It started with a philosophy, based upon IFRA’s work in newsrooms all over the world. Simply stated, news organisations in the future need to focus on stories, not production.
By the year 2000, it was obvious that the way people consume news was changing. They no longer waited for the arrival of their newspaper or the next news broadcast. Instead, they were following stories throughout the day, getting information from a variety of sources.
Traditional news organisations struggled to meet their needs in part because their newsrooms typically were organised around a principal production platform. The need for a Newsplex was apparent.
Kerry Northrup, the originator of the concept of Newsplex and now IFRA Director of Publications, began putting together a plan for a prototype newsroom of the future, where new techniques and technologies could be tested and news organisations could come to train.
IFRA reached an agreement with the University of South Carolina College of Journalism and Mass Communications under the terms of which it would build Newsplex and donate it to the University, retaining use of the facility for its clients.
Northrup brought internationally-known architect Saf Fahim from archronica architects into the project and lined up financial support from a who’s who of forward-thinking media companies, who make up the Newsplex Directorate. South Carolina ETV provided space and construction began.
In November, 2002, the vision became a reality. The IFRA Newsplex at the University of South Carolina opened in ceremonies attended by South Carolina Governor Jim Hodges, University President Andrew Sorenson and IFRA CEO Reiner Mittelbach. A banner at that ceremony proclaimed, The Future of News is Here!
Since then, hundreds of journalists have come to Newsplex from every corner of the world, including many countries in Europe, South America, Australia, Asia, Africa and the Middle East. The University uses the facility for classes, academic conferences and research. Even the United States Department of Justice has turned to Newsplex for training assistance to support its AMBER Alert program to find missing children.
Today, many are talking about the importance of convergence. IFRA, through its Newsplex initiative and its second Newsplex Centre in Germany, has been helping news organisations all over the world implement convergence since the beginning of the decade.
 |
