Bonnier 2014: Stable Foundation with a View to the Future

The new DN.prio will be the fastest way for Swedes to stay updated on the news, with a chance to go deeper if they have the time and interest, says Anna Åberg, head of  the Dagens Nyheter (DN) website, DN.se. “Anyone who reads DN.prio should never feel as if they’ve missed something that everyone else is talking about,” she says.

Coming out morning, evening and during the weekends, DN.prio’s content is handpicked by DN’s editors and consists of the most important news and the day’s hottest topics of conversation. New digital platforms and a restructuring of the news desk – so everyone works with all channels – made it possible to meet the needs of faster updates for readers. The idea for DN.prio came about when DN’s iPad edition, DN+, was discontinued and replaced with eDN, which never quite took off.

“Most were very satisfied, but the more tech-savvy were disappointed with eDN,” says Åberg. “You expect DN to be in the forefront, we should be leading the development of digital news consumption. The idea for DN.prio was born out of that disappointment.”

Some 50 people have been working on the project, which started in summer 2013, with development starting in earnest during fall 2014. Last week, a beta version was released, and around a thousand people are in the first group of testers, with more being added over time.

“It’s a bit scary,” says Åberg. “This is the first time DN is releasing a product in beta, something that’s unfinished and not perfected yet. But it’s also in line with our strategy that all our digital products should be developed in conjunction with the reader.”

Dagens Nyheter hopes to scratch the beta label in the spring, but it depends on how the test period goes. It’s the response from readers that will steer the final development.

“We hope we’re filling an empty niche in Swedish media, and that we’ve found a product that speaks to a lot of people,” says Åberg.

The beta version is free, but following the full launch, you will need to be a digital subscriber to DN to access DN.prio. Articles shared in social media will be available to everyone, however. Read more about DN.prio (in Swedish).