INNOVATION JOURNALISM, ATTENTION WORK, AND THE INNOVATION ECONOMY. A Review of the Innovation Journalism Initiative 2003-2009

Innovation Journalism Vol. 6 No. 1 May 1, 2009

By David Nordfors

This article presents a review of the innovation journalism initiative so far. The novel concepts of innovation journalism, attention work and innovation communication systems are present

ed and put into context, explaining why journalism and communication may be considered important components of the innovation economy, as well as how this may benefit society. The need for a new definition of ‘journalism’ is discussed, suggesting a definition based on the relation between journalism and its audience, rather than on its relation to the medium it uses for communicating with the audience. The role of journalism in the innovation economy is a novel academic research field. The rationale for this research is presented together with examples of plausible research topics. Innovation journalism initiatives are emerging in several places around the world. The seminal VINNOVA Stanford initiative at Stanford University is presented together with the national initiatives in Sweden, Finland, Slovenia, Pakistan, Mexico, and the EU.

IJ-5 THE FIFTH CONFERENCE ON INNOVATION JOURNALISM

Innovation Journalism Vol.5 No.1 July 1 2008
IJ-5, the Fourth Conference on Innovation Journalism took place at Stanford University 21-23 May 2007. The conference materials have since then been available on the conference website. They can as from now also be referred to through the Innovation Journalism Publication Series.

IJ-4, THE FOURTH CONFERENCE ON INNOVATION JOURNALISM

Innovation Journalism Vol.4 No.3, July 1 2007

IJ-4, the Fourth Conference on Innovation Journalism took place at Stanford University 21-23 May 2007. The conference materials have since then been available on the conference website. They can as from now also be referred to through the Innovation Journalism Publication Series.

THE INNOVATION JOURNALISM FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM AT STANFORD 2007 - KICKOFF WORKSHOP PROGRAM

Innovation Journalism Vol.4 No.1, Apr 13 2007

The final program from the kickoff workshop for the Innovation Journalism Fellowship Program at Stanford Feb 26- Mar 2 2007.

PR AND THE INNOVATION COMMUNICATION SYSTEM

Innovation Journalism Vol.3 No.5 Oct 25 2006

By David Nordfors.

Public relations in innovation companies can strengthen brand value by communicating innovation processes and add value to innovation by developing narratives for new products and services in parallel with technological and business development. The development of innovation communication and PR will benefit from the emergence of independent innovation journalism. Some new concepts are introduced: Communicators and journalists can be seen as “attention workers”, driving the “innovation communication system”, a subset of the innovation system, focusing on the flows of communication and attention. (This essay was written for the 10th SKOJ conference in Slovenia.)

INNOVATION JOURNALISM GETS ACADEMIC RESEARCH FUNDING

News Flash Oct 4 2006

How does journalism link innovation with the public interest? How do innovation ecosystems engage journalists? These questions are at the heart of a research initiative recently funded by VINNOVA, the Swedish Government Agency for Innovation Systems. The project will set the agenda for an international research workshop scheduled for February 2007 at Stanford University. The academic research study is led by Professor Marc Ventresca of Oxford University (PI, coordinator) and Dr. David Nordfors at Stanford University and VINNOVA (Program Director), with Dr. Turo Uskali from the University of Jyväskylä, visiting scholar in innovation journalism at Stanford, and Dr. Antti Ainamo at the Helsinki School of Business. The group of researchers standing behind the mission, which includes faculty and expert practitioners from leading U.S. and European universities, convened in April 2006 for a workshop hosted by the Innovation Journalism program run by Stanford and VINNOVA. They recently co-published an essay identifying ‘Innovation Journalism’ as a useful theme through which to explore the interplay of journalism in innovation ecosystems .

THE THIRD CONFERENCE ON INNOVATION JOURNALISM - PROCEEDINGS

Innovation Journalism Vol.3 No.4, May 29 2006

The conference papers presented at The Third Conference on Innovation Journalism, April 5-7 2006 at Stanford University.

THE THIRD CONFERENCE ON INNOVATION JOURNALISM - PROGRAM/ABSTRACTS/BIOS

Innovation Journalism Vol.3 No.3, May 29 2006

The final conference program of the Third Conference on Innovation Journalism, as it happened on April 5-7 2006 at Stanford University. Includes abstracts of presentations and links to powerpoint presentations, archived on the IJ website. Includes also bios of the 88 participating speakers and panellists.

INNOVATION JOURNALISM: TOWARDS RESEARCH ON THE INTERPLAY OF JOURNALISM IN INNOVATION ECOSYSTEMS

Innovation Journalism Vol.3 No.2, May 28 2006

By D.Nordfors, M. Ventresca, A. Hargadon, T. Uskali, A. Ainamo, S. Jonsson, S. Grodal, A. Weinstein, M. Kennedy, P. Svensson, F. Reid.

This essay suggests Innovation Journalism as a useful theme through which to explore the interplay of journalism in innovation ecosystems. This involves investigating how journalism plays a part in connecting innovation with public interests and how innovation processes and innovation ecosystems interact with public attention, with news media as an actor. It may also be of interest to study in which ways journalists cover innovation processes and innovation ecosystems, the incentives that may drive innovation journalism and how news organizations may be organized to perform the task. We outline examples of research project topics to illustrate how this approach can inform studies of innovation, studies of journalism as practice, and possible scipes for the research theme.

THE FUTURE OF INNOVATION JOURNALISM DVD NOW AVAILABLE ON GOOGLE VIDEO

News Flash Apr 2 2006

The DVD “The Future of Innovation Journalism” (Innovation Journalism Vol.2 No.12) is now available on Google Video. This DVD presents a roundtable discussion about the future of journalism with the “Father of the Internet” Vint Cerf (Google /ICANN), Whitfield Diffie (Sun Microsystems), Amy Bernstein (Business 2.0), Lee Bruno (Red Herring), Dan Gillmor (Bayosphere), Anders Lotsson (Computer Sweden), Frances Mann-Craik (Tornado Insider, Addison Marketing), Harry McCracken (PC World), Tony Perkins (AlwayOn Network), Jan Sandred (Biotech Sweden), Richard Allan Horning (Tomlinson Zisko LLP), Charles Wessner (National Academies) and Stig Hagström (Stanford Center for Innovations in Learning). Producer and moderator: David Nordfors (Stanford / VINNOVA)

INTRODUCING THE 2006 INNOVATION JOURNALISM FELLOWS

News Flash Feb 14 2006

The fellows represent influential newsrooms in Sweden and Finland: Helsingin Sanomat, Affärsvärlden, Aftonbladet, Elektroniktidningen, Entreprenör, Göteborgsposten and Rapidus. The Innovation Journalism Fellows are this year being hosted by The Wall Street Journal, Fortune, Red Herring, Business 2.0, CNET News.com, PC World and the San Francisco Chronicle.

THE INNOVATION JOURNALISM FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM AT STANFORD 2006 - KICKOFF WORKSHOP PROGRAM

Innovation Journalism Vol.3 No.1, Feb 13 2006

The final program from the kickoff workshop for the Innovation Journalism Fellowship Program at Stanford Feb 6-10 2006.

THE THIRD CONFERENCE ON INNOVATION JOURNALISM. STANFORD UNIVERSITY 5-7 APRIL 2006.

News Flash Jan 18 2006

Invitation for papers and participants to The Third Conference on Innovation Journalism at Stanford University, April 5-7, 2006. Vint Cerf, Chief Internet Evangelist of Google, and the “father of the Internet” will be the opening speaker.

We have already enlisted speakers and delegations from the U.S., Sweden, Finland, Pakistan, Germany, Taiwan and Slovenia. The main conference themes include: * Practicing Innovation Journalism * Publishing Innovation Journalism * The Role of Journalism in Innovation Systems * Innovation Communication * International Initiatives for Innovation Journalism * The Future of Innovation Journalism and the Emergence of New News Media. Registrations to the conference can be made via the Internet. See the News Flash for details.

PAKISTAN JOINS INNOVATION JOURNALISM PROGRAM AT STANFORD

News Flash Nov 11 2005

Omar Ayub Khan, Pakistan’s Minister of State for Finance, in his keynote address at The Competitiveness Institute 8th Annual Conference in Hong Kong, announced that Pakistan is joining the Innovation Journalism Program at Stanford University. Innovation Journalism Fellows from Pakistan will participate in the program starting in 2006. The Pakistani Innovation Journalism Program will be organized by the Pakistan Competitiveness Support Fund.

THE FUTURE OF INNOVATION JOURNALISM - DVD - 120 MINUTES - ALL REGIONS

Innovation Journalism Vol.2 No.12, Oct 31 2005

By David Nordfors.

It’s innovation time for journalism! Traditional news media are being challenged by innovative sources of news on the Internet, such as blogospheres, or citizen journalism. Traditional journalism struggles when covering innovation as a topic. While innovation pivots society it is not a key news word. Traditional news beats – such as technology, business or politics – chop up innovation processes to fit their news slots, missing the bigger picture.

How can journalism report on innovation, following the cross-boundary interactions driving today’s society? Who can do it? This DVD presents a roundtable discussion about the future of journalism with the “father of the Internet” Vint Cerf (Google /ICANN), Whitfield Diffie (Sun Microsystems), Amy Bernstein (Business 2.0), Lee Bruno (Red Herring), Dan Gillmor (Bayosphere), Anders Lotsson (Computer Sweden), Frances Mann-Craik (Tornado Insider, Addison Marketing), Harry McCracken (PC World), Tony Perkins (AlwayOn Network), Jan Sandred (Biotech Sweden), Richard Allan Horning (Tomlinson Zisko LLP), Charles Wessner (National Academies) and Stig Hagström (Stanford Center for Innovations in Learning). Producer and moderator: David Nordfors (Stanford / VINNOVA)

See a sample from the DVD (click here for Quicktime movie)

The DVD can be ordered from Amazon.com or VINNOVA (UPC 837101387)

FINLAND LAUNCHES NATIONAL INNOVATION JOURNALISM FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM

News Flash Oct 28 2005

Finland has launched a National Innovation Journalism Fellowship Program. It has nominated three people to the Innovation Journalism program at Stanford.

THE FIRST HANDBOOK ON INNOVATION COMMUNICATION

News Flash Oct 09 2005

The first innovation communication handbook "Neue Ideen erfolgreich durchsetzen. Das Handbuch der Innovationskommunikation" was recently released by the publishing house of Germany’s renowned newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ). It has been edited by Prof. Dr. Claudia Mast and Dr. Ansgar Zerfaß, who has been elected “PR Head of the Year 2005” by the German-speaking Public Relations community last month. The book is so far available in German only. It presents for the first time a comprehensive overview of the field of Innovation Communication and encompasses the basic concepts as well as numerous best practice examples from companies such as ThyssenKrupp, Siemens, IngDiBa or IBM. The handbook includes a special chapter on Innovation Journalism by Dr. David Nordfors.

FINLAND LAUNCHES WORLD'S FIRST COURSE IN INNOVATION JOURNALISM FOR STUDENTS

News Flash Sep 12 2005

On September 9 the journalism group at the department of communication at the University of Jyväskylä in Finland launched the world’s first Innovation Journalism course for university students. It will be running intensively during September-October 2005. The pilot course has 20 participants. It includes 12 h lectures, practical work and a feed-back session. The students will get three credit points from the course. During the intensive course, September-October, every student will write one or more innovation journalistic articles. The grades of the course will be based on the quality of the articles. One aim of the course is also to publish the articles in various Finnish newspapers and magazines. The lecturer of the course is Dr. Turo Uskali, who took part in the first Finnish innovation journalism research and education program 2004–2005. The course will collaborate closely with Dr. David Nordfors at Stanford University and others interested in innovation journalism education.

PAYING ATTENTION TO WEAK SIGNALS – THE KEY CONCEPT FOR INNOVATION JOURNALISM

Innovation Journalism Vol.2 No.11, Aug 30 2005

By Turo Uskali.

Business journalism often misses to predict major happenings and frequently plays a part in inflating economic bubbles. Journalism seems to lack good methods for handling “weak signals”, the first written signs or hints of a coming change - a key concept for future-oriented journalism. The author has shown in previous work on business news that weak signals are mainly detected at the end of the news stories and from reporters´ personal comments. Business news often allows no more than one scenario of the future per story, which is not sufficient for discussing weak signals. This tends to promote mainstreaming which can inflate bubbles. Innovation journalism is future-oriented and needs to discuss weak signals. The paper proposes some guidelines for innovation journalists on how to cover weak signals without repeating the mistakes of business journalism. Traditionally, scholars have looked for weak signals in news headlines. But news headlines mostly focus on strong signals. The paper proposes some future directions for weak signal research.

INNOVATION JOURNALISM FELLOWSHIPS: SWEDISH CALL FOR APPLICANTS

News Flash Jun 24 2005

VINNOVA, the Swedish Government Agency for Innovation Systems, is issuing a call for applicants for their third round of Swedish sponsored Innovation Journalism Fellowships. The fellowship program is run together with the Stanford Center for Innovations in Learning at Stanford University.

THE ROLE OF INNOVATION JOURNALISM IN SCIENCE NEWS MEDIA

Innovation Journalism Vol.2 No.10, Jun 21 2005

By Marie Granmar.

During the past decade there has been an important worldwide trend in which more research is conducted in private companies or research departments with high ambitions of spin-offs. The science journalism tradition of mainly giving perspectives on recently published peer reviewed articles is no longer sufficient. Innovation journalism increases the possibilities of covering key factors driving scientific development. This paper describes how a few different science media have chosen to approach the challenge of integrating innovation journalism. It discusses the challenges for the modern science journalists, their work environments and editorial organizations.

HOW TO DO ENVIRONMENTAL INNOVATION JOURNALISM

Innovation Journalism Vol.2 No.9, Jun 7 2005

By Birgitta Forsberg.

The purpose of this paper is to give other journalists ideas of how to do environmental innovation journalism and to define the field of environmental innovation journalism. The paper gives some examples and partly describes what is happening with companies’ environmental work. It is the hope of the author that readers will find interesting threads that will become embryos of new stories. As this paper is aimed at journalists, the reader is expected to have journalistic skills and to know how to do research, how to be critical, balanced and accurate and how to handle ethical dilemmas. Basic journalism is beyond the scope of this paper.

INNOVATION READINESS - A FRAMEWORK FOR ENHANCING CORPORATIONS AND REGIONS BY INNOVATION COMMUNICATION

Innovation Journalism Vol.2 No.8, May 23 2005

By Ansgar Zerfass.

The industrial reality does no longer match the traditional understanding of innovation based on the assertiveness of creative scientists and entrepreneurs. Nowadays, an integrative approach is necessary. The concept of “Innovation Readiness” takes into account the relevance of internal as well as external stakeholders within the innovation process (stakeholder orientation) and considers the relevance of regional and branch-specific innovation systems (cluster development). It also highlights the importance of communication for the implementation of new ideas, products, and services. Following this line of argumentation, the article explains the strategies and measures of Innovation Communication. Several case studies illustrate how communication may foster the ability to innovate and thus strengthen competitiveness in a fundamental way.

INNOVATION COMMUNICATION - OUTLINE OF THE CONCEPT AND EMPIRICAL FINDINGS FROM GERMANY

Innovation Journalism Vol.2 No.7, May 13 2005

By Claudia Mast, Simone Huck and Ansgar Zerfass.

Innovation Communication poses particular challenges for communicators and requires special routines. INNOVATE 2004 is the first nation-wide study on Innovation Communication, based on answers from German journalists and communication experts from companies, agencies, research institutions, universities, politics, and administration. The survey’s results provide first indicators for the field of Innovation Communication in Germany

INTRODUCING AN INNOVATION JOURNALISM INDEX - BENCHMARKING THE SWEDISH MARKET

Innovation Journalism Vol.2 No.5, May 4 2005

By David Nordfors, Daniel R. Kreiss and Jan Sandred.

Although Innovation Journalism is not a common label of a beat or of a type of publication, it is possible to benchmark the media landscape, using an innovation journalism index based on the results from a simple questionnaire, which measures the integration of technology and business reporting.

THE SECOND CONFERENCE ON INNOVATION JOURNALISM: PAPERS

Innovation Journalism Vol.2 No.4, April 25 2005

The conference papers from The Second Conference on Innovation Journalism, held at Stanford University on Apr 4-6 2005.

THE SECOND CONFERENCE ON INNOVATION JOURNALISM: PROGRAM

Innovation Journalism Vol.2 No.3, April 20 2005

The final conference program from The Second Conference on Innovation Journalism, which was held at Stanford University on Apr 4-6 2005. The conference was arranged by the Stanford Center for Innovations in Learning (SCIL) and the Swedish Innovation Journalism Fellowship Program, and co-sponsored by the Stanford Graduate Program in Journalism and the Finnish Innovation Journalism Initiative.

INNOVATION JOURNALISM INITIATIVE TO CONTINUE FOR THIRD YEAR

News Flash Apr 15 2005

Following the success of the first two programs, the Swedish Agency for Innovation Systems (VINNOVA) and Stanford Center for Innovations in Learning (SCIL), are pleased to announce that the initiative to grow a community of “innovation journalists” – media professionals who cover the technical, business, legal, political and social aspects of innovation – will be funded for a third year by VINNOVA.

THE SECOND CONFERENCE ON INNOVATION JOURNALISM – UPDATE: REGISTRATION AND PRELIMINARY PROGRAM

News Flash Mar 3 2005

Updated information about The Second Conference on Innovation Journalism. Preliminary conference program with times, topics and speakers/panellists. Link to conference registration on the Internet.

THE RISE OF ANALYSTS AS SOURCES IN INNOVATION JOURNALISM

Innovation Journalism Vol.2 No.2, February 4 2005

By Niclas Lilja.

Reporters increasingly use analysts as sources in innovation journalism. By using analysts, the reporters get access to knowledge, resources, insight and industry access. The reporters stay neutral on the surface of the article by quoting analysts instead of expressing personal beliefs. The potential confusion happens if readers and or journalists believe analysts to be neutral experts when they could be pursuing their own agenda.

THE SECOND INNOVATION JOURNALISM CONFERENCE - STANFORD UNIVERSITY, APRIL 4-6

News Flash Jan 24 2005 2:00 am

Stanford Center for Innovations in Learning (SCIL) in cooperation with VINNOVA, the Swedish Government Agency for Innovation Systems, is pleased to call for papers and invite participants to The Second Innovation Journalism Conference at Stanford University.

A BUSINESS MODEL FOR INNOVATION JOURNALISM: BIOTECH SWEDEN

Innovation Journalism Vol.2 No.1, January 17 2005

By Jan Sandred.

Innovation systems offer readerships and commercial markets for innovation journalism. Editor Jan Sandred identified in 2001 a business opportunity for a magazine covering the Swedish biotechnology innovation system. The Swedish business-to-business magazine Biotech Sweden was created for the biotech market by IDG Sweden, a subsidiary of International Data Group. This paper describes the business model and the steps involved in setting up Biotech Sweden as an innovation journalism publication..

FINLAND LAUNCHES INNOVATION JOURNALISM PROGRAMME

News Flash Jan 4 2005 4:00 pm

FINLAND LAUNCHES INNOVATION JOURNALISM PROGRAMME
- joins the Second Innovation Journalism Conference at Stanford April 4-6

The University of Tampere in Finland has launched an Innovation Journalism Research and Education Programme.

THE ROLE OF JOURNALISM IN INNOVATION SYSTEMS

Innovation Journalism Vol.1 No.7, November 8 2004

By David Nordfors.

Innovation Journalism can strengthen the competitiveness of innovative clusters and national innovation economies. Innovation systems can offer readerships and commercial markets for innovation journalism. Journalism is an actor in innovation systems and it’s role needs to be investigated.

WHEN TECH MEETS BUSINESS IN JOURNALISM

Innovation Journalism Vol.1 No.6, October 11 2004

By Adam Edström.

A suggestion for how to mix business and technology journalism in a publication aiming at entrepreneurs and startups that insults neither the engineers nor the economists, based on a comparison between personal experiences from Fortune Magazine and the Swedish electronics magazine Elektroniktidningen.

COMPONENTS OF INNOVATION JOURNALISM

Innovation Journalism Vol.1 No.5, September 17 2004

By Magnus Höij.

In order for text to be “innovation journalism”, it has to cover both the invention and the market. While these two elements are sufficient and necessary for calling it innovation journalism, other elements can be added to make the text even more useful or enjoyable for the readership.

INVESTIGATING THE REPORTING OF RESEARCH COMPANIES - A REPORTING EXAMPLE ON DeCODE Genetics

Innovation Journalism Vol.1 No.4, August 15 2004

By Marcus Lillkvist.

The sparse journalistic coverage of innovation-based startup companies could be explained by a lack of methods and tools for journalists striving to cover these companies. This paper describes new journalistic methods for covering startups.

APPLICATIONS: INNOVATION JOURNALISM FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM 2004

Newsflash, June 9, 2004

About the 2004 Innovation Journalism Fellowship Program and how to apply for it. In Swedish only. External link to VINNOVA’s website.

THE FIRST CONFERENCE ON INNOVATION JOURNALISM – CONFERENCE PAPERS

Innovation Journalism Vol.1 No.3, May 3 2004

Papers presented at the First Conference on Innovation Journalism, held at Wallenberg Hall, Stanford University, April 14-16 2004.

THE FIRST CONFERENCE ON INNOVATION JOURNALISM

Innovation Journalism Vol.1 No.2, May 3 2004

Program for the First Conference on Innovation Journalism, held at Wallenberg Hall, Stanford University April 14-16 2004.

THE CONCEPT OF INNOVATION JOURNALISM AND A PROGRAMME FOR DEVELOPING IT

Innovation Journalism Vol.1 No.1, May 3 2004

By David Nordfors

Reprint of VINNOVA Information VI 2003:5 ISSN 1650-3120, October 2003

“Innovation Journalism” is the intuitive name for journalism covering innovation. It is valid as a concept, but there is no such journalistic discipline or community today. Therefore, a programme has been designed to develop the concept and test the possibilities for Innovation Journalism as a journalistic discipline, a new reporting “beat”.