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News UK has launched its own startup lab as it grapples with the fake news era

Swingeing cuts to news teams and declining trust in the media, not to mention encroachment from internet giants like Facebook and Google, have saw many news publishers struggle to adapt and remain profitable in the face of such monumental shifts.

In an age where the President of the United States can make policy announcements directly to the world without any mediation from his press office or the press at large, where exactly do the incumbent news publishers fit in?

US media behemoth News Corporation is exploring just that question after its News UK subsidiary, which publishes the likes of The Times, The Sunday Times and The Sun, launched its own Startup Lab this week.

The month-long incubator programme, which will be based at disruptive ad tech firm Unruly’s base in London, is canvassing for submissions from startups who are able to utilise the group’s journalism, data and products in new and innovative ways with the ultimate aim of unlocking more revenue for the media giant.

Working in tandem with News UK, six ‘small companies’ will combine their expertise to explore viable projects and products with the companies also benefitting from hands-on mentoring and the news publisher’s in-house expertise.

Following the announcement of the programme, which is being run by product innovation company Fluxx, News UK chief technology officer, Christina Scott, said that the project was part of its efforts to promote disruptive technologies while creating potential collaboration opportunities with promising startups.

She said: “Our aim is to champion entrepreneurship and innovation. We see this an opportunity to do something different in the corporate accelerator space that’s fair for startups and creates value for both parties.”

The programme is part of a wider innovation push at News UK and the News Corporation group as a whole.

News UK’s The Times became the first major UK newspaper to adopt a ‘hard’ paywall for its online offering, while News Corporation’s ill-fated experiment with a daily iPad only newspaper, The Daily, is perhaps one of its most well-known failures.

Back in 2015, News UK, once again under the stewardship of chief executive Rebekah Brooks, acquired London-based advertising firm Unruly Media for an initial £58m, with the startup continuing to operate as a separate company.

Sarah Wood, chief executive and co-founder of Unruly said she hoped that the new startup lab, which will kick off with a pitching day on 2 October, would help other promising early-stage companies follow in their own footsteps.

She added: “We’re delighted to be hosting the startup lab. With Unruly, I’ve seen the benefits of partnering with News UK, and I’m looking forward to helping the next generation do the same.”