New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg recently unveiled a plan to help get the media industry back on its feet. Known for being the media capital of the world, the city’s strategy includes eight plans that focus on innovation, research, retraining and new technology.
According to an article in Ad Age, the strategy includes the following:
Forming a New York City Media Lab for media companies, universities and others to collaborate on research, share findings and provide a physical center for networking, lectures and workshops.
Issuing tax-exempt bonds to help companies buy new manufacturing, research or production facilities; retrofit existing buildings for high-tech servers; or make big information technology purchases.
Starting a Media and Tech Fellowship program meant to encourage start-ups and innovation. The program manager, whom the city plans to choose by October, will pick about 20 recipients a year to receive training, mentoring and support services.
Helping start-ups and small tech firms do business with the city. The plan calls for encouraging companies and start-ups to team up on bids for city IT contracts, hosting forums on the city’s procurement process and connecting big contractors with small potential sub-contractors.
Hosting an annual software competition called NYC Big Apps seeking digital applications that use city data.
Starting a center for media freelancers in lower Manhattan. The city plans to outfit a 5,000-square-foot space with work stations and services such as contract editing, news feeds and conference space. The center will provide space for 50 freelancers as well as 1,850 part-time and drop-in workers.
Creating a training program to help people find opportunities in new media. The program, called JumpStart New Media, will include a training “boot camp” and 10-week unpaid “apprenticeships” with new media companies. The first class will include about 50 participants.
Recruiting across Asia, the Middle East, Silicon Valley and greater Boston for businesses to locate in New York.
It’s encouraging to see such an aggressive plan from the city of New York. The economic climate will surely pass, but the shifting media landscape will no doubt continue. While it’s too early to tell if this plan will give the industry the jump start it needs, I believe out-of-the-box strategies such as these are a positive move in order to find a formula that works for this evolving industry.