Leading European Newspaper Alliance: European newspapers establish joint network

Berlin, Brussels, Geneva, Madrid, Paris, Rome and Zurich, 10 March 2015 – Seven leading newspapers from six countries have launched the Leading European Newspaper Alliance (LENA), in order to combine their journalistic skills and to promote quality journalism in Europe. The founding members are Die Welt from Germany, El País from Spain, La Repubblica from Italy, Le Figaro from France, Le Soir from Belgium, as well as Tages-Anzeiger and Tribune de Genève from Switzerland. The publishers of the founding newspapers have appointed Javier Moreno as the director of the alliance. Javier Moreno was editor-in-chief of El País between 2006 and 2014.  

LENA will strive, among other goals, for the consolidation of a Europe-wide public opinion, as its members share a series of common values regarding the importance of quality journalism in the structuring of open and democratic societies with a message of economic progress and social justice. The Alliance also intends to secure a technological, commercial and editorial edge for its members and therefore will select the appropriate partners in those fields.  

One of the main focuses of the cooperation will be the creation and exchange of editorial content. Each newspaper will provide selected articles to a joint platform from which the Alliance members will be able to draw on according to their needs. In addition, interviews, features and comments will be especially commissioned for simultaneous publication in all LENA partners. The Alliance will also undertake joint digital developments. A program for the exchange of personnel will allow journalists and other employees to spend time in other newspapers of the Alliance and thus widen their fields of expertise.

In addition to publishing articles, interviews or features, LENA will contribute to the exchange of ideas at continental level by means of getting experts, business leaders and political figures to participate in events about key issues for the development of Europe. 

Javier Moreno, director of LENA: “This Alliance will help achieve a truly transformative shift in our newspapers through the creation of content as well as digital and commercial developments which otherwise would not have been possible, to the benefit of our readers across the continent.”

The creation of LENA will be subject to customary approvals by the competent competition authorities.