Aamulehti invites Pirkanmaa residents to participate in its renewal project
Alma Media Corporation Press release 3 October 2013 at 10.15 a.m. (EEST)
AAMULEHTI INVITES PIRKANMAA RESIDENTS TO PARTICIPATE IN ITS RENEWAL PROJECT
Aamulehti is starting a road tour at the beginning of October to invite enthusiastic as well as critical readers to brainstorm ideas for the new tabloid-format newspaper together with Aamulehti’s redesign and renewal team. Scheduled for launch next spring, the new Aamulehti represents a move towards more open and collaborative journalism.
Aamulehti’s redesign and renewal will be carried out in close co-operation with its readership, by asking questions and listening to readers’ opinions. On the road tour that starts this October, Aamulehti’s renewal team will engage readers in discussions on the roles of the print newspaper and the online paper, the significance of locality and the type of journalism they would be prepared to pay for.
– The redesign and renewal of Aamulehti will be based on open dialogue. We will introduce readers to our production process and openly admit that the pilot versions shown on the tour are not the finished article. We hope that the campaign attracts hundreds of people to collaborate with us in this renewal project, says Aamulehti’s Design Editor Stefani Urmas.
In addition to the road tour, development of the new Aamulehti will take place through a discussion platform created by VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland on the Owela Open Web Lab. A diverse group of Pirkanmaa-based Aamulehti readers as well as local and national influencers have been recruited through an open application process to join the co-development effort on Owela and give feedback on the renewal plans.
Aamulehti moving towards a more collaborative journalism
As Aamulehti adopts the tabloid format, the newspaper’s content structure and types of articles will also change. This will facilitate greater exposure for readers’ views and opinions.
– What we are talking about is a renewal of content and way of thinking, as well as a move towards a more open and collaborative journalism. For example, in addition to the traditional news section, we are planning a section that would allow ordinary readers as well as experts from various fields to participate in producing articles. We will be more deeply intertwined with the reader’s day-to-day life, compared to the traditional perspective of news that looks at the world from a high perch. In the future, the journalist will be less of a traditional interviewer or compiler of information, and more of an organiser who brings readers together for discussion, debate, action and testing things, Urmas continues.
The first issue of the new Aamulehti will come out in April 2014. Prior to that, Aamulehti’s online service will be renewed and put partly behind a paywall. The re-design of the online service is part of Alma Regional Media’s broader renewal process that moves part of the online content of regional newspapers gradually behind a paywall.
Road tour stops:
University of Tampere, 3 October, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Sastamala, Torikeskus shopping centre, 4 October, 9 a.m. to noon
Tampere Central Square, 4 October, 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Ylöjärvi, Elo shopping centre, 11 October, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Parkano, K-Supermarket, 11 October, 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Valkeakoski, Market Square, 12 October, 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.
Lempäälä, Ideapark, 12 October, 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Tampere Exhibition and Sports Centre, Children’s Fair, 12-13 October
Mänttä, S-Market, 17 October, noon to 2 p.m.
Orivesi, K-Supermarket, 17 October, 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Virrat, S-Market, 18 October, 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.
Nokia, K-Citymarket, 18 October, 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.
For more information, please contact: Matti Posio, Project Manager, Aamulehti, tel. +358 (0)40 771 7828
Alma Media in brief
Alma Media is a media company focusing on digital services and publishing. In addition to news services, the company’s products provide useful information related to lifestyle, career and business development. The services of Alma Media have expanded from Finland to the Nordic countries, the Baltics and Central Europe. The company employs approximately 1,900 professionals (excluding distributors), of whom over 20% work outside Finland. Alma Media’s revenue in 2012 totalled approximately MEUR 320. Alma Media’s share is listed on NASDAQ OMX Helsinki. Read more at www.almamedia.com
- Published: 3.10.2013, 12:15
- Category: Press release, Releases