WHAT'S NEXT: INNOVATIONS IN NEWSPAPERS

The Daily Mail reports:

Prince Charles was accused of hypocrisy last night for using a private jet on an ‘environmental’ tour of South America.

The prince will travel to the region next month in a visit costing an estimated £300,000 as part of his crusade against global warming.

He will use a luxury airliner to transport himself, the Duchess of Cornwall and a 14-strong entourage to Chile, Brazil and Ecuador on a 16,400-mile round trip.

In the picture  the Royal Airbus A319 which seats 29. As a commercial plane it could have carried 134.

See here the first NYTIMES.COM prototype, which The New York Times has released in order to get feedback.

Boring.

Why not follow the fantastic new grid of Typeneu?

Let me show you some of the background work and prototypes that we did for the new REVISTA ÚNICA.

I remember that after several brainstorming sessions with INNOVATION’s Juan Caño, Marta Botero and the editor of EXPRESSO, Henrique Monteiro, we decided to imagine a cover story that could be a good example of the new “fusion journalism” concept that we were trying to instill in the project.

It was Juan who came up with the idea of Portugolfe.

Yes, we wanted a single topic every week.

But it couldn’t be an timeless issue.

We wanted a “newsy” magazine.

So, the Portugolfe idea was perfect.

Portugal has become the new paradise for golf players.

Great golf clubs.

Great facilities.

Great players.

And many tourists from around the world willing to play their favorite sport in this great country.

So, we started developing ideas with different angles, different approaches and different styles for the coverage of this main topic.

The cover could be a “why” one: Why is Portugal the new mecca for Golf?

Next, we went on to the opening spread, and Guillermo came up with this one:

And then we started with the “fusion” mix.

Let’s do fashion, Marta Botero said.

And we came up with this double spread: Retro Golf Fashion.

What about Money?

Cristiano Ronaldo invests in golf developments, Henrique Monteiro told us.

Like Donald Trump or David Beckham …

So, this was the new angle for the Portugolfe macro cover story:

Money, Money, Money.

And what if we do a “third age” story around golf …

Why not?

So, a new piece was added to the Portugolfe menu:

Wait a minute, Juan Caño said in our brainstorm, we need to tell our readers which are the best golf fields in the country.

Perfect.

Let’s do the top 10, explain why they are the best, and include great infographics showing the most exciting holes!

Done.

OK, but let’s not forget that golf is one of the main tourist attractions.

And we did a story about them.

The golf tourists.

Mafalda Anjos, the new editor of REVISTA ÚNICA, went to New York and did this first prototype with Guillermo Nagore.

Back in Lisbon, we presented our idea to the top management of EXPRESSO.

As always, Francisco Pinto Balsemao, the founder of the leading newspaper of Portugal, was taking a lot of notes during the presentation.

We ended and he said: “Yes, I love it.”

We knew that:

Francisco Pinto Balsemao loves golf!

Well, that’s the most important lesson for any consulting project:

Know your client’s passions.

And the founder of EXPRESSO loves golf and journalism!

So, “fusion journalism” was not difficult.

What you need is just publishers, editors and reporters who are passionate for journalism.

Like in EXPRESSO, like in REVISTA ÚNICA.

That’s all.

And I hope that the Society for News Design (SND) judges gave us this GOLD Award because they saw that this was, and it is every week, a work of love.

Thank you!

If you don’t read Martin Wolf, do it!

Today’s “instant anaylisis” about Why Obama’s new Tarp will fail to rescue the banks is one of his most brilliant.

A sample:

What is needed? The answer is: focus and ferocity. If Mr Obama does not fix this crisis, all he hopes from his presidency will be lost. If he does, he can reshape the agenda. Hoping for the best is foolish. He should expect the worst and act accordingly.

His column is really hard on Obama and his economic team.

But I think that he is right.

Washington politics will not go away in 100 days, but the financial crisis cannot wait longer and longer.

So, the Financial Times’ Martin Wolf is doing what a great newspaper columnist has to do.

Be direct.

Clear.

Blunt.

With no fear.

Bravo!

Watch here this fantastic recent PBS interview by Charlie Rose with Martin Wolf.

A good question.

But perhaps a newspaper needs to do a little more.

Like try to answer it.

Readers need explanations, not more questions.

And, please, get rid of this crazy news banner about Romantic getaways.

Gosh!

The New York Times Room for Debate blog presents good, bad, new and old arguments about the future of print newspapers.

The problem is that any plan that doesn’t consider print as just one of the different platforms of the new 24/7 integrated multimedia newsroom will not work.

Our core business is not printing.

Our core business is storytelling, by all means, all the time.

We need integrated plans.

Not mono-media solutions.

Thanks to Nick.

(Picture by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

These are some of the fantastic ads from the launch campaign for REVISTA ÚNICA.

As always, the ideas of Monica Balsemao, the marketing director for EXPRESSO, were very helpful to present the essence of the new SND gold award-winning magazine.

Before and after.

This is the dramatic change for REVISTA UNICA, one of the four publications in the world this year to win a GOLD award from the Society for News Design (SND).

INNOVATION’s Guillermo Nagore did the new graphic concept.

Toronto’s Globe & Mail blogger Mathew Ingram writes in the Nieman Journalism Lab:

What newspapers need to do is find ways of creating content that is more valuable than the perishable daily news — either by finding material that no one else has, or packaging it in a certain way, or by creating relationships around that content that draw people in — so that their readers either volunteer to pay, or spend more time with that content and as a result become more valuable to advertisers.

Amen.

INNOVATION’s redesign of REVISTA ÚNICA has won a Gold Award in this year’s world SND competition.

ÚNICA was the old magazine.

REVISTA ÚNICA is the new one.

Our first project in “fusion journalism” which Marta Botero, Juan Cano and I created for the weekend magazine of EXPRESSO, the leading newspaper in Portugal.

The new graphic formula was developed by INNOVATION’s Guillermo Nagore in New York.

Guillermo did one of his best redesigns, after launching the terrific new CORREIO in Brazil.

Another dramatic change.

The team from EXPRESSO, led by editor Henrique Monteiro, and the new editor of REVISTA ÚNICA, Mafalda Anjos, did a super job.