Media Innovation and Isomorphism in the Periphery: how applicants for Danish media subsidies consider innovativeness

In a time of crisis, innovation is more important for the news industry than ever to identify a path toward sustainability. Through content analysis, asks this study explores all applications for the Danish innovation subsidies for news-media innovation in 2014 and 2015 (n=149), asking what the applicants considers innovative. The analysis of this unique dataset shows that the applicants mainly think in terms of journalism rather than consider business-model innovation even though the current crisis is one that calls for business-oriented innovation primarily. The article explains this skewed focus of the applicants with DiMaggio and Powell’s (1983) theoretical framework of institutional isomorphism, arguing that the applications reflect that the news industry think of innovation in terms of what they already do rather than what is needed for a sustainable future.