TRENDS IN NEWSROOMS 2008 WILL BE AVAILABLE ON JUNE 1. IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR WOULD LIKE TO PRE-ORDER THE REPORT, PLEASE CONTACT EDITORS WEBLOG EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, JEAN-YVES CHAINON AT jychainon@wan.asso.fr.

Looking to find out what editors-in-chief of the world’s newspapers think about the rapidly changing media landscape? Best practices in integrating your paper’s print and online operations? How about involving your readers in the news process? What about this social media phenomenon on which younger generations seem fixated? And what do actual editors think of their newspaper in this time of rapid change (see Newsroom Barometer)?

The answer to these and many more questions can be found in Trends in Newsrooms 2007, the third annual report from the World Editors Forum. Trends in Newsrooms is the world’s only complete, analytical guide to the monumental transformations taking place in the newspaper industry. From free papers to e-papers, citizen journalism to social media and integrated newsrooms to Internet aggregators, it has everything you need to know to direct your paper towards a multimedia future.

To begin with, Trends in Newsrooms includes the Newsroom Barometer, the first annual survey of newspaper editors from around the world organized by The World Editors Forum, Zogby and Reuters. 435 editors responded to questions about how new media is affecting journalism and how their newsrooms are adapting.

Overall, how optimistic are you about your newspaper's future?

Each of the following seven chapters includes an introduction summarizing the steps newspapers need to take in adapting to the changing media landscape, including a list of key developments that editors should share with their staff. These developments, as well as a wealth of information including interviews with top media executives, detailed descriptions of innovations at the world’s most recognized papers, and studies of paradigm-shifting Internet companies, are investigated in-depth within the text of each chapter.

Chapter 1: Integrate your newsroom step by step
Chapter 2: Interact With Your Readers
Chapter 3: Cooperate With Your Competitors
Chapter 4: Become A Portal For Your Region
Chapter 5: Create A Multi-Newspaper Newsroom
Chapter 6: Reach Young Readers Through Social Media
Chapter 7: Provide Tools For Personalized News

Top-specific boxes dig even further into prevalent issues. Conclusions to chapters include debates between top industry movers and shakers as well as case studies of exemplary papers from which all can learn. For example:

Chapter 2: Walking the ‘Middle Path’ of pro-am journalism, Jay Rosen, New York University and Pressthink blogger
Chapter 3: Regional papers cooperating for national exclusives: A case study of GPD, the Dutch Regional Newspaper Association. By John Burke, Editors Weblog
Chapter 5: Die Welt and its multi-newspaper newsroom: creating spinoff publications to expand reach. By Bertrand Pecquerie, World Editors Forum
Chapter 7: E-ink editions: no replacement of the print paper… yet! The results of Flemish financial daily De Tijd’s trials with e-paper. By Caroline Pauwels, Free Universtiy of Brussels.

Trends in Newsrooms 2007 is based on the best postings from the Editors Weblog (www.editorsweblog.org), a publication of WEF that tracks the daily innovations in newspapers around the world. The report’s articles not only include a history of best practices and analysis, but also suggestions for editors grappling with new media.

We hope the report informs and motivates you and your staff to transform your newsroom into a genuine multiplatform newspaper. Please do not hesitate to send us your feedback.