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’s Director General Peter Limbourg took the stage at the fifth annual Asia Pacific Video Operators Summit (APOS) last month in Bali to discuss DW’s new slogan, the competition and goals for the future. He used the time to share his thoughts on how the next generation of journalism should evolve and outlined DW’s vision for the future – with special emphasis on defining the global information agenda in the context of the upcoming launch of DW’s global English-language news channel.

The APOS summit marked the first public appearance of DW’s new slogan, “Made for minds”, which Limbourg contextualized as being a “compliment” to DW’s global audience, which remains in the focus of everything DW does. He added the slogan underscored the importance of the high-quality journalism that DW produces in a global media landscape beset by growing disinformation and propaganda.

At the center of Limbourg’s conversation with Janine Stein, the Editor-in-Chief of Content Asia, were the challenges faced by linear news television and what this all means to DW with the launch of the global English-language television channel coming up on June 22.

Limbourg explained that although there was talk earlier at the summit referring to modern linear TV as being analogous to the antiquated fax machine, he would compare it more to a refrigerator – “it has always been there, it will always be there but it doesn’t stop you from buying new digital equipment for your kitchen.”  He reemphasized that while DW would remain focused on a strong linear TV brand, there would also be investment in programs aimed at younger audiences that would be compatible with social media and mobile devices.

Cooperation also plays a key role and Limbourg emphasized that DW’s new English-language channel benefits from the robust relationships with local partners and the breadth of editorial languages at DW, all of which will contribute to the journalistic depth and quality of the flagship news programming. “We can be faster in getting these exclusive and interesting stories,” he said.

When looking at the Asian market, DW’s coproduction partnerships with Asian partners are beneficial for DW in getting more Asian content into the international channel but also provide opportunities for Asian content to travel globally, which has always been a major goal for Asian content producers. Partnerships like with Euromaxx in China represent a model of success for the future.

Limbourg said that the future of DW will be built on a strong global reputation of quality both in the production and origin  “I think Germany has proven it can deliver good products and it also means that we can deliver good information.” To which Stein could only reply, “the Mercedes of the news world.”

Other international media with a large Asian presence on the Asian market at the APOS summit included BBC Worldwide, Fox International Channels and RTL CBS. The summit is organized by Media Partners Asia (MPA).

 

 

Middle East

The largest cable television provider in Israel, HOT, is a new DW broadcasting partner and is including the flagship channel DW in its basic programming package. The partnership marks DW’s first major appearance on the Israeli television market. DW is available in a news package next to major international news brands such as the BBC, Sky News, Fox News, France 24, Euronews, CCTV1 and NHK World. Along with over 800,000 cable subscribers, HOT also provides Internet and telephone services for a combined 1,3 million households. Around 200 national and international channels are provided by HOT, including many exclusive channels that aren’t available with the competing Israeli provider YES.

Asia

DW’s flagship English channel is now available on IPTV and Satellite in India via Airtel, a major global telecommunications company based in Delhi. DW is included in Airtel’s IPTV basic service package and is also with six DTH satellite programming packages. Airtel operates in 20 countries in South Asia and Africa and is the largest mobile operator in South Asia. Through this new partnership, DW has the potential to reach an audience of 4 million viewers in India.

DW’s Mongolian partner MNBC is now broadcasting DW in German via a DVB-T2 signal. MNBC is the first provider of second-generation digital broadcasting in Mongolian and services the capital city Ulaanbaatar with local and international channels on pay TV.

DW is now broadcasting digitally in Afghanistan via the digital service OQAAB. The contract allows for the broadcast of DW’s complete program.

Latin America

DW (Latinoamérica) is now available on IPTV in Mexico via the pay TV provider AXTEL. AXTEL currently has 90,000 subscribers in Mexico’s largest cities including Mexico City, Cuidad Juarez, Monterrey, and Puebla. The Spanish-language programming from DW (Latinoamérica) is included in the ULTRA programming package.

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.