In 2024, INMA changed the name of its Newsroom Initiative to Newsroom Transformation Initiative, and during Monday’s Town Hall, Initiative Lead Amalie Nash looked at what it has learned over the past 12 months and what to expect in the coming year. 

Newsroom transformation, she explained, is about how to become more audience centric and customer focused and “understand what it is that people want from news.” It also means learning how to be a digital-first operation, which leads to questions about technology, product, and data. 

“Those are important questions, but the biggest question and the most important aspect is people,” Nash said. “One of the main lessons that I’ve learned this year is that changing processes certainly can be difficult. We all know what it takes to be able to get our newsrooms to be more data-centric, but changing people is even harder.”

As technology continues evolving so will the need for newsrooms to transform themselves: “Those of us who have been in the business for quite some time never anticipated the rise of things like TikTok and Reels and all the different ways that people are getting information,” Nash noted. “We need to get really comfortable with the idea that we’re talking about a constant evolution, constant change within our newsrooms and within our businesses.”

To learn more about what members want to focus on in 2025, Nash took a poll offering topics INMA members are interested in: Audience topped the list with 27% naming it a focal point.

“[It] is very important obviously for our newsrooms to understand audience: how to build it, retain audience, and convert audience over,” Nash said. Also high on the list for companies are newsroom structures (23%) and automating workflows (20%).

Lessons from 2024

Although Nash said she has learned many lessons about newsroom transformation in the past year, she narrowed them down to four key learnings that she shared with the audience. 

1. Change management is hard but crucial.  

One of the most frequently asked questions Nash has received is how to make newsrooms do something they don’t want to do. Change is hard, she said, but it’s also necessary. 

“You can’t just talk about ‘here’s what we need to do,’ but here’s how we need to do that,” she explained, saying it comes down to factors like training, transparency, and getting everyone on the same page to understand what success looks like.

“One of the things we’ve talked about in the initiative is this idea of getting newsrooms closer to the business of news. And if you’re going to be part of the business of news, you need to understand the business outcome.”

Explaining the “why” can help get newsrooms on board with change.

2. Data isn’t meaningful unless it leads to insights. 

Many editors feel overwhelmed by data and are unsure of what to do with it: “When I think about data, one of the recommendations I always make is just to pick two or three key performance indicators,” Nash advised, noting it’s important to set specific goals and let everyone know what you’re trying to accomplish. 

After focusing on those chosen quality metrics, such as engagement and loyalty, the data should be made visible “in your newsrooms, in e-mail inboxes, in your meetings, in conversations. That data needs to be layered throughout everything that you do and it needs to be really centred on the insights that you get from that data.”

3. User needs can lead to better understanding of an audience.

User needs has emerged as a way to align content with what audiences are looking for: “User needs really help to hone what it is that you’re producing against the performance of that content to understand better what your audience actually wants and how to give them that type of content,” Nash said.

After identifying user needs, newsrooms can create unique, relevant content that will attract readers. Many types of user needs exist, and some newsrooms have created their own set of user needs to identify what their audiences are looking for. 

“It’s a really good framework for newsrooms of all sizes to consider as they really hone their audience strategies,” Nash said.

4. Readers crave new storytelling formats. 

With so many ways to tell stories, including audio and video, news media companies must adjust their formats to meet audiences. Audiences — particularly younger ones — will avoid lengthy stories and look for easier options. 

“People really like having a diverse portfolio of storytelling formats,” Nash said. “They want videos, explainers, scannable content. Word counts have continued to go up even as our engaged time has gone down.” 

She advised organisations to think about how to present stories differently and take advantage of the growing range of storytelling formats.

“To think about different storytelling formats, it’s really important to start from the beginning, understanding what types of formats that you want to have,” Nash said. “Every day you should be having that conversation.”

Looking to 2025

In 2025, Nash said, the Newsroom Transformation Initiative will look more closely at user needs, quality metrics, and insights gained from members. “I look forward to sharing a lot of case studies, showing successes,” she said, adding members often ask for examples of other companies doing specific things well. 

Direct traffic and innovative strategies for audio, video, and newsletters will also be part of the conversation.

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