tier publications have expressed interest in hosting fellows, but so far there are not enough fellows to go around.

"The fellows developed a new mindset," observes Nordfors, who will be staying at Stanford for at least another year to expand the program. "For them, being away from their everyday environment and being able to discuss within a community about whether innovation journalism is a mindset or a beat was enormously productive."

Most editors around the world don't know what the word innovation really means, says Nordfors, and equate it with the word invention. The true definition is bringing a new idea or product to market, he explains. Innovation journalism overlaps with technology and business. To thrive it requires the combination of both beats.

While the Stanford program, funded by Sweden-based VINNOVA, is the first to establish an innovation journalism project, now Finland is initiating a similar approach that will engage ten students from the University of Tampere. The initiative is headed by Profressor Seppo Sissättö, an established media entrepreneur in Finland. Nordfors is also working with colleagues at MFG Baden-Württemberg, a center of excellence in IT and media of the German federal state Baden-Württemberg, and the Department of Communication Studies and Journalism at the University of Hohenheim, both of which are conducting research in innovation communication. The Finish and German groups will be attending Stanford's upcoming international conference on international journalism scheduled on campus for this April.

Innovation journalism is the aggregation of technology journalism with business journalism, Nordfors says. While science and technology journalists usually cover new inventions, innovation journalists cover the marketing of inventions as well. It is a subtle but important difference.

"R&D converts money into new knowledge," Nordfors explains. "Innovation converts new knowledge into money. Today, most of the economic growth in the western world is driven by innovation. So we need news media that can cover innovation, and how technological R&D and business model development shape each other."

To learn more about innovation journalism or to attend the April 4-6 conference at Stanford University, contact David Nordfors at: nordfors@stanford.edu or visit the web site: www.innovationjournalsim.org .

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