Media Innovation Europe: Energizing the European Media Ecosystem

2026-07-22

The project Media Innovation Europe: Energizing the European Media Ecosystem aims to stimulate and strengthen an innovative, collaborative media ecosystem in Europe that is able to provide audiences with the independent journalism they need. It will seek to empower media as they navigate the digital transition, giving them the tools to develop and implement a strategic, audience-focused alignment of their journalism and journalism products, their business structure, and the distribution/discovery tools, all in the service of a sustainable future. To do so, the project will harness the collective knowledge present in the European media sphere, bringing together leading innovators and experts to share skills and best practice. The programme foresees nine structured activities: a mapping of best practices, a business consultancy for media in need of envisioning their transition, an accelerator for media with a clear business plan, an incubator for promising start-ups, grants for audience-engaged journalism, two hackathons, a Europe-wide mentorship programme (peer-to-peer and media-to-media), information hubs to distribute knowledge and best practices, and networking events, including two innovation conferences. The business consultancy, incubator and accelerator programmes are structured as grant programmes following a common methodology and international, independent jury. Participants in the audience-engaged journalism grants and hackathons are also selected through jury procedures. This project pools the strength of four organisations – IPI, Thomson Media, BIRN, and MDF – with wide European journalism networks, extensive experience in running grant programmes and supporting media innovation, and deep familiarity with the needs and challenges of European media as they navigate this crucial transition.

Austria

2025-10-15