ECPMF hosts Ukrainian journalists: watch below!
In December 2020 ECPMF hosted a series of virtual workshops for hyperlocal Ukrainian journalists, touring German newsrooms, as part of Innovation Lab. There were three workshops, followed by a final virtual roundtable discussion between all participants.
The first workshop was in collaboration with The Leipzig Glocal – a hyperlocal English language news outlet in Leipzig focused on the city’s expats. Ana Ribeiro (Founder) delivered an overarching presentation about how the outlet went from personal blog to the only web magazine in English in central Germany, even now organising job fairs as an innovative form of income. Heiner Uebbing (Editor-in-Chief) and Lisa Renner (Head of Marketing) then delivered presentations focused on their respective areas of work. There were also opportunities for the hyperlocal Ukrainian journalists to ask questions.
The second workshop was in collaboration with Der Taggespiegel – a large traditional German language newspaper, although with a strengthening digital and local presence. Anke Myrrhe (Head of Local) introduced the Ukrainian journalists to her colleagues – Benjamin Reuter (Head of Newsroom), who gave a short virtual tour of the office, and Judith Langowski (Head of Local Newsletters), and delivered a presentation featuring insights into her work.
The final workshop was in collaboration with Krautreporter and led by Sebastian Esser (Founder). Sebastian gave a short tour of the Berlin office, delivered presentations, and then engaged in a lengthy discussion with the hyperlocal Ukrainian journalists.
Innovation Lab was concluded with a roundtable discussion between the German and Ukrainian journalists. Claudius Niessen, founder of detektor.fm, and Dario Nassal, founder of The Buzzard, all happily joined the call to discuss the journeys they had taken working in a changing news outlet, and industry – particularly in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The feedback from Innovation Lab was very positive. Hyperlocal Ukrainian journalist Dmitry Klimanov said “as a result of communication with German partners, we have confirmed our intentions. We developed and started implementing a strategy, as a result of which in the spring of 2021 Telegazeta will have a website with subscription and membership.”
Hyperlocal Ukrainian journalist Halyna Khalymonyk said “it was interesting to look at how the media work in Germany. It was useful to hear about the forms of support from readers, to share our experience, and to get feedback from German colleagues.”
The long-term value of the Innovation Lab is clear as the Ukrainian and German recordings are available on the ECPMF and RPDI websites, as well as copies of the presentations that were delivered.