To cover the entire story in today’s media landscape, journalists must reach out in many directions for both the collection and the distribution of information. Social media is becoming a standard in modern journalism and it is an integral part of the new DW News – providing a different angle to every story while giving the audience space to shape the debate and add depth and context to the issues.

DW’s social media service @dwnews is much more than a comment section for articles. On Live Blogs, users can are connected to a web of DW content and can follow of all the stories being covered during the live broadcast of DW News. DW’s social media team covers aspects of major stories posted on social media such as a tweeted photo from the negotiating table posted by American Secretary of State John Kerry or a YouTube video posted by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

Live Blogs also features stories from the world of social media such as a ban on “selfies” being proposed in Russia or a social media image campaign in Africa. These stories are tailored for discussion and they develop as users make their contributions. Another feature is the question of the day, a daily poll that allows users to share their opinions on stories covered by DW.

During broadcasts of DW News, the social media desk adds an important angle to stories and develops its own features, such as a profile of a Somali bloggers who are showing a different side to their country on social media than what the common news narrative would deliver. Careful verification and analysis is essential to using social media as a news source and DW applies the same journalistic standard as it would to any other source.

Moderated by experienced journalists Elizabeth Shoo and Carl Nasman, the social media desk and @dwnews represent a new direction for DW’s news broadcasting and both will play an essential part in the success of DW News and DW’s overall strategy for the future.

DW’s latest campaign puts the focus on people who are making a difference. People who rely on global insights and who think, reflect, reconsider and innovate. Who make rules, instead of playing by them and motivate instead of standing in the way. What DW refers to as “local heroes”.

Coinciding with the launch of its new television channel, flagship news show and app, DW is calling for viewers and users on social media to submit their own stories about people in their community who are making a difference. To submit their stories, users just need to fill out a form at dw.com/localheroes or join the discussion on Facebook.

The campaign also features DW’s stories about local heroes as a programming highlight. For example, the winners of this year’s The Bobs are being featured on Life Links. The show speaks with online activists like a refugee from Syria, a data protection activist from Bangladesh and a blogger from Mexico, who tell their stories about taking a stand and fighting for what they think is right.

The 2015 Deutsche Welle Global Media Forum is coming up from 22 to 24 June. This year’s  conference titled Media and Foreign Policy in the Digital Age features an intriguing mix of panelists and discussions that explore the modern crossroads of technology, media and international relations.

Two panels at the conference were organized by DW’s distribution team. On Monday June 22 at 2 p.m. experts on Asian media will discuss how digital and mobile media is transforming how news and information is consumed in Asia.  The Political Power of Digital Media in Asia will bring together  panelists from Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, India and Pakistan including the editorial director of Content Asia Janine Stein, and the Vice President of Sky Vision Indonesia Handhi S. Kentjono.

On Tuesday June 23 at 11:30 a.m. experts on Africa will discuss the effect of the growing number of international companies jostling for domination of the expanding African digital market. Afric@online – Empowerment or exploitation invitres experts to explore if Africans are being connected by commerce or just being turned into digital resources. The panel will be moderated by the CEO of Balancing Act,  Russell Southwood.

The list of speakers appearing at the 2015 Global Media Forum include the mayor of Kiev Vitali Klitschko, the head of RTL TV’s foreign correspondents Antionia Rados and the EU commissioner for digital economy and society Günter Oettinger.

You’ll find all information on the panelists at the 2015 Global Media Forum on the website.

You can register for attendance up until June 17.

A common theme in the modern analysis of journalism is that the old ways of production and distribution are falling apart and taking the traditional models with them. Some of the brightest minds in international media recently gathered in London for the Journalism Innovation Summit to demonstrate how this shift has opened the door to creative destruction that fosters both innovative production and distribution.

How do media companies innovate? It’s about going out of their comfort zones and not just following the pack. That was one of the principle messages of the summit hosted by City University London. Björn Rosenthal, Strategic Product Manager at DW, was at the summit as part of an expert panel titled, “How news organizations are pushing innovative forms of content.” During his presentation, Rosenthal introduced DW’s development of new media, including mobile apps and how DW is improving second screen functionality to enhance audience experience with linear television content. The panel was moderated by Nathalie Malinarich, Mobile Editor of BBC News Online. Other panel speakers included Nate Lanxon, Senior Editor at Bloomberg Media and Subhajit Banerjee from the Guardian.

“Innovative work really depends on the participants,” said Rosenthal. “We work hand in hand with the editorial team to think about what could come up next – because this differs around the world.” After the panel discussion, Rosenthal led an app development workshop using the  DW app as an example. He emphasized the apps must have features for all types of audiences from the high level of functionality provided by the Apple Watch to offline and text modes for mobile apps. He also introduced the new DW app, which will be available for download for Apple and Android devices in June. The app is more user-friendly and packed with new functions like chromcast that transfers audio and video content directly to a TV, push-notifications for breaking news, offline, and low-bandwidth text mode.

Sponsoring partners of the Journalism Innovation Summit include Wayra, Telefónica’s startup accelerator and BBC News Labs.

DW has taken a big step forward in developing closer cooperation with Egyptian partner ONTV, one of the most popular news and information networks in Egypt. The new DW-ONTV co-production, Women at a Turning Point, represents the first time the two broadcasters have worked together on a production and is a turning point in their ongoing four-year partnership. Women at a Turning Point will begin broadcasting May 2 on DW (Arabia).

The host of Women at a Turning Point, Reem Magued, is a highly recognized media personality in Egypt and has been described as one of the most vocal Egyptian journalists when reporting the truth about important internal events to local audiences. DW’s new partnership with Magued is just the latest example of ongoing close cooperation with Egyptian media. Last year, famous Egyptian satirist Bassem Youssef was a keynote speaker at the Global Media Forum. Other cooperative initiatives with Egyptian media include  development workshops with DW Akademie.

As an international broadcaster, DW has an important role to play in providing Egyptians with an impartial international perspective they can use to better understand events affecting their lives. Press and media oppression in Egypt is a pervasive issue and journalists or bloggers can face severe punishment for doing their jobs. Egypt ranks 158 out of 180 in the 2015 Press Freedom Index from Reporters Without Borders.