Indiana University

Indiana University School of Journalism

Summer in London: Euronews reinvents itself

Thirteen honors students from the School of Journalism are spending their summer in London, working in British media and studying British culture.


Euronews reinvents itself

June 24, 2008
Tim Solon

tim solon at euronews
Courtesy photo
Tim Solon helped Euronews launch its new look while working as an intern this summer.
I arrived in London at a good time this summer and not just because the weather has been great. The good timing is related to the experiences I have had at my summer internship.

I’ve been working at EuroNews, a company that broadcasts news programming across Europe in seven different languages. Though it has nearly 7 million viewers daily, the company is still relatively unknown. As of two weeks ago, that began to change.

For more than two years, EuroNews has poured millions of dollars into a rebranding project aimed at making the company more competitive with its more well-known rivals. June 5, the company officially relaunched, changing its logo, some of its programming, the names of programs, the Web site and the overall look of the company. The way the name is written even changed from “EuroNews” to “euronews.”

The new logo is simple. A white circle represents purity and lack of bias in the delivery of news. It also allows for some clever lead-ins to programming. I never thought I’d see so many adults so excited about a geometrical shape, but countless hours of work and thought went into the changes. Because the London office has only eight people, I got to experience the transition firsthand.

I was part of the teleconferences as our company scrambled to get everything from stationery to umbrellas ready with the new logo. I was in on the meetings in which the CEO and everyone working for him developed a plan for the simultaneous launch parties in Paris and London. And, of course, I was there for that party.

It’s not often companies go through such major overhauls. After experiencing it firsthand, it is easy to see why. The amount of detail that goes into such projects is both tedious and remarkable. Literally everything, except for the personnel, has changed, right down to the color of paint on our office doors.

But this attention to detail is something that will no doubt pay off for the company in the near future. I am certainly glad I got to experience it. Let’s just hope that I don’t have to go through it again any time soon.