World Journalists Conference: News media outlets can turn readers into “active stakeholders” using blockchain technology, says PUBLISH CEO Sonny Kwon
On April 26, PUBLISH CEO Sonny Kwon gave a presentation at the World Journalists Conference 2022 (WJC2022), a three-day event hosted by the Journalists Association of Korea (JAK).
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the conference was held in a hybrid format. Korean journalists and foreign correspondents joined offline at the Korea Press Center in Seoul, while overseas journalists were invited to watch a live broadcast of the event via the JAK’s YouTube channel.
During his presentation, entitled “Blockchain-based news ecosystems,” Sonny discussed the problems facing the news industry and how PUBLISH is using blockchain technology to tackle these problems.
Among the solutions presented was PUBLISHlink, PUBLISH’s read-and-earn solution, which allows news media organizations to reward their readers in cryptocurrency for completing certain actions such as reading and sharing articles. “The rewards can create loyalty and increase direct visitation,” effectively turning readers into “active stakeholders,” Sonny said.
In addition to PUBLISHlink, Sonny introduced several other PUBLISH-led initiatives, including the use of media NFTs (non-fungible tokens) to combat misinformation, and a DID (decentralized identifier)-based press credentialing and authentication system for journalists.
In concluding his speech, Sonny remarked that PUBLISH is “building a secure and transparent newspaper ecosystem for balanced journalism free from manipulation and misinformation.”
“Our mission is to make news smart again and give all news publishers and journalists the tools to do what they do best and worry less about the bottom line,” he added.
