Stimulating Innovation in the News Ecosystem

Google has committed €150m over three years to support creativity in digital journalism and the development of new business models.

Governance

Applications to the DNI Fund are reviewed by a combination of the Google Project Team and Council. In both the Project Team and the Council, there is a mix of Googlers and external experts from the European news industry and beyond, intended to reflect diverse points of view. The Project Team will review all applications and interview applicants, then make a recommendation on funding for prototypes and medium projects. The Council will vote on large projects, and is additionally responsible for oversight of the DNI Fund.

Rules

The DNI Fund operates according to a set of rules that are available for interested applicants to print or download.
View The Rules

Terms and Conditions

If you apply to the DNI Fund please read our Terms and Conditions that are available for interested applicants to print or download.
View The Terms And Conditions

Council Members

The DNI Fund Council will vote on large projects, and is additionally responsible for oversight of the DNI Fund.
João Palmeiro
President of the Portuguese Publishers Association, Chair of the DNI Innovation Fund
João Palmeiro is the President of the Portuguese publishers association and of the Visapress Board, a collective management copyright entity. He was vice president of the European Federations of <agazines and board member of the Newspapers Federation. Currently, he is at the board of EMMA and WAN and at the CAG of EPC (in representation of Impresa). A top-level negotiator, Palmeiro was at the first Executive Board of the International media fund of UNESCO. He is coauthor of more than 100 academic papers and studies about the media: including one on the state and media’s role in the Council of Europe. He was also member of the board of Portuguese media companies (radio and press) as well as ministerial cabinets in the Portuguese government.
Veit Dengler
Executive Board Member, Bauer Media Group
Veit Dengler sits on Bauer Media Group’s Executive Board. He’s responsible for the group’s activity in the UK, the USA and Australia as well as other countries. From 2013 to 2017, Veit was the CEO of the Swiss NZZ-Mediengruppe with its flagship Neue Zürcher Zeitung. He began his career at Procter & Gamble and has since held several management positions at McKinsey, T-Mobile and DELL. At DELL, he most recently served as General Manager and Executive Director for Eastern Europe and Russia. Veit holds a Master’s degree in Commerce from the Vienna Business School and a Master’s in Public Administration from the Harvard Kennedy School. He is also a co-founder of NEOS, the liberal party in Austria which in 2013 directly won representation in Parliament.
Rosalia Lloret
Head of Institutional and Public Relations at OPA Europe
Rosalia Lloret is Head of Institutional and Public Relations at the Online Publishers Association Europe, and independent advisor on digital to firms in Spain and Latam. Lloret was involved in the creation of pioneering Spanish websites (Terra.es, Ya.com, RTVE.es). A member of the Executive Board of the Spanish Public Broadcaster, she created its Digital Media division. More recently, Rosalia was in charge of the Digital Strategy and a member of the Executive Board of the two leading news publishers in Spain: El Mundo and later El País. She also oversaw the launch of HuffingtonPost.es.
Murdoch MacLennan
Non-Executive Director, Telegraph Media Group UK
Murdoch MacLennan was CEO of the Telegraph Media Group in the UK from 2004 until 2017, when he stepped down from the role to become deputy chairman of the group. He now remains as the group’s non-executive director. MacLennan was President of IFRA, Vice President of the WAN, and Chairman of the Newspaper Publishers Association. Murdoch was also an Honorary Professor at the Business School at Glasgow University, and then the Chancellor’s Assessor on the Court of the University. In 2010, he was appointed the Chairman of the Press Association.
Bruno Patino
Dean of Sciences-Po Journalism School
Bruno Patino began his career as journalist for Le Monde in Chile, and has held since then top management positions in the media industry, for Le Monde (1999-2008), Radio France (2008-2010) and France Télévisions (20010-2015), where he was Director General, responsible for programme commissioning and digital operations.
Madhav Chinnappa
Director of Strategic Relations, News & Publishers, Google
Madhav Chinnappa works on partnerships and collaborations between Google and the news industry. Most recently, he launched the DNI. He joined Google in 2010 to focus on Google News & Magazines in the EMEA regions. He has worked in the news industry since 1994 – first in the launch team of Associated Press Television (APTV), a year in M&A at United News & Media, and spent over nine years at BBC News, latterly as Head of Development & Rights.
Miriam Meckel
Publisher, WirtschaftsWoche
Miriam Meckel, PhD, is the Publisher of WirtschaftsWoche, Germany’s largest weekly business publication. Before joining WirtschaftsWoche, Miriam was the Managing Director of the Institute for Media and Communication Management at the University of St. Gallen, Switzerland. She served as a multi-year Faculty Associate at the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University, and was a visiting professor at Singapore Management University.
Torsten Schuppe
VP, Marketing EMEA, Google
Torsten Schuppe is responsible for Google’s brand and consumer marketing in EMEA, which sounds like an easy job until you consider that Google has 100+ products in a region of 120+ countries as diverse as Germany, Russia, Egypt, and Kenya. Before Google, Torsten was European CMO of eBay, and started his career in TV and book publishing with Bertelsmann. He holds two business and economics diplomas from the Koblenz School of Management (WHU) in Germany and the EM Lyon in France.
Arianna Ciccone
Founder and Director, Perugia International Journalism Festival
Arianna Ciccone graduated in Philosophy from the University of Naples in 1995. Following postgraduate studies in journalism, she worked as a journalist in Italian mainstream media before founding the communications agency, Il Filo di Arianna, in 2000. She is the 2006 founder and director of the International Journalism Festival, now the largest annual media event in Europe. She is also the 2010 founder and editor of the collective blog Valigia Blu: a nonprofit, independent fact-checking and debunking website focusing on journalism, media ethics, and society.
Anthony Nakache
Director, Online Partnerships Group, EMEA
Anthony joined Google over 8 years ago and is currently the head of the Online Partnerships Group in EMEA and a member of the core leadership team in Dublin, Google’s EMEA HQ. His team helps publishers and developers across the region make the most out of Google’s monetization solutions. Prior to this, Anthony has had a few different roles, leading Sales and Account Management for Strategic partners, initiating a cross Google partnership approach with the Gaming industry and helping develop Google’s relationships with media agencies in France and SEEMEA (Southern & Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa). Before joining Google, Anthony worked in the IT consulting industry. He holds an MBA from INSEAD and an Engineering degree in Telecommunications.
Bartosz Hojka
CEO, Agora S.A.
Bartosz Hojka is the CEO of Agora S.A., one of the largest media companies in Central and Eastern Europe. Under his leadership, the company has strengthened its position in the cinema and outdoor markets and become the leader of digital transformation in the Polish media sector. ‘Gazeta Wyborcza,’ the largest Polish-centric daily published by Agora, was the forerunner of metered paywall model in Poland. Agora also developed diversified undertakings in the field of digital content and advertising, mainly in mobile, video, programmatic, and RTB. The Company increased its engagement in film production and quickly became the largest distributor of Polish film productions. It also successfully entered the TV market.
Bart Brouwers
Professor in Journalism, Groningen University, Owner of Media52
Bart Brouwers is full-time professor at the Groningen University, the Netherlands. He is the founder and owner of Media52. Brouwers has a long time career in journalism; he was the editor-in-chief of a regional and a national newspaper, plus developed the nationwide local online platform dichtbij.nl for Telegraaf Media Groep.

The DNI Fund Team

Meet the members of the DNI Fund team, composed of a mix of experienced industry figures and Google employees.
Ludovic Blecher
Head of DNI Fund, Google
Before joining Google, Ludovic Blecher was the director of the FINP: a digital press fund for French publishers backed by Google. Ludovic is a journalist who has spent the past 15 years working in news. His career began as a reporter at Liberation.fr, rising to Editor in Chief then Executive Director. He's a 2012 fellow at the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard, and was a member of the French Digital Council independent advisory commission for the French Government.
Sarah Hartley
DNI Fund Applicants Manager
A journalism innovator and experienced media trainer, Sarah Hartley is the editorial director of Publish.org and co-founder of Dim Sum Digital Ltd. Before joining Google, Sarah worked at The Guardian Media Group for over a decade. There, she oversaw many digital innovations and product launches including ManchesterEveningNews.co.uk, the community news initiative, Guardian Local, and the crowdfunding platform, Contributoria.com.
Ben Shaw
DNI Fund Operations Manager
Before joining Google’s DNI Fund, Ben Shaw was Director of Global Advisory for WAN-IFRA. Ben is a technologist who has spent the past 15 years working in news media. His career began at Shaw Media where he rose to Chief Technology Officer. Shaw was also a recipient of DNI funding during Round 3 for the development of NewsChat, a custom keyboard for news.
Rebecca Young
DNI Fund Operations Analyst
Rebecca is an Operations Analyst with experience across the financial services sector. Before joining Google, Rebecca was an analyst at an international business development agency and the New Zealand stock exchange. Rebecca has assisted many innovative and internationally-focused companies seeking capital for expansion. She holds a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) and Bachelor of Commerce (BCom) from the University of Otago.
Charlotte Southgate
DNI Fund Operations Analyst
Charlotte is an Operations Analyst with experience in print magazine distribution and circulation. Before joining Google Charlotte worked at a leading media company, where she specialised in data management and developing creative supply chain solutions. As a former journalism student at the University for the Creative Arts, Epsom she has a personal interest in the ever evolving digital news landscape.
Martin Bryant
DNI Fund External Assessor
Martin is a consultant, speaker, writer, and educator in the fields of technology and media. He was previously Editor-in-Chief of international technology publication The Next Web, and Community Editor at Tech North, where he shone a light on the stories of startups and entrepreneurs in the North of England.
Jassim Ahmad
DNI Fund External Assessor
Jassim works with publishers to create digital experiences and strategies to serve international audiences. He previously led global innovation at Reuters, working across disciplines to launch award winning multimedia services on established and emerging platforms. He is a 2017 fellow at Harvard's Nieman Foundation for Journalism.
Nina Klaß
DNI Innovation Fund External Assessor
Nina is a strategist and consultant in the field of organisational development. She leads nextMedia.Hamburg, an initiative to support digital transformation and innovation in the content industry. She was a Research Associate at the University of Hamburg, where she specialised in innovation management within the media industry. She was previously Head of Digital Marketing and oversaw many digital projects at SPIEGEL Group.