Seven golden rules for intercultural publishing

1) Local knowledge is essential

A locally based story is committed to the local conditions. This requires familiarity with the situation and culture as well as prior research on location.

2) International knowledge is essential

The narrative style of the local circumstances follows the diverse and culturally different customs of the international readership and community. Accordingly, the internationally diverse perceptions and clichés about the topic and the local culture in which the story takes place must be subtly taken into account.

3) Intercultural team composition

The journalistic team is made up of local experts with knowledge of the (industry) topic and knowledge of the recipient's culture. In concrete terms: the filmmaker and photographer from the region are supported by the interculturally experienced correspondent who has moved to the region and, if necessary, a local representative of the publishing company.

4) Intercultural research as a first step

This intercultural journalistic team on location is as small as possible and undertakes the necessary preliminary research in the first step. The local culture, the cultures of the recipients and the (industry) culture of the publishing company are interwoven as early as the research stage.

5) Cross-media and intercultural welding together

In cross-media storytelling, such intercultural teamwork is essential for a professional result: The story for print, digital publishing, the iPad presentation and for the video is researched and implemented by a journalistic team.

6) Distinguish between intercultural and multicultural starting points

International B2B content usually has an international readership and community with homogeneous interests and heterogeneous circumstances and market conditions. This initial situation must be taken into account interculturally - with a great deal of sensitivity and know-how. International B2C content, on the other hand, generally has an international readership/community with heterogeneous interests and, of course, heterogeneous circumstances. This is primarily a multicultural starting point (topic formulation, languages, etc.).

7) Selected exemplification and elegant leveling

Cosmopolitanism is a target group that has its roots in all cultures of the world and no real common home. Interculturally, this means simultaneously taking into account as many different cultures as possible and elegantly leveling them out - in the filmic and textual narrative as well as in the media design. The independent, unmistakable form is achieved through the corporate culture of the international publishing company and its know-how as well as through the personal journalistic imprint on site. Viviane Egli

About the journalistic network

As the number eight is particularly auspicious in certain cultures, such as China, here is an eighth rule: the international network of a corporate publishing player is its most important asset. Ideally, such a network has been carefully built up personally over many years (and not bought in as an agency network!) and includes renowned and specialized journalists, filmmakers and photographers all over the world. These trusted individuals are carefully formed into teams for storytelling on location. The hard core of such a network consists of a few dozen long-standing correspondents in the most important metropolitan areas. In particularly central markets, small offices are preferably run by long-serving employees. If necessary, the local office works directly with the client's office. The employees of a corporate publishing service provider are per se an intercultural team. Together with the intricate network, they are an extension of the client's journalistic content - well-rehearsed, uncomplicated and culturally adept. The culture of the corporate publishing player and its network is based on mutual trust, loyalty and respect.