OHIO/Scripps College of Communication: Media Entrepreneurship Ecosystem at OHIO

Scripps College

of Communication

Building a Media Entrepreneurship

Ecosystem:Beyond the Classroom

Dr. Michelle Ferrier, Associate Dean for Innovation, Research/Creative Activity and Graduate Studies

Scripps Howard Journalism Entrepreneurship Institute,

January 8, 2015, Arizona State University

Associate Dean for Innovation | Associate Professor Scripps College of Communication, Ohio University, OH; [email protected]; Twitter: @mediaghosts

Vice President, Journalism That MattersFounder, Create or Die Startup Gatherings

Founder, LocallyGrownNews.com

Chief Investigator: Media Deserts Project

Mother of Google Maps

Educator

Entrepreneur

Mentor

Scholar

New Media

Innovator

Dr. Michelle Ferrier

Scripps College of Communication

Innovation Activities What was it?

BBS/Fax on Demand (Intrapreneur) Early technology adoption with members

NEAOnline (Intrapreneur) Developed first web presence for National Education

Association on AOL

SimSchool (Intrapreneur) Development of school system simulation at NEA

Education Insider (Entrepreneur) Magazine startup for parents of school-aged children

EHCWired.com (Intrapreneur) First independent online college news site; first online

course at the college (2002).

Media Power Lunch (Entrepreneur) Short, online learning for beginning journalists

(MediaBistro predecessor)

Highlands Family (Entrepreneur) Hyperlocal, hybrid online/print news for families in

Appalachia

CopyWash.com (Entrepreneur) Online copy editing services

Digital Identity/Reputation Management

(Entrepreneur)

Patent pending technology on managing identity from one

platform

MyTopiaCafe.com (Intrapreneur) Online community for newspaper nonsubscribers

LocallyGrownNews.com (Entrepreneur) Hyperlocal online news franchise

Michelle Ferrier: Innovation Activities in New Media


Adapting to an

Uncertain Future

“The pace of technological change will not abate. If

anything, it will continue to increase. To think of

this as a period of transition from one state to

another is unwise. How do we staff news

organizations with the appropriate kinds of

resources and the appropriate mindset such that

constant innovation is imbued into an

organization’s DNA and into the role of every

participant?”

– Richard Gingras, head of news products, Google.


New

Challenges/OpportunitiesFour strategic questions that

frame the new challenges and

opportunities for media

organizations.

Source: The Big Thaw: Charting a Future for

Journalism, Deifell, 2009.


Media Entrepreneurship

/InnovationNew Competitive Landscape:

How is the landscape changing?

New Sources of Value:

What needs can be met, problems solved or desires fulfilled?

New Distinctive Competencies:

What new capabilities are needed to succeed?

New Business Models:

How are media organizations structured to capture value?


This isn’t about startups.(but a way of thinking…and startups too.)

“We need to use these new

leadership practices in our

core business, because we

face so much uncertainty

and need to continue to

reinvent ourselves.”

-- Scott Cook, Co-founder,

Intuit.



Pathways to Innovation

Scripps Innovation Challenge: University-wide student media entrepreneurship competition.

Mobile Module: Two-week module taught by industry experts and infused throughout curriculum.

Game Research and Immersive Design Lab: Pre-incubation space for game development teams.

Innovation Center/Digital Media Incubator: Early-stage investment in student/graduate companies.

Joint Certificate in Entrepreneurship with Business

Partnerships with Accelerators: Internship opportunities for students with startup companies.

Dr. Michelle Ferrier, Elon University, @mediaghosts


Scripps College: Blend of

Academic/Experiential Programs

Classes: Online Journalism Development, Certificate

in Entrepreneurship; class participation in Scripps

Innovation Challenge.

Experiences: Scripps Innovation Challenge, GRID Lab

Incubator Program, Digital Media Incubator.

Hacking the Curriculum: Just-in-time learning

modules across many classes

Engaging Community: Media entrepreneurship

accelerator programs; Media Deserts Project.


What is the

Scripps Innovation Challenge?

The challenge is a student competition that

asks teams to come up with a startup

business/product/service/process based on

media and communication challenges.

Student teams compete for prizes totaling

$25,000.


2014 SIC Winners


Leah Petrovich: 2013 SIC Winner

"Throughout the interview I kept

selling SIC, and I told them it was

this really cool thing I was a part of

during college where I got to work

with a team of people, create and

flesh out this business idea, and

ultimately win $10,000.”

"When you have an experience

like that, in the startup world,

that's a Golden Ticket."


Startup Accelerator

Fellowships

Scripps Innovation

Challenge participant

and president of The

Ohio University

Entrepreneurship Club,

Alexander Harshaw,

spent his summer in

NYC as a digital media

intern at Dreamit

Ventures.


Scripps International

Innovators Cup

Colleges and universities pit their best student team around a new media business idea with other teams from around the world. Only one team per school may enter.

Teams compete for a $5,000 cash prize.


Challenges for 2015

Water Quality Alert System: Come up with a

way for citizens to report water quality issues.

Pushing Content to Large Groups: Create a

way to identify groups of people in a geographic

area and push content in real time.

Engaging Online Commenting: Empower

readers to proactively leave comments within

stories and drive conversations on websites.


Ohio University

Entrepreneurship

Ecosystem

1. University focus on

innovation and

entrepreneurship

through faculty

research, student

innovation and

curricular change.

2. Grow Your Own/

Partnerships with

external agencies with

roots at OHIO:

TechGrowth Ohio;

Adena Ventures,

Athena Ventures.


The OHIO Entrepreneurial

Ecosystem


OHIO University SystemCenter for Entrepreneurship in business school; joint

certificate program in media entrepreneurship; faculty

champion development and support.

Innovation Center: Partner on Digital Media Incubator

for student and community startups; Startup

Weekends; local meetups.

Technology Transfer Office

University Initiative on

innovation/entrepreneurship/social innovation.


OHIO Entrepreneurship

Ecosystem/Timeline

Ohio University Entrepreneurship Ecosystem/Timeline:

http://www.ohio.edu/research/communications/entrepreneurs.cfm

Lisa Delp, executive director of the Ohio Third Frontier program, says that the

Ohio University administration’s prioritization of technology commercialization

and entrepreneurship activities, as well as the ecosystem’s ability to unite and

energize existing regional programs—without duplicating efforts—has led to

progress. “What Southeast Ohio has done has really been

transformational,” she says. “Ohio University has focused not only on

reaching the local community in Athens, but reaching into the whole region

and making sure that different organizations and stakeholders are included.

That mission to help advance economic growth and development in

Southeast Ohio really shines through in the things that they do.”

http://www.ohio.edu/research/communications/entrepreneurs.cfm


Think/Do Innovation

Business Model Generation: Alexander Osterwalder and Yves Pigneur


Student Entrepreneurship

Skills and Knowledge1. Construct and deliver a pitch.

2. Conduct market research.

3. Conduct audience analysis.

4. Understand the entrepreneurial landscape/startup culture.

5. Conduct a competitive analysis.

6. Create a minimum viable product.

7. Read, understand and create financial statements.

Ferrier, Michelle. “Media Entrepreneurship: Curriculum Development and Faculty Perceptions of What

Students Should Know, Journalism & Mass Communication Educator, 2013.


Challenges for

Higher EducationFaculty champions

Credibility gap

Making it real

Professional culture

Pace of media evolution

Curriculum resources

Making it count

Ferrier, Michelle. “Media Entrepreneurship: Curriculum Development and Faculty Perceptions of What

Students Should Know, Journalism & Mass Communication Educator, 2013.


Building the Media

Entrepreneurship EcosystemAwareness: Scripps International Innovators Cup for student-led

innovation global competition.

Exchange: AEJMC Pre-Conference on Media Entrepreneurship in

August 2015; http://media-entrepreneurship-course-

development.wikispaces.com

Research: Two calls for special issues on media entrepreneurship

(Newspaper Research Journal, Journalism Practice).

Education: Scripps Howard Journalism Entrepreneurship

Institute; FB: Media Entrepreneurship group



For More Information

Dr. Michelle Ferrier

Associate Dean for Innovation, Research/Creative

Activity and Graduate Studies

740.593.9860

[email protected]

@mediaghosts

mailto:[email protected]