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Third Conference on Innovation Journalism

The third conference on Innovation Journalism is taking place at Stanford University (California) on April 5-7, 2006. The opening speaker is Vint Cerf, Father of the Internet and Chief Internet Evangelist of Google. The event is organized by David Nordfors, Innovation Journalism Program Leader at Stanford and also Commissioner of TCI for Innovation Journalism.

Innovation Journalism is journalism about innovations, including technical, business, legal and political aspects of innovations and innovation systems. Good Innovation Journalism contributes to society by enhancing the public debate through better common knowledge and understanding of innovation issues.

David Nordfors and Jan Sandred introduced Innovation Journalism to TCI members during the annual conferences in Ottawa and Hong Kong. "Innovation Journalism is very relevant for initiatives building innovative clusters. If you build an innovative cluster, it makes sense that you in parallel should develop the interest and skills among journalists to cover the issue. From my point of view, an Innovation Journalism initiative is a part of the cluster building toolbox", says David Nordfors.

Innovation Journalism has been made a part of the activities at SCIL (Stanford Center for Innovations in Learning) at Stanford University in early 2005 and since then has raised growing attention worldwide. Several countries like Sweden, Finland, Germany or just recently Pakistan have started innovation journalism programs.

The core of the conference shall be made up of an extensive scope of speakers ranging from journalist of nationally or globally leading publications (e.g. CNET News.com, Fortune, Affärsvärlden, Helsingin Sanomat and BBC), researchers and experts from Universities (e.g. Stanford University, Linköping University in Sweden, University of Helsinki in Finland, University of Hohenheim in Germany) to Innovation and/or Journalism experts affiliated to Google, SRI International, Vibacom, Slovenia or International Knowledge Cluster, Basque Country.

The first day of conference will be opened by Vint Cerf, father of the Internet and Chief Internet Evangelist of Google, followed by a panel discussion with editors from leading publications on the future of innovation journalism.

The second day of the conference is opened by Curtis Carlson, President SRI, and Almar Latour, Tech Editor, Wall Street Journal, talking about innovation as a discipline. This day also has a session on Innovation Communication, a concept spearheaded by the University of Hohenheim in Germany.

The third day of the conference discusses the role of journalism in innovation systems and policy for developing it. There will be presentations of Innovation Journalism Initiatives in Sweden, Finland, Germany, Pakistan, Slovenia and the Basque region in Spain.

You can pre-register on the website http://scil.stanford.edu/InJo-2006/signup.fft for this conference - participation is free of charge. If you are interested to participate, register soon as seats are limited. (Priority will be given to journalism professionals and speakers)

The latest version of the program is posted on http://www.innovationjournalism.org.

Preliminary Program of the Conference

Wed Apr 5: Innovation Journalism

9.15 - 9.50 a.m. Opening Speaker: Vint Cerf, Chief Internet Evangelist, Google; Chairmann ICANN

10.10 - 10.25 a.m. Innovative Journalism as a Base for Innovation Journalism
Amanda Termén, Innovation Journalism Fellow, Journalist Göteborgsposten, Sweden, hosted by CNET News.com

10.25 - 10.45 a.m. Discussion Panel
Michael Kanellos, Editor-at-Large, CNET News.com

11.10 - 11.25 a.m. How to do Innovation Journalism in Teams
Erika Ingvald, Innovation Journalism Fellow, Journalist
Elektroniktidningen, Sweden, hosted by PC World

11.25 - 11.45 a.m. Discussion Panel
Harry McCracken, Editor-in-Chief, PC World

2.40 - 2.55 p.m. Innovation Journalism timeframes - How to write about the future.
Jyrki Alkio, Innovation Journalism Fellow, Staff Writer Helsingin Sanomat, Finland, hosted by Red Herring
2.55 - 3.15 p.m. Discussion Panel
Jarmo Salmela, journalist, Finland
Lee Bruno, Editorial Director - Special Reports, The 451 Group, USA

3.15 - 3.30 p.m. The role of innovation journalism in business journalism
Erik Amcoff, Innovation Journalism Fellow, Editor at Affärsvärlden, Sweden, hosted by Wall Street Journal

3.30 - 3.50 p.m. Discussion Panel
Almar Latour, Technology Editor, Wall Street Journal, USA
Dan Gillmor (prel.)
Johan Jörgensen, Entrepreneur, Sweden. Innovation Journalism Fellow 2004.

3.50 - 4.05 p.m. How to integrate Business into Science Stories
Eva Barkeman, Innovation Journalism Fellow, Science Editor Aftonbladet, Sweden, hosted by Fortune.

4.05 - 4.25 p.m. Discussion Panel
Stuart Gannes, Director Reuters Digital Vision Fellowships, Stanford University; Fmr Science & Tech writer, Fortune, USA
Keith Devlin, Executive Director, Stanford Center for the Study of Language and Information; Co-Founder Media-X, Stanford University, USA
Marie Granmar, Editor-in-Chief, Process Nordic, Sweden. Innovation Journalism Fellow 2005.


Thu Apr 6: Innovation Journalism

9.30 - 9.45 a.m. The Significance of Blogging for Innovation Journalism
Patrick Baltatzis, Innovation Journalism Fellow, Editor at Entreprenör, Sweden, hosted by Business 2.0

9.45 - 10.05 a.m. Discussion Panel
Nicklas Mattsson, Editor-in-Chief, Entreprenör, Sweden
Martin Turner, Knight Fellow, Stanford University; Americas bureau chief, BBC, Washington, D.C., USA

10.30 - 10.45 a.m. Why daily papers don't cover startups and non-listed high-tech companies.
Thomas Frostberg, Innovation Journalism Fellow, Editor-in-Chief of Rapidus News Service, Sweden, hosted by San Francisco Chronicle

10.45 - 11.05 a.m. Discussion Panel
Harlan Jacobs, President, Genesis Business Centers, USA
Anders H. Pers, Business Angel, former Publisher Västmanlands Läns Tidning, chairman TT news agency and chairman TV4, Sweden
Janet Rae-Dupree, Knight Fellow, Stanford University; Contributing Editor, US News and World Report, USA

11.05 - 11.20 a.m. Being Wrong - A Limit Case
Gary Wolf, Knight Fellow, Stanford University; Contributing Editor, Wired Magazine, USA

11.20 - 11.40 a.m. Discussion Panel

11.40 - 11.55 a.m. Innovation Journalism for Innovative Thinking in Corporate Environments
Violeta Bulc, Founder and Director, Vibacom, Slovenia

11.55 - 12.15 p.m. Discussion Panel

12.45 - 2.00 p.m. Innovations as a Topic for Media Reporting: Implications of editorial strategies, news value and framing.
Klaus Spachmann, Assistant Professor for Journalism, Department of Communication Science, University of Hohenheim, Germany

2.00 - 2.20 p.m. Discussion Panel

2.20 - 2.35 p.m. Innovation and journalism -- an impossible equation?
Kaarle Nordenstreng, Professor of journalism and mass communication, University of Tampere, Finland

2.35 - 2.45 p.m. Discussion Panel
Theodore Glasser, Professor of Communication, Stanford University, USA

Thu Apr 6: Innovation Communication

3.05 - 3.20 p.m. New Perspectives on Innovation Communication. Findings from INNOVATE 2006, the 2nd German Trend Survey
Simone Huck, Assistant Professor for Corporate Communications, Department of Communication Science, University of Hohenheim, Germany

3.20 - 3.40 p.m. Discussion Panel
John Joss

3.40 - 3.55 p.m. Innovation Journalism in Tech Magazines:
Factors of Influence on Innovation Communication in Special Interest and Specialist Media.
Florian Krüger, Ph.D. student and researcher, Department of Communication Science, University of Hohenheim, Germany

4.10 - 4.25 p.m. Communication Strategies for Startups
Peter Svensson, Visiting Researcher, Stanford University, Ph.D. Candidate Linköping University, Sweden.

4.25 - 4.40 p.m. Discussion Panel
Frances Mann-Craik, President, Addison Marketing
Richard Horning, Principal, Fish & Richardson P.C.

4.40 - 4.55 p.m. A PR consultant's view of the social aspects of innovation journalism
Jan Sandred, Special Adviser, VINNOVA, Sweden. Innovation Journalism Fellow 2004

4.55 - 5.10 p.m. Discussion Panel

Fri Apr 7: Innovation Journalism Initiatives Around the World

9.00 - 9.15 a.m. The Innovation Journalism Programs at Stanford and in Sweden
David Nordfors, Innovation Journalism Program Leader, Stanford and Sweden

9.15 - 9.30 a.m. The Innovation Journalism Course at the Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden
Mats Nyberg, Project Leader, Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), Stockholm, Sweden

9.30 - 9.45 a.m. Discussion
Claes Thorson, Press Counsellor, Embassy of Sweden in Washington D.C., former Correspondent SVT, former Managing Director, TV4, Sweden

9.45 - 10.00 a.m. The Finnish National Innovation Journalism Fellowship Program
Seppo Sisättö, Lecturer, Political Science, University of Helsinki; Secretary, Finnish National Innovation Journalism Fellowship Program, Finland

10.00 - 10.15 a.m. Experiences from the Innovation Journalism Pilot Course in Jyväskylä
Turo Uskali, Visiting Scholar, Innovation Journalism, Stanford; Research Scholar, University of Jyväskylä, Finland

10.15 - 10.30 a.m. Discussion panel: Finnish Initiatives
Mary Kiely, Executive Director, Wallenberg Global Learning Network, Stanford, USA

10.45 - 11.00 a.m. The German Innovation Communication Program
Simone Huck, Assistant Professor for Corporate Communications, Department of Communication Science, University of Hohenheim, Germany

11.15 - 11.30 a.m. The Pakistan National Innovation Journalism Fellowship Program
Amir Jahangir, Pakistan

11.30 - 11.45 a.m. Discussion
Kevin Murphy, President, J.E. Austin Associates, USA
Alisa Weinstein, Senior Editor, Innovation Journalism, USA

11.45 - 12.00 p.m. Innovation Journalism in Slovenia
Violeta Bulc, President Vibacom, Slovenia
Polona Pibernik, Slovenia

12.00 - 12.15 p.m. Discussion

12.15 - 12.30 p.m. The Basque Initiative on Journalism and Innovation
Patricia Valdenebro, International Knowledge Cluster, Spain

12.30 - 12.45 p.m. Discussion


Fri Apr 7: The Role of Journalism in Innovation Systems

2.00 - 2.15 p.m. The Role of Journalism in forming the Public Perception of a New Industry
Stine Grodal, Doctoral Candidate, Management Science and Engineering, Stanford University, USA

2.15 - 2.30 p.m. Discussion Panel
Michael Borrus (prel.), Mohr Davidow Ventures, USA

2.30 - 2.45 p.m. Innovation journalism as an essential element in the new endogenous theory of growth. Results of the Finnish research program.
Erkki Kauhanen, Researcher and Journalist, the Journalism Research and Development Centre, University of Tampere, Finland

2.45 - 3.00 p.m. Discussion Panel
Antti Ainamo, Visiting Scholar, Stanford University, USA

3.15 - 4.00 p.m. The Role of Journalism in Innovation Systems
Curtis Carlson, President SRI, USA (to be confirmed)
Karin Markides, Deputy Director General, VINNOVA
Ellen Levy, Director of Industry Collaboration and Research, Media X, Stanford University; Network Advisor, Draper Fisher Jurvetson,
Patrick Windham, Lecturer, Public Policy Program, Stanford University, USA


Contacts/Conference Committee

David Nordfors, Conference Co-Chair
Senior Research Scholar - Innovation Journalism, SCIL, Stanford University, U.S.; Program Leader Innovation Journalism, VINNOVA, Sweden.
nordfors @ stanford.edu

Stig Hagström, Conference Co-Chair
Co-Director, SCIL, Professor, Stanford University, U.S.

Annette Eldredge, Conference Coordinator
SCIL, Stanford University, U.S.,
Eldredge @ stanford.edu,
+1 (650) 724-6483

Melinda Sacks, Conference Press Contact
Director of Communications, SCIL, U.S,
msacks @ stanford.edu,
+1 (650) 924-0139

Peter Svensson, Visiting Researcher - Innovation Communication, SCIL
Turo Uskali, Visiting Scholar - Innovation Journalism, SCIL