Conducted and compiled by tpr media April 2015 www.tpr–media.com
April 2015 MipTV Coverage
9 February 2015 Newstag Signs Agreement with Bloomberg
digitaltveurope.net
http://www.digitaltveurope.net/318732/swedens-newstag-agrees-video-deal-with-bloomberg/
Sweden’s Newstag agrees video deal with Bloomberg February 9, 2015
Crowd-curated news service Newstag has signed a deal with Bloomberg, giving it global rights to the news agency’s business and features video news packages. Stockholm-based Newstag will use the Bloomberg videos across its mobile and web platforms, which are designed to let users create their own personalised ‘tagstream,’ or TV channel, and share stories via social media. “We are delighted to partner with Newstag. They offer an interesting and dynamic platform to distribute our award- winning, global business and features video which covers subjects from technology to innovation in the energy, transportation and luxury goods sectors, to a broader audience,” said Josh Rucci, global head of sales for the Bloomberg Content Service. Informa Telecoms & Media © Informa UK Ltd 2013. All rights reserved.
advanced-television.com
http://advanced-television.com/2015/02/09/bloomberg-signs-with-newstag/
Bloomberg signs with Newstag Newstag, the Stockholm-based, crowd-curated news service, has announced an agreement with global business news and information provider Bloomberg. The deal grants Newstag worldwide rights to Bloomberg’s business and features video news packages for use on their mobile and web platforms. Newstag users will be able to share Bloomberg’s business videos across social networks. Newstag’s ‘mobile-first’ service is designed to enable users to create their own personalised ‘tagstream’ – or TV Channel – sharing the stories that they care about among their social networks. Newstag has recently expanded its network of commercial and content partners as it gears up to launch its application. Bloomberg joins other professional content producers on Newstag, including AP, AFP and Reuters. Posted by on Feb 9 2015. Filed under
footagenews.com
http://www.footagenews.com/newstag-signs-bloomberg-video-news-package-worldwide-rights/
Newstag signs Bloomberg video news package – worldwide rights By Will Carleton
19 February 2015
Stockholm-based, crowd-curated news service Newstag has announced an agreement with global business news and information provider Bloomberg. The deal grants Newstag worldwide rights to Bloomberg’s business and features video news packages for use on their mobile and web platforms. Newstag CEO and Founder, Henrik Eklund, says: “Bloomberg is a world leader and innovator in the arena of international business and financial news. Having an opportunity to work with them to revolutionise the way in which audiences consume news is both inspiring and exciting.” Newstag is designed to enable users to create their own personalised ‘tagstream’ – or TV Channel – sharing the stories that they care about among their social networks. “Bloomberg’s premium-quality video content brings business news, and the people behind it, to life,” said Josh Rucci, Global Head of Sales for the Bloomberg Content Service. “We are delighted to partner with Newstag. They offer an interesting and dynamic platform to distribute our award- winning, global business and features video which covers subjects from technology to innovation in the energy, transportation and luxury goods sectors, to a broader audience.” • Bloomberg’s media operation includes more than 2,400 news professionals working from 154 bureaux around the world who publish stories across the web, connected and mobile devices, television, radio and print magazines.
contentmarketingeye.com
http://www.contentmarketingeye.com/portal/bloomberg-partners-with-newstag/
Bloomberg Partners With Newstag Newstag, a Stockholm-based crowd-curated news service, has announced an agreement with global business news and information provider Bloomberg. The deal gives Newstag worldwide rights to Bloomberg’s business and features video news packages for use on their mobile and web platforms. Newstag users will be able to share Bloomberg’s business videos across social networks. Newstag’s service is designed to enable users to create their own personalised channel. Read more: StrategyEye Article Copyright © 2015 "ContentMarketingEye".
dailydooh.com
http://www.dailydooh.com/archives/104051
Newstag Makes Agreement With Bloomberg For Business Video Sharing Gail Chiasson, North American Editor Newstag, the Stockholm-based, crowd-curated news service, has made an agreement with New York-based global business news and information provider Bloomberg which grants Newstag worldwide rights to Bloomberg’s business and features video news packages for use on its mobile and web platforms. “Bloomberg is a world leader and innovator in the arena of international business and financial news,” says Henrik Eklund, Newstag CEO and founder. “Having an opportunity to work with Bloomberg to revolutionize the way in which audiences consume news is both inspiring and exciting.” Newstag is designed to enable users to create their own personalised ‘tagstream’ – or TV Channel – sharing the stories that they care about among their social networks. “Bloomberg’s premium-quality video content brings business news, and the people behind it, to life,” says Josh Rucci, global head of sales for the Bloomberg Content Service. “We are delighted to partner with Newstag. They offer an interesting and dynamic platform to distribute our award-winning, global business and features video which covers subjects from technology to innovation in the energy, transportation and luxury goods sectors, to a broader audience.” Bloomberg’s media operation includes more than 2,400 news professionals working from 154 bureaux around the world who publish stories across the web, connected and mobile devices, television, radio and print magazines. In recent months, Newstag has rapidly expanded its network of commercial and content partners as it gears up to launch its application. Newstag recently opened a Cairo bureau and received a $1.3m investment from a group of private and institutional investors. Newstag, currently in a private-beta stage, is taking pre-registrations and bringing new users onboard continuously. Newstag’s Eklund, was previously AP’s director of digital partnerships and distribution in Europe, Middle East and Africa and Asia. Before joining AP, he was the founder and CEO of Kamera , mobile and online distributors. Prior to Kamera, Eklund founded PAN Interactive, one of Europe’s leading game publishers and distributors. This entry was posted on Monday, February 9th, 2015 at 17:50 @784 and is filed under Scuttlebut. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
digitalmedia.strategyeye.com
http://digitalmedia.strategyeye.com/2015/02/09/bloomberg_partners_with_newstag/
Bloomberg Partners With Newstag 09 Feb 15 Newstag, a Stockholm-based crowd-curated news service, has announced an agreement with global business news and information provider Bloomberg. The deal gives Newstag worldwide rights to Bloomberg’s business and features video news packages for use on their mobile and web platforms. Newstag users will be able to share Bloomberg’s business videos across social networks. Newstag’s service is designed to enable users to create their own personalised channel.
TechMutiny
Issue 9 February-March 2015
http://techmutiny.co.uk/attachments/article/33/jkmTechMutinyISSUENINE2015Original.pdf
FILM/VIDEO Product: Newstag, crowd-curated video news service Need to know because the Stockholm-based start-up company has already opened its first overseas bureau in Cairo, Egypt, where a multinational team of editors, journalists, producers, and post-production experts will manage all the incoming video news content before personalized editions are distributed to subscribers. The major international news organizations supplying content include Reuters, Agence France Presse and Associated Press. Newstag also just snapped up the worldwide rights to Bloomberg’s business and features video news pages for mobile and web platforms. Subscribers can elect which advertisers they want to be associated with and choose which good causes can receive the revenues as donations Creative function: crowd-curation; news gathering; video production Creative target: news broadcasters; advertisers; charity organizations Company: Newstag, based in Stockholm, Sweden Key executive(s): CEO and co-founder Henrik Eklund; Chairman and co-founder Camilla Dahlin-Andersson Investors/Owners: Private investors; institutional investors; founders Distribution platform: mobile Internet Launched: 2014 URL: www.newstag.com
18 December 2014 International crowd窶田urated video news service opens Cairo bureau
2015 will be all change for news publishing and content telegraph.co.uk/technology/technology-topics/11304364/2015-will-be-all-change-for-newspublishing-and-content.html
Monty Munford For some time now, TV and newspapers have been taking up less of our time. The emerging generation is more impressed by teenage vloggers than it is by newspaper columnists or news stations presided over by the gerontocracy. For somebody who still carries a newspaper under his arm everywhere he goes, this comes as a source of great pain, but it is the way of the world and everybody has to adapt or they will wallow. Publishers are also adapting. Not before time, some would say, but smaller, more nimble startup companies promise great things. Founded earlier this year, Sharewall is a London startup that is aiming to ‘revolutionise the publisher economy by introducing social data as currency and by enhancing the relationship between content consumers and providers’. In more simple terms, this means that readers will be able to access content from behind a publisher’s paywall based on the amount of times that they share that content. This will all depend on the size and breadth of each user’s social networks. “Developing our intelligence engine was the natural next step to our new online publishing model. We want to provide publishers with tools that can help them offer users a better experience and form stronger and positive relationships with them.” “Online news as it is today, is a general experience curated by an editor, which isn’t an optimal situation since each of us has different interests. With Sharewall, stories are still produced by journalists, but prioritised differently according to the individual,” said Anders Ibsen, CEO and Founder of Sharewall. Elsewhere other ideas and cities are becoming hubs for the distribution of content. Newstag is a Stockholm-based crowd-curated news service that has decided to choose Cairo to handle all its incoming video news content. Newstag’s ‘mobile-first’ service enable users to create a personalised ‘tagstream’ – or TV Channel sharing the stories that they care about among their social networks. Egypt has been pioneering journalism and media in the Arab world for decades and increasingly the country is becoming recognised as a hub for producing and handling video content from Europe, Africa and Asia. Newstag’s approach to sharing news through social media will provide a single destination for video news content from agencies around the world, including AP, AFP and Reuters. Another interesting company is Livestation that offers a mixture of free and premium online live TV news across the web, mobile and connected devices. The company works closely with brands such as CNN, CNBC, Al-Jazeera, Bloomberg, BBC World News and many others. In response to the aforementioned change of audience habits and trends, next month the company is reinventing itself as a live social streaming service. “MTV lost its way when YouTube started streaming music videos. News channels need to drastically reformat for social media or they face the same destiny. Al-Jazeera + and BBC Instagram are two
recent efforts by the industry but more boldness is required if they want to stay relevant. “For example, someone recently streamed the Ferguson riots live on Twitter from their smartphone to 40,000 viewers, or nearly 10 per cent of MSNBC’s prime time viewership. This is why we are relaunching as a social live streaming news platform in January 2015,” said Lippe Oosterhof, CEO Livestation. Livestation’s mobile element may make it the most interesting of the three companies mentioned in this piece, but for Sharewall and Newstag, as well as Livestation, 2015 brings the promise of even better news to come.
theiabm.org http://www.theiabm.org/news/news_detail.International crowd-curated video news service opens Cairo bureau.html
International crowd-curated video news service opens Cairo bureau 18 December 2014 Newstag – the Stockholm-based crowd-curated news service – is opening a subsidiary in Cairo, Egypt to handle all its incoming video news content. Newstag’s pioneering and innovative approach to sharing news through social media will bring together video news stories from professional content producers around the world, including AP, AFP and Reuters. The six-strong Cairo-based team will be responsible for handling, verifying and tagging stories as they arrive in one central location from all over the world. The multilingual team will operate round-the-clock handling thousands of stories each week from seven continents in as many time zones. Egypt has been pioneering journalism and media in the Arab world for decades and increasingly the country is becoming recognised as a hub for producing and handling video content from Europe, Africa and Asia. More recently with its growing IT sector, Egypt is gaining a reputation for technological expertise. The multinational team is made up of editors from around the world who have chosen to be based in Cairo for their work in journalism and media. They will also provide bespoke production and post-production services in Egypt and the region as a whole. “Cairo is booming again: Egypt is at the crossroads of East and West and there are so many talented individuals in this city. This megapolis with its tens of millions of inhabitants is a great centre from which to understand the world in a more nuanced way. This is at the heart of Newstag’s philosophy,” says CEO and Founder, Henrik Eklund. Chairman and Founder Camilla Dahlin-Andersson, who has had a long career in social services and academia, added: “We are taking our first steps towards serving this dynamic market and continent and this is a significant and exciting move for Newstag.” The opening of the Cairo bureau follows a $1.3m investment into Newstag from a group of private and institutional investors. In recent months, the company’s rapidly expanded its network of commercial and content partners as it gears up to launch its application. Newstag’s ‘mobile-first’ service will enable users to create their own personalised ‘ tagstream’ – or TV Channel sharing the stories that they care about among their social networks. By radically rebalancing the traditional relationships between industry stakeholders, Newstag also offers users a unique opportunity to have a real impact on the world around them through the tagging brands and NGOs. CEO and Founder, Henrik Eklund, was AP’s Director of Digital Partnerships and Distribution in Europe, Middle
East and Africa (EMEA) and Asia. Before joining AP, Henrik was the founder and CEO of Kamera - one of the world's leading mobile and online distributors. Prior to Kamera, Eklund founded PAN Interactive, one of Europe’s leading game publishers and distributors. Chairman and Founder, Camilla Dahlin-Andersson been a member of parliament and served on several boards for large institutions. She is currently completing her doctorate in Innovation Management at Stockholm School of Economics and Mälardalens University. www.newstag.com Back to listing
aib.org.uk
http://www.aib.org.uk/social-news-startup-newstag-opens-cairo-bureau/
Social news startup Newstag opens Cairo bureau Newstag – the Stockholm-based crowd-curated news service – is opening a subsidiary in Cairo, Egypt to handle all its incoming video news content. Newstag’s approach to sharing news through social media will bring together video news stories from professional content producers around the world, including AP, AFP and Reuters. The six-strong Cairo-based team will be responsible for handling, verifying and tagging stories as they arrive in one central location from all over the world. The multilingual team will operate round-the-clock handling thousands of stories each week. The multinational team is made up of editors from around the world who have chosen to be based in Cairo for their work in journalism and media. They will also provide bespoke production and post-production services in Egypt and the region as a whole. “Cairo is booming again: Egypt is at the crossroads of East and West and there are so many talented individuals in this city. This megalopolis with its tens of millions of inhabitants is a great centre from which to understand the world in a more nuanced way. This is at the heart of Newstag’s philosophy,” says CEO and Founder, Henrik Eklund. Chairman and Founder Camilla Dahlin-Andersson, who has had a long career in social services and academia, added: “We are taking our first steps towards serving this dynamic market and continent and this is a significant and exciting move for Newstag.” The opening of the Cairo bureau follows a $1.3m investment into Newstag from a group of private and institutional investors. In recent months, the company’s rapidly expanded its network of commercial and content partners as it gears up to launch its application. Newstag’s ‘mobile-first’ service will enable users to create their own personalised ‘tagstream’ – or TV Channel – sharing the stories that they care about among their social networks. In an attempt to rebalance the traditional relationships between industry stakeholders, Newstag also offers users an opportunity to have a real impact on the world around them through the tagging of brands and NGOs. CEO and Founder, Henrik Eklund, was AP’s Director of Digital Partnerships and Distribution in Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) and Asia. Before joining AP, Henrik was the founder and CEO of Kamera – one of the world’s leading mobile and online distributors. Prior to Kamera, Eklund founded PAN Interactive, one of Europe’s leading game publishers and distributors. Company Chairman and Founder, Camilla Dahlin-Andersson been a member of parliament and served on several boards for large institutions. She is currently completing her doctorate in Innovation Management at Stockholm School of Economics and Mälardalens University. Designed by Elegant Themes | Powered by WordPress
03 November 2014 Cutting–edge tagging news video service appoints CTO
digitaltveurope.net
http://www.digitaltveurope.net/270791/video-news-service-newstag-appoints-cto/
Video news service Newstag appoints CTO November 4, 2014
Stockholm-based crowd-curated video news service, Newstag, has appointed former Ericsson executive Mats Ekholm as its chief technology officer. Newstag, which aggregates video news stories from content producers around the world, including AP and Reuters, said that the hire would help it to develop its approach to news sharing through social media. Ekholm brings with him two decades of news, media and entertainment industry experience. He has previously been CTO at international companies including Utd By Content and Kamera and has also worked with Ericsson. Informa Telecoms & Media Š Informa UK Ltd 2013. All rights reserved.
Mats Ekholm
advanced-television.com
http://advanced-television.com/2014/11/03/newstag-new-cto/
Newstag new CTO Editor
Newstag, a crowd-curated video news service from Stockholm, has announced the appointment of Mat Ekholms as CTO in a move to support the company as it develops its innovative approach to news sharing through social media. Video expert Mats Ekholm brings over two decades of experience in the news, media and entertainment industries with an impressive track record of building world class solutions for video companies. Ekholm has previously been CTO at several international companies including Utd By Content and Kamera and has also worked with Ericsson. Newstag will bring together video news stories from content producers around the world, including AP and Reuters, as well as brands and NGOs. The ‘mobile-first’ service will enable users to create personalised video newscasts on their smartphones, tagging news, brands and NGOs to create relevant and customised feeds to consume and share with their peers through social networks. Newstag’s logo – the twelve sided figure or dodecahedron – reflects the multi-faceted nature of news in the 21st century and our relationship with it in today’s complex world.
aib.org.uk
http://www.aib.org.uk/video-expert-mats-ekholm-joins-newstag-as-cto/
Video expert Mats Ekholm joins Newstag as CTO Newstag, a crowd-curated video news service from Stockholm, has announced the appointment of Mat Ekholms as CTO in a move to support the company as it develops its innovative approach to news sharing through social media. Video expert Mats Ekholm brings over two decades of experience in the news, media and entertainment industries with an impressive track record of building world class solutions for video companies. Ekholm has previously been CTO at several international companies including Utd By Content and Kamera and has also worked with Ericsson. Newstag will bring together video news stories from content producers around the world, including AP and Reuters, as well as brands and NGOs. The ‘mobile-first’ service will enable users to create personalised video newscasts on their smartphones, tagging news, brands and NGOs to create relevant and customised feeds to consume and share with their peers through social networks. Newstag’s logo – the twelve sided figure or dodecahedron – reflects the multi-faceted nature of news in the 21st century and our relationship with it in today’s complex world. CEO and Founder, Henrik Eklund, will be exhibiting at Websummit. (Source: Newstag press release) Designed by Elegant Themes | Powered by WordPress
iptv-news.com
http://www.iptv-news.com/2014/11/video-expert-mats-ekholm-joins-newstag-as-cto/
Video expert Mats Ekholm joins Newstag as CTO By Thomas Campbell November 3rd, 2014
Newstag, a crowd-curated video news service from Stockholm, has announced the appointment of Mat Ekholms as CTO. Video expert Mats Ekholm brings over two decades of experience in the news, media and entertainment industries with an impressive track record of building world class solutions for video companies. Ekholm has previously been CTO at several international companies including Utd By Content and Kamera and has also worked with Ericsson. Ekholm says: “I’m glad to be joining Newstag at a stage Mats Ekholm where we can innovate at rapid speed. Newstag is set to handle video in a way not seen before and it’s a great challenge for me – I hope we’ll have a chance to make a real difference, not only from a digital perspective, but for the world as well.” The announcement follows an investment of $1.3m into Newstag from a group of private and institutional investors. Tags: Newstag
Related Posts Personalised news video service secures $1.3m seed funding - Jul 16, 2014
footagenews.com
http://www.footagenews.com/people-mats-ekholm-now-cto-at-crowd-curated-video-news-service-newstag/
People: Mats Ekholm now CTO at crowd-curated video news service Newstag By Will Carleton
4 November 2014
Crowd-curated video news service Newstag has appointed Mat Ekholms as CTO in a move to support the company as it develops its innovative approach to news sharing through social media. Besides managing development teams, as a programmer Ekholm has built systems including the APTN video net and the JPEP encoding technology, used for secure and efficient encoding of box office films and digital cinema. Ekholm says: “I’m glad to be joining Newstag at a stage where we can innovate at rapid speed. Newstag is set to handle video in a way not seen before and it’s a great challenge for me – I hope we’ll have a chance to make a real difference, not only from a digital perspective, but for the world as well.” Newstag CEO, Henrik Eklund, has described Ekholm’s appointment as a valuable development: “We’re extremely proud and happy to have Mats join our growing team of high calibre professionals in our quest to change the media landscape. Mats’ experience of working with fast moving time-sensitive video for large corporations is of immense value to us – he’s a true innovator of video technology.” The announcement follows an investment of $1.3m into Newstag from a group of private and institutional investors. In recent months, the company’s rapidly expanded its network of commercial and content partners as it gears up to launch its application later this Autumn. Newstag will bring together video news stories from content producers around the world, including AP and Reuters, as well as brands and NGOs. The ‘mobile-first’ service will enable users to create personalised video newscasts on their smartphones, tagging news, brands and NGOs to create relevant and customised feeds to consume and share with their peers through social networks. Newstag’s logo – the twelve sided figure or dodecahedron – reflects the multi-faceted nature of news in the 21st century and our relationship with it in today’s complex world. CEO and Founder, Henrik Eklund, was AP’s Director of Digital Partnerships and Distribution in Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) and Asia. Before joining AP, Henrik was the founder and CEO of Kamera – one of the world’s leading mobile and online distributors. Prior to Kamera, Eklund founded PAN Interactive, one of Europe’s leading game publishers and distributors.
dtvechannels.net
http://www.dtvechannels.net/channel-news/video-news-service-newstag-appoints-cto/
Video news service Newstag appoints CTO November 4th, 2014 Mats Ekholm Stockholm-based crowd-curated video news service, Newstag, has appointed former Ericsson executive Mats Ekholms as its chief technology officer. Newstag, which aggregates video news stories from content producers around the world, including AP and Reuters, said that the hire would help it to develop its approach to news sharing through social media. Ekholm brings with him two decades of news, media and entertainment industry experience. He has previously been CTO at international companies including Utd By Content and Kamera and has also worked with Ericsson. Š Informa Telecoms and Media Ltd Ltd 2014. All rights reserved.
technews.technology
http://technews.technology/news/video-expert-mats-ekholm-joins-newstag-as-cto
Video expert Mats Ekholm joins Newstag as CTO Newstag, a crowd-curated video news service from Stockholm, has announced the appointment of Mat Ekholms as CTO. Video expert Mats Ekholm brings over two decades of experience in the news, media and entertainment industries with an impressive track record of building world class solutions for video companies. Ekholm has previously been CTO at several international...... read more... Published By: IPTV - 3 days ago
Features
streamingmediaglobal.com http://www.streamingmediaglobal.com/Articles/News/Featured-News/Startup-Newstag-Launches-Crowd-Curated-Video-NewsService-98264.aspx
Streaming MediaMagazine By Adrian Pennington Posted on July 21, 2014
Share28
Startup Newstag Launches Crowd-Curated Video News Service "The business of news is broken," says Newstag CEO, but the company claims to have the answer in its approach to news sharing through social media. Page 1 On the day that the BBC slashed its newsgathering resources by more than 400 personnel in a restructure intended to put more emphasis on digital, Swedish start-up Newstag brought to market a concept it believes can solve the “broken economic model” of news dissemination and consumption. Its novel revenue-sharing scheme could help professional news teams, brands, NGOs, and regular users make money from news content. "The great paradox is that there never been as much content available as today but there is no financial model to support the editorial work of journalists," says Newstag CEO Henrik Eklund. "But if people are spending a billion hours on Facebook a month, we have to tap that and let the crowd curate content to feed value back into the system. You have to let people themselves set the value, otherwise the news industry will not be able to pay for quality journalism." The company has just announced $1.3 million seed funding from a Swiss bank, private investors, and its own management, plus a further $150k Swedish Innovation grant. Here is what Newtag, which launches commercially in September, proposes. In essence it aggregates video feeds from professional news suppliers, who also automatically populate its database, and serves them up to mobile users for free. Users can tag the news topics or genres they are interested in and create a personalised newscast viewable on smartphones or on TVs via Roku, Chromecast or Apple TV devices. Sharing of personalised newscasts to social networks is key. AP, Reuters, AFP, and Sweden's Tidningarnas Telegrambyrå (TT) are among the agencies that have signed on, but Newstag goes further and includes news feeds created and distributed by brands and NGOs (such as the World Wildlife fund and Red Cross). So far, so what? Here's where it gets interesting. Content could be sponsored so that occasional users would see pre-roll or sponsored feeds. Regular users could opt to select just the brands they want to receive ads from. User data could also be sold by CPM and per category (sports, for example).
The revenue is divided among the content owner, Newstag, and its user-members. Members will be awarded credits per activity, such as tagging news with self-selected NGO and brand sponsors, and sharing it. Up to a certain level, and for tax purposes, according to Eklund, these "points" translate into money that can only be allocated to NGO causes or research projects of the user's choice. Beyond a certain threshold, say 10,000 followers of a person's newsfeed, the users themselves can begin to collect financial reward—acting, in effect, as micro-publishers.
Eklund is not divulging which brands have boarded but gives clues. They are of necessity global (news knows no frontiers after all) and include a sports brand, a bakery, a car rental agency, and a famous Swedish interior design firm.
"What we offer is a totally new way for content owners to make money," says Eklund. "The self-selection of ads is a way for brands to properly target people who actually find your message relevant, so brands win hearts and minds." Eklund feels this service will gain traction among users because many are fed up with being force-fed news agendas and instead want to discover and judge news content for themselves.
"Viewing news from different angles and sources provides a more global picture of news events," he says. For example, the news agenda of the Syrian crisis in the West is dominated by a rebels "good"/government "evil" narrative, but this can be rebalanced if news reports from Russian news agencies are given equal weight.
"People want to judge the value of news on their own terms," he says. He argues that the younger generation in particular are tired of the filters and agendas applied by traditional news organisations like the BBC, ITV, CNN, or Fox News. Short bulletins do not provide the depth of news content that some people require, and the economic model for 24-hour news channels is a failed one that organisations are struggling to divest themselves of. Even as more and people are turning to Google and Facebook to provide them with news, there are issues there, too. Google, Facebook, Twitter Reddit, Yahoo, and others are all busy curating the vast amount of content online for users to digest. Newstag wants to be the only one that doesn't somehow manipulate that feed by algorithm, emotional graph (as in Facebook's case), or editorial lead (as in Yahoo's case). It says its video news feeds will be self-curated and self-shared. He backs this up by suggesting that news is more likely to be accepted from sources that people trust. A study performed by researchers from UCLA and HP found that the original publisher of an article was the fundamental factor in predicting the spread of content online. There is something particularly Scandinavian about the ethical corporate responsibility that the service seeks to instil. The idea is that crowdsourced promotion will both be a boon to brands that associate themselves with good causes but in the same way pressure might be applied to brands who are seen, for example, to avoid tax or manufacturer their products using child labour. "Corporate social responsibility is important to brands," says Eklund. "They can get closer engagement to customers who endorse them but they need to keep aware of CSR or they will lose that value. It's all interlinked." That said, if there's a danger for brands in being associated with the wrong type of news (Pampers adjacent to stories about the UK paedophile investigation, perhaps) then the brand can counter this ahead of time by blocking such tags out. Similarly, where there is a clash of interest in a particular region where, as in Sweden, it works with agency (TT) and a broadcaster (TV4) to whom the agency also supplies content, then geoblocking can be enforced.
"It's taken 25,000 hours of hard work to handle video the way we want," claims Eklund. It has a patent pending on its ability to move vast amount of data around in real time, a proprietary search engine, and a cloud-based streaming platform. When traffic volumes become too large, it proposes to hook up with a CDN.
Newstag launched a beta version (under another name) last December with 4-5 people, rapidly amassing 50006000 users a day, it claims. "We learned a lot about how people consume news and how they like to tag and also that they like to share news," says Eklund. It has plans to incorporate user-generated news content, which may also be validated by the crowd. Eklund previously founded Kamera, a Swedish online and mobile TV content aggregator acquired by KIT Digital for $11m in 2008. "I was working with content owners and realised the news model was falling apart," he says. "The only solution was to cut costs and cut costs again. It was not sustainable." This view was backed up by the two years he spent subsequently as director of digital partnerships and distribution in EMEA and Asia at Associated Press. He says he learnt at first hand how new media players like YouTube could hurt the whole newsgathering industry. "The news business is broken," he says. "The problem is not the lack of content but that there is too much of it. Nor is there any lack of professional produced content. The problem is that traditional news broadcasters do not have the resources to curate, plan and editorially present that content." Newstag has a staff of 20, with satellite offices in Sofia, Cairo. and Singapore (the latter two were also one-time headquarters of Kamera). The company chairman and founder, Camilla Dahlin-Andersson, has been a member of the Swedish parliament and is currently finishing a doctorate in Innovation Management at Stockholm School of Economics and M채lardalen University.
Press Releases
Newstag Signs Agreement with Bloomberg Newstag Users Will Be Able to Share Bloomberg's Business Videos Across Social Networks Stockholm, Monday, 9th February, 2015. Newstag, the Stockholm-based, crowd-curated news service – has today announced an agreement with global business news and information provider Bloomberg. This new deal grants Newstag worldwide rights to Bloomberg's business and features video news packages for use on their mobile and web platforms. Newstag CEO and Founder, Henrik Eklund, says: “Bloomberg is a world leader and innovator in the arena of international business and financial news. Having an opportunity to work with them to revolutionise the way in which audiences consume news is both inspiring and exciting." Newstag is designed to enable users to create their own personalised ‘tagstream’ – or TV Channel – sharing the stories that they care about among their social networks. “Bloomberg’s premium-quality video content brings business news, and the people behind it, to life,” said Josh Rucci, Global Head of Sales for the Bloomberg Content Service. “We are delighted to partner with Newstag. They offer an interesting and dynamic platform to distribute our awardwinning, global business and features video which covers subjects from technology to innovation in the energy, transportation and luxury goods sectors, to a broader audience.” Bloomberg's media operation includes more than 2,400 news professionals working from 154 bureaux around the world who publish stories across the web, connected and mobile devices, television, radio and print magazines. In recent months, Newstag has rapidly expanded its network of commercial and content partners as it gears up to launch its application. Newstag recently opened a Cairo bureau and received a $1.3m investment from a group of private and institutional investors. Newstag, currently in a private-beta stage, is taking pre-registrations and bringing new users onboard continuously. To sign up visit www.newstag.com and pre-register. CEO and Founder, Henrik Eklund, was AP’s Director of Digital Partnerships and Distribution in Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) and Asia. Before joining AP, Henrik was the founder and CEO of Kamera - one of the world's leading mobile and online distributors. Prior to Kamera, Eklund founded PAN Interactive, one of Europe’s leading game publishers and distributors. Chairman and Founder, Camilla Dahlin-Andersson has been a member of parliament and served on several boards for large institutions. She is currently completing her doctorate in Innovation Management at Stockholm School of Economics and Mälardalens University.
For more information please contact Sophie Toumazis sophie@tpr-media.com or Elizabeth Dunk elizabeth@tpr-media.com or call +44(0)208 347 7020 Bloomberg Content Service (sales): Josh Rucci, Global Head of Content Sales, Bloomberg, jrucci@bloomberg.net +1 212 617 7697 or Gary Williams, EMEA Head of Content Sales, Bloomberg, gwilliams138@bloomberg.net, +44 20 3525 2463
International crowd-‐curated video news service opens Cairo bureau Newstag – the Stockholm-‐based crowd-‐curated news service – is opening a subsidiary in Cairo, Egypt to handle all its incoming video news content. Newstag’s pioneering and innovative approach to sharing news through social media will bring together video news stories from professional content producers around the world, including AP, AFP and Reuters. The six-‐strong Cairo-‐based team will be responsible for handling, verifying and tagging stories as they arrive in one central location from all over the world. The multilingual team will operate round-‐ the-‐clock handling thousands of stories each week from seven continents in as many time zones. Egypt has been pioneering journalism and media in the Arab world for decades and increasingly the country is becoming recognised as a hub for producing and handling video content from Europe, Africa and Asia. More recently with its growing IT sector, Egypt is gaining a reputation for technological expertise. The multinational team is made up of editors from around the world who have chosen to be based in Cairo for their work in journalism and media. They will also provide bespoke production and post-‐ production services in Egypt and the region as a whole. “Cairo is booming again: Egypt is at the crossroads of East and West and there are so many talented individuals in this city. This megapolis with its tens of millions of inhabitants is a great centre from which to understand the world in a more nuanced way. This is at the heart of Newstag’s philosophy,” says CEO and Founder, Henrik Eklund. Chairman and Founder Camilla Dahlin-‐Andersson, who has had a long career in social services and academia, added: “We are taking our first steps towards serving this dynamic market and continent and this is a significant and exciting move for Newstag.” The opening of the Cairo bureau follows a $1.3m investment into Newstag from a group of private and institutional investors. In recent months, the company’s rapidly expanded its network of commercial and content partners as it gears up to launch its application. Newstag’s ‘mobile-‐first’ service will enable users to create their own personalised ‘tagstream’ – or TV Channel -‐ sharing the stories that they care about among their social networks. By radically rebalancing the traditional relationships between industry stakeholders, Newstag also offers users a unique opportunity to have a real impact on the world around them through the tagging brands and NGOs. CEO and Founder, Henrik Eklund, was AP’s Director of Digital Partnerships and Distribution in Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) and Asia. Before joining AP, Henrik was the founder and CEO of Kamera -‐ one of the world's leading mobile and online distributors. Prior to Kamera, Eklund founded PAN Interactive, one of Europe’s leading game publishers and distributors. Chairman and Founder, Camilla Dahlin-‐Andersson been a member of parliament and served on several boards for large institutions. She is currently completing her doctorate in Innovation Management at Stockholm School of Economics and Mälardalens University. www.newstag.com For more information please contact Sophie Toumazis sophie@tpr-‐media.com or Elizabeth Dunk elizabeth@tpr-‐media.com or call +44(0)208 347 7020 or +44(0)7974 428858
Cutting-edge tagging news video service appoints CTO Video expert Mats Ekholm joins Newstag as CTO Newstag, a crowd-curated video news service from Stockholm, has announced the appointment of Mat Ekholms as CTO in a move to support the company as it develops its innovative approach to news sharing through social media. Video expert Mats Ekholm brings over two decades of experience in the news, media and entertainment industries with an impressive track record of building world class solutions for video companies. Ekholm has previously been CTO at several international companies including Utd By Content and Kamera and has also worked with Ericsson. Besides managing development teams, as a programmer Ekholm has built systems including the APTN video net and the JPEP encoding technology, used for secure and efficient encoding of box office films and digital cinema. Ekholm says: “I’m glad to be joining Newstag at a stage where we can innovate at rapid speed. Newstag is set to handle video in a way not seen before and it’s a great challenge for me – I hope we’ll have a chance to make a real difference, not only from a digital perspective, but for the world as well.” Newstag CEO, Henrik Eklund, has described Ekholm’s appointment as a valuable development: “We’re extremely proud and happy to have Mats join our growing team of high calibre professionals in our quest to change the media landscape. Mats’ experience of working with fast moving time-sensitive video for large corporations is of immense value to us – he’s a true innovator of video technology.” The announcement follows an investment of $1.3m into Newstag from a group of private and institutional investors. In recent months, the company’s rapidly expanded its network of commercial and content partners as it gears up to launch its application later this Autumn. Newstag will bring together video news stories from content producers around the world, including AP and Reuters, as well as brands and NGOs. The ‘mobile-first’ service will enable users to create personalised video newscasts on their smartphones, tagging news, brands and NGOs to create relevant and customised feeds to consume and share with their peers through social networks. Newstag’s logo – the twelve sided figure or dodecahedron – reflects the multi-faceted nature of news in the 21st century and our relationship with it in today’s complex world. CEO and Founder, Henrik Eklund, was AP’s Director of Digital Partnerships and Distribution in Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) and Asia. Before joining AP, Henrik was the founder and CEO of Kamera - one of the world's leading mobile and online distributors. Prior to Kamera, Eklund founded PAN Interactive, one of Europe’s leading game publishers and distributors. For more information please contact Sophie Toumazis sophie@tpr-media.com or Elizabeth Dunk elizabeth@tpr-media.com or call +44(0)208 347 7020 or +44(0)7974 428858 www.newstag.com