• Advertising Age, Tuesday, July 7, 2009 9:21 PM

The City of New York yesterday introduced a multi-pronged initiative to help its struggling media sector. It offers a variety of plans that focus on innovation, research, retraining and new technology. "With the media industry undergoing profound changes it's incumbent on us to take steps now to capitalize on growth opportunities and ensure New York remains an industry leader," said Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

The effort includes the formation of the New York City Media Lab, a research center for media companies, universities and others to collaborate on research and share findings. The center provides a physical center for networking, lectures and workshops. The city will also start a Media and Tech Fellowship program to encourage start-ups and innovation. In addition, the city will pay for a new center for media freelancers in lower Manhattan.

When it comes to education, Bloomberg wants to create a training program called JumpStart New Media that will include a "boot camp" and 10-week unpaid "apprenticeships" with new media companies.

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