Presentation given at the European Media Management Association (EMMA) conference. Paris, February 13th and 14th, 2009. Paper abstract: Embedded publishing refers to the rising phenomenon of organisations and individuals who have started publications in support of their primary goal. This ranges from blogging politicians to professional football clubs offering web television to their fans. Their products, which are often offered to the audience free of charge, might pose a serious threat to incumbent media. Because these new publishers now are their own media outlet, they become less dependent of the traditional media for getting their messages across. This paper presents an analysis of eight Flemish and Dutch embedded publishers and conceptualises the results of this case study. Subsequently, it offers five strategies for especially the newspaper industry to deal with this new development.

1. A Silent Revolution
Embedded publishing and it’s
consequences for the newspaper sector
Sander Spek, Jan Bierhoff
INM-EC/DC
Zuyd University
The Netherlands

2. Flemish E-publishing Trends
• Strategic research
• Multi-disciplinairy
• Focus on production, content,
and user
• Validation tracks
– www.fleet-research.be (en)
– www.fleet-project.be (nl)

3. Agenda
• Embedded publishing
• Embedded publishers: cases studies
• Motives
• Characteristics
• Implications and strategies

4. Embedded publishers?
• Organisations and professionals that
publish on a regular basis and a
significant scale…

5. Embedded publishers?
• Organisations and professionals that
publish on a regular basis and a
significant scale…
• …but that don’t do so for the publishing
itself. It’s just a mean, in support of a
main goal.

6. Embedded Publishing
Source-generated Content

7. Business goals

8. Political goals

9. Public safety

10. Science

11. Or higher goals

12. What is happening here?
• Why are these organisations and
persons doing this?
• What does it mean for traditional
independent media?

13. Motives

14. Motives
First of all:
Because now they can

15. Motives
Secondly:
Discontent about the
current media

16. Discontent
• Unfair business model
• Media coverage of themselves
• Media coverage in general
• But also happy customers

17. Characteristics
Control-driven

18. Characteristics
Stake-driven

19. Characteristics
Instrumental

20. Characteristics
Freedom of format

21. Characteristics
Refuge for
talent

22. Characteristics
Incremental
(incidental?)
growth

23. Five strategy options

24. 1 – Counter
• Focus on own strength,
and the flaws of EP
• Be the independent and
qualitative alternative
• Innovate content and form

25. 2 – Allow-in
• Open up
• Yet separate

26. 3 – Collaborate
• Joint venture
• Selected partners
• Blending of editorial
and commercial content

27. 4 – Facilitate
• The brand as a platform
• Portal function
• Focus on skills of packaging content
and reaching large audiences

28. 5 – Service
• Provide journalistic services to
embedded publishers
• Focus on skills of content creation

29. Conclusions
• EP is a silent revolution
• EP is growing and becoming
more of a threat to incumbent
media
• Newspapers need to come
up with strategies. We’ve
presented five models.

30. Thank you
• Sander Spek
a.spek@hszuyd.nl
• Jan Bierhoff
jan.bierhoff@hszuyd.nl