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During recent decades new players, forms, and practices have been entering the journalism field, prompting a re-examination of journalism’s professional and organizational boundaries. Many scholars argue for expanding the scope of journalism studies beyond the newsrooms to encompass actors labelled as strangers, peripheral players, or interlopers. Those actors do not belong to traditional journalism but are becoming involved in the production of news, challenging journalism borders from the inside and out. Their influence has been growing and scholarship is increasingly mapping out these strangers and assessing their role in journalism innovation. In this article, we examine the role of one type of implicit interloper in journalism innovation: media-tech companies. We consider companies that provide video management and virtual reality services as implicit interlopers, due to their connection to journalism through the boundary object of news production and lack of claim over journalistic authority. We argue that media-tech companies have been under-researched based on a review of literature on innovation according to Holton and Belair-Gagnon’s (2018) typology of interlopers. Therefore, we examine what kind of innovation comes from the periphery of journalism, and the prerequisites for and the role of those innovations in the context of a specific cluster. We conducted a case study of Media City Bergen based on a thematic analysis of semi-structured elite interviews with executives of media-tech companies. Our findings show how media-tech companies bring innovation to production and distribution, content, and content consumption. Furthermore, they show how disruptiveness and the degree of innovations change with the maturation of the cluster.

Cross-sector collaboration combining public (non-commercial) and private (commercial) organisational orientations is considered an advantageous and dynamic strategic approach to shared value creation and co-creative innovation in disruptive operational environments of media industries. However, cross-sector collaboration features inherent complexities and organisational tensions due to the fundamental differences between the actors’ strategies and operational models. This article explores organisational tensions and dualities in media work in the cross-sector collaboration of media clusters. The qualitative case study examines the development of the management approach and practical operations of the Finnish media cluster Mediapolis, which aims to produce value, especially through collaborative content and concept innovation. The case study builds on extensive empirical material collected since the Mediapolis project started in 2011 until 2018. The analysis focuses on the management of complexities and organisational tensions in implementing collaborative strategies at Mediapolis, as well as managing the shared operations and work of the cluster. The results reveal tensions between the core dualities in developing Mediapolis as a collaborative arrangement between the participating organisations in practice, despite shared strategic-level aspirations. The findings elaborate on the dynamics of different organisational orientations and business logics, discrepancies between visionary planning and practical actions, and opposing organisational interests and strategies as sources for organisational tensions in collaborative contexts. The article contributes to both the theoretical and practical knowledge on organisational tensions and their management in cross-sector collaboration in media cluster development and provides implications for managing respective complexities in media work.

Cross-sector collaboration combining public (non-commercial) and private (commercial) organisational orientations is considered an advantageous and dynamic strategic approach to shared value creation and co-creative innovation in disruptive operational environments of media industries. However, cross-sector collaboration features inherent complexities and organisational tensions due to the fundamental differences between the actors' strategies and operational models. This article explores organisational tensions and dualities in media work in the cross-sector collaboration of media clusters. The qualitative case study examines the development of the management approach and practical operations of the Finnish media cluster Mediapolis, which aims to produce value, especially through collaborative content and concept innovation. The case study builds on extensive empirical material collected since the Mediapolis project started in 2011 until 2018. The analysis focuses on the management of complexities and organisational tensions in implementing collaborative strategies at Mediapolis, as well as managing the shared operations and work of the cluster. The results reveal tensions between the core dualities in developing Mediapolis as a collaborative arrangement between the participating organisations in practice, despite shared strategic-level aspirations. The findings elaborate on the dynamics of different organisational orientations and business logics, discrepancies between visionary planning and practical actions, and opposing organisational interests and strategies as sources for organisational tensions in collaborative contexts. The article contributes to both the theoretical and practical knowledge on organisational tensions and their management in cross-sector collaboration in media cluster development and provides implications for managing respective complexities in media work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses the most commonly used methods to identify industry clusters by applying them to Brussels’ media industry data. The results are compared and benefits as well as limitations are highlighted. The resulting implications for industry cluster research and policy-making are subsequently discussed. It is found that a mixed-methods approach (compared with the application of a single method) can reveal important patterns of industry cluster formation, and that future research should make purpose-driven choices on methods based on known limitations and benefits within the research process.

This paper analyses the most commonly used methods to identify industry clusters by applying them to Brussels' media industry data. The results are compared and benefits as well as limitations are highlighted. The resulting implications for industry cluster research and policy-making are subsequently discussed. It is found that a mixed-methods approach (compared with the application of a single method) can reveal important patterns of industry cluster formation, and that future research should make purpose-driven choices on methods based on known limitations and benefits within the research process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is no consensus in the literature about how successful media clusters can be developed. Using insights from workshops and survey data, this study develops and tests a new model that explains why media activities agglomerate at certain places. The model consists of four economic drivers: urbanization, localization, agglomeration and perception economies. The findings emphasize that a one-size-fits-all policy regarding media cluster development is best avoided, due to the high levels of heterogeneity in the conditions for success. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Online video consumption is growing strongly, opening up opportunities for new players to enter this evolving market. Media clusters can capitalise on this trend by trying to attract some of these new actors. In any case, there is not a lot of insight about location decisions of online video producers as of yet. To identify these factors, all 1,910 professional producers distributing their online video content on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and Twitch in Germany were identified and surveyed. The data from 101 respondents show significant differences between producers located in and outside media clusters for 23 of 26 items operationalising the importance of exogenous and endogenous agglomeration factors. The survey data were then used to develop a model with five principal components (Network Building, Media Ecosystem, Human Resources, Public Funding/Infrastructure and Personal Lifestyle options) and 13 variables, which may be used to elaborate a broader model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Is the clustering of audio-visual companies in London's Soho really the same as the clustering of Berlin's new media industry? The media cluster approach has gained a lot of attention not only in academia, but also in political discourse. But, as appealing as the media cluster concept is, one of the most fundamental issues is the comparability of the phenomenon. This article tackles this issue and an analysis of 43 case studies has been conducted. The case studies have been grouped to find a new typology for media clusters. The research revealed six different types: The Creative Region, the Giant Anchor, the Specialized Area, the Attracting Enabler, the Real Estate and the Pooling Initiative. The typologies showed that they distinguish especially in their geographical scale and specialization in media activities, while at the same time cluster types can be found in the same area. They are driven by four rationales: agglomeration, urbanization, localization economies and artificial formation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A push by governments to foster the development of local media clusters is currently taking place. This newly emerged focus is responsible for cities, regions, nations and scholars investing in better understanding media clusters. Yet, there is no common method for mapping the phenomenon in terms of key variables. This article proposes a framework in which empirical observations as well as theoretical considerations can be placed to fill the gap. The framework consists of seven parameters: place, proximity, population, profile, path-dependency, policy and performance. These parameters unite several heterogeneous approaches towards media clusters into one common analysis framework. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]