This is the weekend edition of TheMarioBlog and will be updated as needed. The next blog post is April 30.

Updated, Friday, April 27, Lake Konstanz, Germany, 11:56

While a recent study from the Reuters Institute focuses on Asia, I recommend that you read the results, as I see applications beyond a specific geographic location.

This study highlights Asia’s top 3 technology trends in 2018, but my main interest is in the second one, adapting content for mobile.

I have read this study while conducting daily workshops for the entire newsroom team of Germany’s regional daily, Sudkurier (www.suedkurier.de), where the emphasis of my talks has been to shift attention to how content moves across platforms, but with emphasis on mobile.

According to the Reuters study:

Almost half of publishers (44%) surveyed see subscriptions as a very important source of digital revenue in 2018.

The authors of the study offer specific figures as to the boom in mobile internet users, which leads publishers to reimagine content for mobile and attracting subscribers through that platform.

This is a universal theme, and one that should resonate with editors and publishers everywhere. What are some steps necessary to focus on mobile content?

Have an honest discussion of the role print plays in your organization. Don’t kill print, but adapt it to the digital era. This, in turn, will move attention to storytelling for digital platforms.
Appoint a content manager who will be the “traffic cop” for how a story flows during a news cycle, across platforms.
Learn to emphasize the story, not the platform.

For these steps to work, first, there must be a change of mentality in the newsroom, one that favors the story over pages or page views. Then, an understanding that each platform the audience may use could offer different possibilities, and we must explore them. There is NOT one way to present a story, but several.

Once the mentality has been set go on mobile storytelling, then the creation of templates is the next step.

Philippine Daily Inquirer wins Gold for Page One Design

What great news to start the weekend: Congratulations to the talented team of the Philippine Daily Inquirer for winning Gold in the Best Page One Design category for this Sunday front. I was honored to work with the team on a total redesign and rethink of their newspaper, and now the results are obvious! Bravo! Hope it is a big merienda with bubbly to celebrate. Wish I were there.

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/…/inquirer-bags-gold-for-best-…

Six tips for digital storytelling (the video)

Evangelischer Presseverband für Bayern e.V.

My short article with “six tips for storytelling” is online (German only):

https://www.sonntagsblatt.de/artikel/digitalisierung/medien/mario-garcia-sechs-tipps-fuer-gutes-storytelling

The Interview is also online:

https://youtu.be/6K1qJoupORY

This week

Reporting this week from one of the most scenic spots in Germany, Lake Konstanz, where we wrap up the so called SHIFT project with the regional daily Sudkurier.

This is a digital strategy project and this week I will be conducting training sessions for all journalists in the team.

Will report on highlights during the week.

Sudkurier relaunches website with new look June 19.

Thanks for the illustration!

I am always honored when an illustrator does an illustration of me. I collect them and cherish them. The latest one, received today, comes from Serbian-based Nash Chovek, which is the alias of the illustrator/calligrapher Vladimir Radibratovic. Thank you very much, Maestro, for illustrations that I like very much and will always treasure.

Vladimir writes me that he is very available to help publications worldwide with illustrations.

“Editorial illustration for newspapers or magazines, the one that tells the story, is my favorite calling of all, it is the reason I gave up architecture I studied first, and got into the Academy of Applied Arts. I hope many people come into my website and take a look at my illustrations. I am ready to help.”

You can see more of Nash Chovek’s work here: