Where the Injo Initiative Stands Today

Here is a summary of the Innovation Journalism Initiative 2003-2009. It will be presented on May 20 at the IJ-6 academic track - check out the IJ-6 academic track website

The article is published by the Innovation Journalism Publication Series. It will also appear as a chapter in the forthcoming "Handbook of Innovation Related Research Education" edited by Hans von Holst, Hung Nguyen and Jan Wikander.

(download the article http://www.innovationjournalism.org/archive/injo-6-1.pdf )

Innovation Journalism Vol. 6 No. 1 May 1, 2009

By David Nordfors

This article presents a review of the innovation journalism initiative so far. The novel concepts of innovation journalism, attention work and innovation communication systems are present

ed and put into context, explaining why journalism and communication may be considered important components of the innovation economy, as well as how this may benefit society. The need for a new definition of ‘journalism’ is discussed, suggesting a definition based on the relation between journalism and its audience, rather than on its relation to the medium it uses for communicating with the audience. The role of journalism in the innovation economy is a novel academic research field. The rationale for this research is presented together with examples of plausible research topics. Innovation journalism initiatives are emerging in several places around the world. The seminal VINNOVA Stanford initiative at Stanford University is presented together with the national initiatives in Sweden, Finland, Slovenia, Pakistan, Mexico, and the EU.