Judges announced for XMA Cross Media Awards

28 Jun 2011

PARIS, FRANCE, DARMSTADT, GERMANY: Publishers from around the world are submitting their latest paid-for apps to a leading panel of media professionals for the 2011 XMA Cross Media Awards, which will showcase the best smartphone/tablet apps from newspaper and magazine publishers.

There is still time to join them; the deadline for entries has been extended to 15 July, and full information can be found at http://www.wan-ifra.org/xma.

The awards, presented annually by the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA), focuses on creative examples of cross-media publishing. Only paid-for apps qualify for this year's awards: in addition to presenting compelling content and useful services, the winners must demonstrate well-conceived business models.

The panel of judges for the 6th annual XMA awards includes: Mario Garcia, CEO of Garcia Media Group; Chris Courtney, a designer at apptivate.me and a member of the Society of News Design; Matt McAlister, director of digital strategy at Guardian Media Group; Rodger Fidler, director for digital publishing at the Reynolds Journalism Institute; Matthias Kretschmer, CEO of the online consultancy Xalmiento; Meinolf Ellers, managing director of dpa-infocom, the German News Agency's multimedia subsidiary; Mariam M. Mathew, COO of Manorama Online in India; and Stig Nordqvist, executive director for Emerging Digital Platforms and Business Development at WAN-IFRA.

Open to all newspaper and magazine publishers

The competition is open to all newspaper and magazine publishers. Apps can be news-related or services-based, or combine the two elements. The judges will consider design, content, multimedia integration, navigation, results and the business model.

"Smartphone and tablet apps represent a unique chance to win back readers and increase loyalty," said Christoph Riess, CEO of WAN-IFRA. "Apps also present an opportunity to teach a new generation that content has real value - so people should pay for it."

The 10 best entries will be honoured at the XMA Cross Media Awards Ceremony, to be held on 10th October 2011 at IFRA Expo in Vienna, WAN-IFRA's flagship event for the news publishing industry. There will be a dedicated area in the exhibition hall that showcases all winning apps. Full details on "Newspaper Week" activities - IFRA Expo, the World Newspaper Congress and World Editors Forum, can be found at www.worldnewspaperweek.org.

For more information, go to www.wan-ifra.org/xma.

Source: WAN-IFRA

WAN-IFRA, based in Paris, France, and Darmstadt, Germany, with subsidiaries in Singapore, India, Spain, France and Sweden, is the global organisation of the world’s newspapers and news publishers. It represents more than 18 000 publications, 15 000 online sites and over 3000 companies in more than 120 countries. The organisation was created by the merger of the World Association of Newspapers and IFRA, the research and service organisation for the news publishing industry.

Go to: http://www.wan-ifra.org