API NEXT Media Innovation Program

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• The Associação Portuguesa da Imprensa (Portuguese Press Association – API), with the support of Google Portugal, is launching new national mentoring program to accelerate the digital transformation of national and regional media companies.

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• The initiative will support the development of 20 pilot projects in local and national newsrooms, with specialised training and personalised follow-up.

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• The program will be delivered by the new “Media Innovation Program”, a consortium formed by Soho Consulting International (UK/Portugal), Atlas Global (UK) and York3 (Portugal), with the first group of companies starting in October 2025

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Lisbon, October 9, 2025

 

The Portuguese Press Association (API), with the support of Google Portugal, is launching an ambitious new mentoring program, designed to accelerate digital transformation for Portuguese media companies.

 

This initiative, titled "API Next by Media Innovation Program" launches in October 2025 with the aim of enlisting 20 Portuguese media organisations – local and national – for the development of personalised pilot projects, specialised mentoring and training with international experts.

 

The program will be led by a team of professionals with unparalleled experience in the sector, including Kerin O'Connor (founder of Atlas Global), James Hewes (former CEO of FIPP – Fédération Internationale de la Presse Périodique), João Moraes Palmeiro (specialist in digital transformation in the media and AMCC and AMCC Testbed Executive Director), supported by more than forty national and international speakers and mentors.

 

Aimed at API members, and open to newspapers, magazines and media organisations, the "API Next by Media Innovation Program" aims to accelerate the digital transformation of Portuguese media. Course participants will develop innovative, revenue- and audience-oriented digital products, while integrating sustainable and ethical practices in the use of artificial intelligence. Overall, the program will strengthen the economic viability and diversity of the Portuguese journalistic ecosystem.

 

Divided into two phases lasting six months each, and with ten pilot projects per phase, the "API Next by Media Innovation Program" uses proven methodologies developed by the consortium. Participants receive one-on-one mentoring and training in multidisciplinary digital skills as part of the digital pilot project development.

 

In the words of Cláudia Maia, president of the Portuguese Press Association (API): "This program, unprecedented in Portugal, represents a clear commitment to the practical training of our members, through results-oriented mentoring and adapted to the concrete reality of the press in Portugal. We want to be side by side with professionals – especially from regional and local titles – in a continuous learning process that helps them navigate the challenges of the digital transition, from artificial intelligence to the sustainability of business models. With the support of Google Portugal, we affirm the Association's commitment to lead this transformation in a close, useful and strategic way."

 

Ignatius Roberts, Google's head of strategic partnerships with the media sector in Portugal, reinforces the importance of this program for the tech giant: "For more than 20 years, Google has collaborated closely with the news industry: through our products, services and direct funding of news organizations we support the creation of quality journalism in the digital age. Our multi-year partnership with the Portuguese Press Association is a key part of this effort and we are proud to launch another training initiative aimed at local and regional media in Portugal."

 

For James Hewes, with 25 years of experience in publishing, having recently held the position of CEO of FIPP, the largest international trade association for the magazine industry, and Emeritus Professor of Media and Communication at the University of Glasgow, Scotland: "This program has two key aims : it will provide participants with the necessary skills to develop digital projects in their organizations; and we’ll work with each company to develop and implement digital pilots that accelerate their digital transformation."

 

João Moraes Palmeiro, a specialist in the digital transition of digital projects focused on media companies and executive director of the Aveiro Media Competence Center (AMCC) and Testbed AMCC, a European project that supports the digital transition of the media, explains: "When we focus specifically on news media, the biggest challenge is to find a business model that can bring revenues like the ones that were possible in the legacy media era. For this, it is essential to adopt a culture of reader and technology first, as I have been advocating in recent years. Initiatives like these are fundamental for publishers, and this one was set up to enable them to confront the difficulties of adopting and implementing digital solutions, especially with the advent of artificial intelligence."

 

Kerin O'Connor, founder and CEO of Atlas Global, a strategic advisory firm specialising in digital revenue and subscription growth for media companies, operating in the UK and US, explains: "Our key expectations for results are to empower participants to think clearly and act confidently in their digital media strategies. Clarity comes from understanding the growth strategy, and trust is earned with successful activations and smart decisions. Success will be, above all, about helping Portuguese publishers to face the challenges of the present and prepare for the successes of the future. The 'Understand, Unlock, Grow' methodology is specifically designed to support the practical digital transformation of media in Portugal, helping publishers to focus on their audiences and develop realistic and executable monetization strategies."

 

The "API Next by Media Innovation Program" starts in October this year and applications will soon be open, through the Portuguese Press Association and other partners involved in the promotion.

 

Contacts:

João Moraes Palmeiro – joao.moraespalmeiro@amcc.eu – +351 910 963 894

James Hewes – james@sohoconsult.co.uk - +44 7921 648 138