A Newsplex webinar: The newsroom of the future

The webinar will begin at 1400 (Eastern Standard Time in the US, 2100 GMT, 2300 South Africa).

The first hour will focus on the lessons learned during the media transformation that has occurred in the 10 years since the World Association and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) opened its prototype newsroom of the future and training facility, Newsplex, at the University of South Carolina.

The second hour of the webinar will focus on the future of news publishing and innovations in newsrooms.

Other participants will include Cherilyn Ireton, WEF executive director; Western Kentucky University Professor Kerry Northrup, who conceived Newsplex; Saf Fahim, the architect who designed Newsplex; former BBC training executive Jonathan Halls, who now provides leadership workshops for media organisations; as well as working journalists from around the world who trained in Newsplex.

Present in Newsplex will be Charles Bierbauer, the dean of the University of South Carolina College of Mass Communications and Information Studies; USC journalism faculty and students; as well members of the Southern Newspaper Publishers Association.

"The program will feature an extraordinary line-up of analysts to discuss trends, and be presented in a digital format that will make it possible for media professionals to participate without leaving their offices," said SNPA executive director Edward Van Horn.

Change, innovation

Ireton said: "The Newsplex brand is synonymous with newsroom change and innovation around the world. With the recent opening of Newsplex facilities in France and Singapore, it is appropriate to step back to see how far we have come and to look forward to see what is in front of us."

The webinar will be accessible via the Newsplex website. Using Spreecast technology, webinar viewers will be able to text their comments and questions throughout the event. Afterward, excerpts from the webinar will accessible through the Newsplex website.

"A lot has happened in 10 years, so we are going to have a lot to talk about," said Newsplex Director Randy Covington, who added that Newsplex's current physical facility will close in February.

"We aren't going away," he said. "We will still offer the same training and services, and when construction of our new school of journalism is finished, there will be a new newsroom of the future. In the interim, we will live in the virtual world, just like so many in new media."