<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

<p>This article considers the extent to which action research can help local stakeholders tackle the permanent technological disruption in the media sector by reshaping journalistic production practices with original design by examining a specific case. The INJECT Norway (Innovative Journalism: Enhanced Creativity Tools) project was part of an EU Innovation Action with partners that included universities, technology companies, business consultancies, and local newspapers. The objective was to design a new tool for creativity support in journalism and stimulate innovation competence through a business ecosystem. The article evaluates the collaboration between academics and local partners in the Norwegian ecosystem regarding the workability of the new designs and the credibility of the approach. The evaluation is written as a chronological narrative of the project's collaboration from optimistic beginnings to eventual failure. The main findings reveal a tension between the academic researchers and the local project partners. Despite these tensions, the article concludes with a hopeful note about the current action research ecosystem: harnessing the power of students to mediate the relationship between academics and local partners.</p>
</abstract>

This article considers the extent to which action research can help local stakeholders tackle the permanent technological disruption in the media sector by reshaping journalistic production practices with original design by examining a specific case. The INJECT Norway (Innovative Journalism: Enhanced Creativity Tools) project was part of an EU Innovation Action with partners that included universities, technology companies, business consultancies, and local newspapers. The objective was to design a new tool for creativity support in journalism and stimulate innovation competence through a business ecosystem. The article evaluates the collaboration between academics and local partners in the Norwegian ecosystem regarding the workability of the new designs and the credibility of the approach. The evaluation is written as a chronological narrative of the project's collaboration from optimistic beginnings to eventual failure. The main findings reveal a tension between the academic researchers and the local project partners. Despite these tensions, the article concludes with a hopeful note about the current action research ecosystem: harnessing the power of students to mediate the relationship between academics and local partners.

Can action research improve local journalism?

Department of Information Science and Media Studies

Faculty of Management at the Cass Business School

Nordicom Review

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

A critical evaluation of the EU Innovation Action INJECT Norway

This article considers the extent to which action research can help local stakeholders tackle the permanent technological disruption in the media sector by...

Can action research improve local journalism?

Published Online: Oct 08, 2022

Page range: 171 - 189

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/nor-2022-0011

Keywords
action research, business ecosystem, EU Innovation Action, local newspapers, innovation competence

© 2022 Lars Nyre et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Can action research improve local journalism?

Published Online: Oct 08, 2022

Page range: 171 - 189

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/nor-2022-0011

Keywordsaction research, business ecosystem, EU Innovation Action, local newspapers, innovation competence

© 2022 Lars Nyre et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Keywords
action research, business ecosystem, EU Innovation Action, local newspapers, innovation competence