HNN International Outreach

High North News hopes to reach even more international readers through a new web platform, Arctic Now, an English-language initiative developed in cooperation with a number of international Arctic media organizations. High North News (HNN) is also part of a cooperative effort to publish Arctic news in Chinese and Russian. – We want to enable Russian and Chinese readers to have our news in their own language, says HNN Editor-in-Chief Arne O. Holm.

Arctic Now has been developed in cooperation with Iceland Monitor, Arctic Journal, Nunatsiaq News, The Independent Barents Observer, Alaska Dispatch News and High North News, covering Arctic news from the United States, Iceland, Greenland, Canada and Norway.

- For now, access to the platform is free, but eventually this will become a subscription service. We are responding to the wider world’s increasing interest in news and analyses from the Arctic. High North News will continue to be an independent and open newspaper, cooperating with other Arctic media while keeping its own network of foreign correspondents, says Arne O. Holm.

The subscribers of Arctic Now will also gain access to tailor-made newsletters with frequent updates on High North issues.

- I believe people will be willing to pay for news and analyses from Arctic, particularly if we can give it to them in their own language, says Alice Rogoff, publisher of Alaska Dispatch News and the "godmother" of this unique cooperation. Arctic Now will soon be published in Russian and Chinese in addition to English, and hope to attract new audiences across borders.



Increased international partnerships 

For High North News, this is yet another step towards increased international partnerships.

During the recent Arctic Circle Assembly in Reykjavik, the partners introduced Arctic Now, in front of an audience eager to hear more from the North, by the people of the North.

Because the Arctic is no longer just an exotic location, it is a region of innovation and new thinking in areas like climate research, travel and sustainable development. In a rapidly changing media world, the new platform is a way to secure funding for independent journalism from and about the North.

Need for information

Last month High North News hosted a "News from the North" event in Washington DC. The presentation included participants from some of the Arctic Now organizations, as well as government representatives, Congressional staff, think tank experts and other media. The main topic was the media coverage of the Arctic, and the need for information about politics, business and environmental challenges. The Capitol Hill crowd greeted the initiative warmly.

- The audience was positive and engaged. Questions and commented revealed a genuine interest in news and analyses provided by people of the Arctic region, says editor-in-chief Arne O. Holm.



Increasing attention

Jan-Gunnar Winther, Director of the Polar Institute in Tromsø, Norway, was among the participants.

- Web media with an exclusive focus on Arctic issues is a recent phenomenon. The rapid developments in the North and the increasing attention to this area have increased the importance of these news and analysis platforms. I am particularly pleased to see these media organizations cooperate. This will improve the quality of the information and increase the precision level of analyses, not least because these media partners cover different geographic areas. Establishing this kind of northern based, internationally relevant competence is good Arctic policy, he says.

Winther welcomes the outreach to new audiences:

- I welcome the goal of publishing in more languages and increasing the attention to the developments in Russia, he says.

A "one stop shop"

Representatives from the Washington business community also praised the new initiatives:

- As an advocate before US and international organizations responsible for the Arctic, it is vital that I have timely and efficient access to accurate Arctic policy news and especially Arctic stakeholder engagement opportunities on behalf of communities and businesses committed to maintaining a sustainable Arctic. The new Arctic news platform, Arctic Now, a collaboration among four of my go-to Arctic news sources: High North News; Alaska Dispatch News; The Arctic Journal and Arctic Deeply, is an exciting and comprehensive new one stop shop for some of the most important Arctic news stories of the day and I look forward to visiting it often, says Linda V. Priebe, Government Relations Attorney and Vice President for the Norwegian American Chamber of Commerce DC. She is also a member of International Advisory Board, UK Polar Research and Policy Initiative.



From the North 

Cathleen Kelly, Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress, echoed the need for information from the North provided by the people of the region:

- With rapid Arctic warming well under way, and little time left to curb its worst impacts, policy makers across the globe need to understand what experts and local people in the region are saying about how climate change is effecting local livelihoods, infrastructure, marine life and the very existence of some coastal communities.

Arctic Now is built on a web solution developed by The Washington Post. Custom-made newsletters will be available soon, and High North News looks forward to reaching a larger global audience.

Please take a look – you will find it at www.arcticnow.com!