How to connect to the future readers – Extra Bladet case

Louise Abildgaard Groen, the Project Manager of Educational Relations in Dannish Ekstra Bladet spoke during the INMA/OPA Outlook 2010 conference about “Redaktionen”, an internet-based editorial platform where schools produce their own newspaper. Read more about this award-winning campaign that has built intense loyalty with young people.Today most schools produce newspapers in class — using a variety of software. With this revolutionizing platform from Ekstra Bladet, the students learning process is supported and helps students follow a professional process and produce professional results. The students layout their newspapers online and experience increasing pressure as deadline draws near. 2–3 days after deadline Ekstra Bladet delivers 1000 colour prints of the paper — directly at the school.

In that project , the students aged 12-18 are the journalists, the teachers are the gatekeepers. In this internet-based learning platform, more than 500.000 Danish students are being targetted.

The complete information on the project can be found in the video below:

Next to “The Newsdesk” (Redaktionen), an online dilemma game “The Front Page” was launched. A Gallup poll conducted in October 2008 tells:

• Among students who have either played “The Front Page” or worked with “The Newsdesk”, the readership of Ekstra Bladet has increased by 20%;
• The number of students using ekstrabladet.dk has doubled since “The Front Page” and “The Newsdesk” was introduced;
• 25,860 students have played “The Front Page”. The game has been used in 43,1% of all schools in Denmark.
• 100% of the teachers are satisfied or very satisfied with the educational level of the products.
• 80% of the teachers find “The Newsdesk” and “The Front Page” much better than any other educational newspaper production tools.

The circulation of “The Newsdesk” reached 400.000 printed copies in two years.

More recent stories

Integration is a neverending process

Agora’s (Poland) Sport.pl Group is one of the leaders of the Polish Internet ‘Sports’ category. After merging its various sports newsrooms into one, Sport.pl attracts 3.5 million users monthly. Marcin Gadzinski, the editor-in-chief of... 

Agora will support innovative internet entrepreneurs

12,5 thousand Euro in cash plus advertising campaign worth 25 thousand Euro – this is the main prize in Startup Fest – a competition for independent internet entrepreneurs organized by Agora. The publisher of the largest Polish daily “Gazeta... 

Photography in the age of tablets

Two editors went to Arles in France not only to watch pictures at the famous photography festival, but also to talk with the world’s best photographers about their pictures. Les Rencontres (“Encounters”) is one of the most important... 

How to monetize online niches, local sites and blogs

Poland’s Agora partners with two European entrepreneurs to take the middle man out of buying advertising, selling simple ads directly through web sites. Is AdTaily.com the future of online advertising? In August issue of the INMA Ideas magazine... 

Newspapers can help schools to enter the digital age

Today’s pupils are the first generation that does not remember the world before the Internet revolution. But our schools got stuck in the “chalk age”. What newspapers can do about it? This May twenty five reporters of Gazeta Wyborcza,... 

What drives Daily Telegraph, El Pais, Le Monde and New York Times to Krakow?

80+ delegates from 35 different European newsmedia companies have already registered to the INMA/OPA Europe Conference in Krakow, Poland (Sept. 29-Oct. 1, 2010). Among those who took advantage of the first deadline for early bird rates and registered... 

Newspaper challenged by an amateur blogger

Poland’s Gazeta Wyborcza believes it helps to build an open society by providing platforms for debates and inspiring readers concerned with a common good. Sometimes readers take an opportunity and start competing with their own newspaper. That morning...