City Research Online

Abstract

News organisations are seeking to innovate but face constraints related to time and resources for experimentation. In response, many have established in-house “labs” to support the development and testing of new ideas. This multi-national study explores how these media sandboxes operate within public service and commercial news outlets in Western Europe, as well as what they suggest about change within the journalistic field. Interviews with leaders from 12 diverse European media labs reveal the existence of three archetypes of news innovation labs: those focused on creativity and originality, those driven by business validation, and those that interpret innovation through educational programmes. Results show that innovative projects aim to serve both the parent organisations and their audiences to maintain their position in their respective countries’ journalistic landscape. But respondents highlighted challenges including cultural resistance, organisational complexity, and funding issues, which differ among European countries.

Publication Type:	Article
Additional Information:	This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Journalism Studies on 26 Nov 2025, available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/1461670X.2025.2594650
Publisher Keywords:	Experimentation, European Media Ecosystem, Innovation, Media Labs, Sandbox
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HN Social history and conditions. Social problems. Social reform P Language and Literature > PN Literature (General) Q Science > QA Mathematics > QA75 Electronic computers. Computer science
Departments:	School of Communication & Creativity School of Communication & Creativity > Department of Journalism
SWORD Depositor:	Symplectic Administrator

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