Springer Verlag, the private broadcaster ProSiebenSat.1, and even the flagship of the public broadcasters, the Tagesschau, are doing it: More and more established institutions in the media and corporate sectors are switching to cross-media newsrooms for their editorial teams. Information and opinion formation today take place across many channels. Television, which some have almost declared dead, is now one of many sources in a diverse media landscape. Even fans of the Tagesschau no longer only get their information from the evening ratings hit, but also check the internet hours beforehand. The offerings there have grown steadily in recent years, but editors from programs for linear television and other media channels have not always sat together.
Why the industry is breaking new ground with cross-media concepts
The concept of cross-media newsrooms brings together the various channels in an increasing number of media companies. To ensure that audiences find their news where they’re looking for it—on the website, on Instagram, in regular TV programs—media organizations are consolidating websites, the editorial departments of traditional TV formats, and social media at central locations.
Why are editorial departments merged into cross-media teams?
The online sector has also grown rapidly in public broadcasting institutions in recent years. With their new news concept, the broadcasters are responding to the overall development in media production.
Journalistic expertise is consolidated under one roof, ensuring news products of consistent, high quality, regardless of the distribution channel. Within the teams, which also work together in the same location, the paths for inspiring and motivating exchange are now significantly shorter. At the same time, the consolidated editorial departments offer maximum flexibility, as they can react quickly to changes in the news situation at any time thanks to a live studio and the editorial departments located directly next door.
Last but not least, the conversion to a cross-media news center gives the institutions the opportunity to upgrade their technology to the latest level. Conversion and new construction projects such as the new ARD News Center, the new Axel Springer building for the WELT newspaper, or the Media House Campus in Aachen are setting qualitative standards in news production and distribution.
What advantages does the cross-media newsroom bring to clients?
Cross-channel collaboration and teamwork across all editorial departments primarily promote the efficiency of all services. In news journalism, quality is key, but speed is also crucial. Audiences no longer wait for their daily dose of news from around the world at 8 p.m. sharp. Instead, news streams across websites every second. Especially in breaking news situations, fast and reliable information gathering is crucial. Interconnected distribution channels of the media authorities ensure that current information reaches users as quickly as possible – online, on social media, and ultimately on linear television.
Where the internet, television, print media, and radio converge, synergies and new ways of working emerge. Production processes, technology, and the demands of editorial work have changed. In response, the media authorities are consolidating their work areas into a cross-media newsroom, thus adapting to the conditions imposed by technological developments for news journalism.
New architecture for new paths: structural features
In venerable media and television buildings such as the WDR Filmhaus, it’s not just the workplaces and media that are changing. Where editorial program monitoring is to take place with the help of the Panoo multiview set-top box and similar concepts, the surrounding environment is also undergoing significant changes. Renovation and reconstruction work is often required to adapt the architecture of existing production spaces to the new working conditions. In addition to updating fire safety regulations, the architecture reflects current developments with spacious, open-plan concepts. Small, isolated offices are being transformed into flexible work areas in spacious rooms that structurally emphasize the necessary teamwork of all employees. Where possible, the existing building structure is being incorporated and planned with resource-saving measures in mind. Saving energy and using raw materials carefully are also part of current and future working practices, both in the media sector and in the construction planning that will implement the new newsrooms. At the same time, economic aspects are crucial, because cross-media newsrooms should not only save time while maintaining consistent quality, but must also be economically viable.
On the way to becoming a cross-media media house: Examples from the media landscape
They’re growing up in Berlin or Zurich, in Unterföhring or Aachen: The multimedia news centers of the media authorities are setting new standards in major media locations. A look at some prominent recent examples shows how significant the restructuring of the news industry is – and how groundbreaking developments can be visually implemented using modern architecture.
Tagesschau newsroom
Where the editorial teams of Tagesschau, the website “tagesschau.de,” and the separate news channel “tagesschau24” once developed their content completely separately, a new wind is now blowing. The new, shared newsroom was built in the Hamburg district of Lokstedt, where Mayor Peter Tschentscher traveled especially for the opening of the news center. Since autumn 2019, the “Tagesschau family” has been working together in approximately 2,000 square meters to deliver the institution’s renowned, reputable quality across all channels. The new building on the NDR campus is structurally connected to the previous ARD-aktuell building; both were designed by the Braunschweig-based team at struhkarchitekten. The network between NDR and ARD-aktuell has also become more tightly connected. Short news, reports, and features for the north, from across the country, and around the world are delivered to the public faster and on all channels, thanks to cross-media concepts and the latest technology.
ORF newsroom
The trend toward cross-media newsrooms can be observed not only in Germany, but throughout the DACH region. The Austrian Broadcasting Corporation (ORF) created a multimedia newsroom in a promising construction project on Vienna’s Küniglberg in a multi-million-euro project. Around 350 employees began work in the light-filled rooms of the new building in summer 2022. The approximately 3,200 square meters are not only home to editors – the sustainable and state-of-the-art concept also includes 14 bee colonies that were specially established not far from the building. Küniglberg also provides a spatial convergence for TV, radio, and online editorial departments, whose workspaces had long overlapped, at least digitally. In addition to the 200-square-meter news studio, the building offers two journal studios, private rooms, meeting rooms, and director’s stations on two floors. The information teams from Ö1, Ö3, ORF On, FM4, and Radio-Religion will work here in the future.
The WELT from the new Axel Springer building
The TV, digital, and print editorial departments at the WELT media group have long been working together as one team, in phases. The new Axel Springer building in the state capital on the Spree River provided the spatial opportunity for this. In autumn 2020, the spectacular cube was opened between the existing publishing buildings. Located in the heart of the historic newspaper district, where the German-German border once divided the capital, the design by star architect Rem Koolhaas now stands. Around 3,500 multimedia workstations and approximately 10,000 square meters of space are spread across 13 floors. The black facade with its seemingly endless glass facades is just as impressive as the green roof garden, where grapes, strawberries, and herbs grow while employees relax or sit down in the bar or restaurant for their lunch break. From here, the news of the Welt TV channel, “Welt am Sonntag,” and the daily newspaper “Welt” are broadcast. Editor-in-chief Ulf Poschardt saw in the architectural implementation of the cross-media concept a voice of liberal reason “at the avant-garde point for future work – digital, aesthetic and intellectual.”
