During the pandemic, HR became the new centre of innovation

Throughout the pandemic, HR was responsible for some of the most crucial decisions that organisations had to take to keep businesses intact and ensure employees were safe, secure, engaged, and productive. How will that continue in 2021?

14 March 2021

Coming out of the pandemic, news organisations must prioritise flexibility, well-being

Psychological capital is critical to performance development and management.

14 June 2021

News media employees must reflect communities to be relevant

The New York Times, Financial Times, and Stuff share with attendees of an INMA Master Class how they are reflecting audiences with hiring and engaging employees. These efforts are even more tricky during a pandemic.

31 January 2021

Media leaders can engage employees, set priorities with innovative ideas day

Setting priorities as a team ensures everyone’s ideas are validated.

07 July 2021

Gannett fights systemic racism while creating a culture of belonging

To demonstrate its commitment to becoming a greater ally in the fight against systemic racism, racial injustice, and discrimination, Gannett launched a dedicated Take Action Web site, detailing the actions it is taking as a company.

05 July 2021

NWZ’s in-house academy provides continuing employee education

NWZ’s Nordwest Academy provides continuing education for employees with more than 50 courses in seven different categories. The programme is increasing employee satisfaction, making the company more attractive to potential employees, and growing knowledge companywide.

03 March 2021

Pandemic takes mental health toll on newsrooms

During this particularly difficult times, news media leaders need to be compassionate, communicate clearly and transparently, and focus on priorities.

17 November 2020

Reframing “no” keeps bad project ideas at bay and good ones coming in

INMA Product Initiative Lead Jodie Hopperton delves into the art of saying no. Sometimes it is necessary when a product idea is just bad. Yet one must guard against always calling full stop when perhaps the idea needs more work and input from other team members.

04 August 2021

Nine shares lessons in creating a fully collaborative product development team

Nine transformed its product team from a closed-door operation into a fully collaborative environment. INMA Product Initiative Jodie Hopperton shares the steps along that journey.

16 February 2021

Editors emphasise importance of communication, timing

At the INMA World Congress of News Media in New York, editors tapped into their experiences to caution against slow adaptation to digital, lack of communication, and being too ambitious.

24 May 2023

The role of storytelling product manager is emerging in media companies

The news media industry is identifying different focus areas and needed capabilities. From that, the role of a storyteller is becoming more common.

18 May 2023

Auto-GPT offers autonomous capabilities ChatGPT lacks

Auto-GPT and ChatGPT are built on the same technology, but they differ significantly in their functionality.

01 May 2023

Product teams must get out of the “jobs to be done” mentality

The JTBD (jobs to be done) mentality is bad for product teams. Here’s a look at why and five ways media companies can do better.

05 April 2023

Gannett shares lessons learned from a true product and tech partnership

During this week’s Webinar, Erik Bursch, Gannett’s senior vice president/consumer product and engineering, and Jason Jedlinski, former senior vice president/consumer products at Gannett | USA Today Network, discussed what’s working and what needs improvement for the relationship between product and technology to thrive.

29 March 2023

Cross-functional teams are created intentionally at news media companies

There are many small and big ways to transform a news media company from siloed to cross-functional.

27 March 2023

News publishers are atomising the tech stack by building a modular system

Some media companies are moving to a modular system. Here’s why and what that means, with an example from News Corp Australia.

26 March 2023

INMA president shares thoughts on press freedom, digital transformation, diversity

During a recent Webinar, INMA President Maribel Pérez Wadsworth shared her personal and professional thoughts on press freedom, explained the urgency of digital transformation for Latin-American news media companies, and drew a direct correlation between diversity and revenue.

15 March 2023

Expressen focuses new premium products, digital engagement over conversions

To highlight digital engagement over subscription conversions, Expressen internally launched Engagement Month, during which the focus of newsroom dashboards switched from showing conversions to showing engagement. INMA will visit Expressen as part of its Subscriptions Summit this week in Stockholm.

05 March 2023

Mediahuis Belgium connects internal teams for product development success

Product development and delivery must speed up to meet customer demands, requiring companies like Mediahuis Belgium to look within to address the challenge.

27 February 2023

A media CTO’s job is key to product success

Chief technology officers have complicated jobs. Here is a look at their domain at news media companies and why product teams should be thankful for them.

24 January 2023

Mediahuis offers lessons from digital-focussed, post-COVID ad sales team restructure

Mediahuis restructured its ad sales team to be more client- and digital-focused, trying — but not succeeding — with a more agile team. Boaz Shkolnik, director of advertising for Mediahuis, shares what worked and what didn’t.

03 January 2023

Jagran New Media, LinkedIn partnership endorses flexible work for women

The flexible work campaign inspired many organic stories across social media as women shared their experiences, fears, and inspiring anecdotes.

03 January 2023

Diversity on your data team means supporting various styles of work, life

The hiring culture and working rules within media companies and their data teams may be creating a smaller hiring pool than necessary.

19 December 2022

Media companies, data teams should question hiring culture to attract better talent

Does the hiring culture at your news media organisation — and within your data team — make it more difficult to bring in and keep promising talent?

18 December 2022

Media companies are restructuring ad sales teams to reflect current needs

Strategic team management and individual skill sets are critical to sales team success, leaders from Ekstra Bladet, NTM Media, Mediahuis, and Alexander Group told attendees at a recent INMA master class on the future of advertising.

15 December 2022

What is the hiring culture of your data team?

Does the hiring culture at your news media organisation — and within your data team — make it more difficult to bring in and keep promising talent?

15 December 2022

Ad brands need more data sources to navigate privacy, consent

Advertisers need the guidance of media companies as they navigate the importance of privacy and consent by consumers and the laws reflecting that. Also, advertisers are adapting to current realities such as inflation, the economy, war, and the post-pandemic world.

06 December 2022

African media companies are overcoming growth challenges

Young news media companies face many challenges and obstacles. During a recent INMA Webinar, two African industry insiders shared some of the solutions working for them.

05 December 2022

Cross-company collaboration helps media companies reach subscription goals

Der Spiegel, Ringier Axel Springer Schweiz, and La Repubblica explained during the INMA Media Subscriptions Town Hall how they made their teams more collaborative.

01 December 2022

Attractive data team culture starts with a great mission

With tech layoffs shocking the industry, this might be a good time for news media leaders to consider their data team culture. How is it attractive to new hires and how is their work respected once they join the team?

01 December 2022

Bridge role between product and newsroom is key to internal collaboration

Storytelling innovation consultant Laura Hertzfeld talks about the “bridge” roles between the newsroom and product.

30 November 2022

Now, next, later ad strategy keeps Irish Times ad sales team focused

The Irish Times shares its now, next, later strategy as it looks toward its advertising future.

28 November 2022

Finances, contractors are key to building a successful media data team

Prisa Noticias of Spain, the publisher of El Pais, explains how watching your budget and hiring contractors help build a strong and fast data team.

21 November 2022

Data teams birthed with a mission have big advantages

José Meroño, the former head of data at Prisa Noticias of Spain, built his complete data team in 18 months. What can news media companies learn about building such teams from his experience?

17 November 2022

News media teams should know these 5 things about data

The former programme manager/news integrity and fact checking at Meta spoke at the INMA Product and Data for Media Summit on Tuesday, sharing a career of a-ha moments news media teams need to know about data.

15 November 2022

Is your media sales team happy?

Quang Do, principal of The Alexander Group, recent talked with INMA about all things advertising teams — from compensation to happiness to product development.

08 November 2022

The future of media ad sales involves happy team members

Quang Do, principal of The Alexander Group, recent talked with INMA about all things advertising teams — from compensation to happiness to product development. Also, a look at the increasing importance of sustainability for news media companies.

08 November 2022

Are some of us too old to build relevant media products?

Having team members native to various platforms is important when developing new products. Yet non-Gen Z employees have much to offer as well. A balance on your product team is the answer.

06 November 2022

Público implements 3-step digital innovation process, shares 5 lessons learned

Público discovered people and well-aligned teams are the key to digital innovation. They shared more lessons learned with INMA members during a recent Webinar.

05 October 2022

How 3 publishers birthed their data teams

These is more than one path to creating a data team within a news media company: The Blitz, parallel paths and a merge, and the organic build-out. Which one is happening at your company?

07 September 2022

Media company’s data organisation chart should reflect their data mission

At the Financial Times, the data team falls under product. At Axios, its slotted under engineering. At The New York Times, the data team reports directly to the CEO. Which model is best for your organisation?

29 August 2022

Where should data live within your media company?

At the Financial Times, the data team falls under product. At Axios, its slotted under engineering. At The New York Times, the data team reports directly to the CEO. Which model is best for your organisation?

25 August 2022

Hiring of first data scientist signals pivot in data organisation for publishers

The three stages of data organisation at media companies include content analytics, subscriber data, and product/user data. The difference between Stages 1, 2, and 3 involves the questions asked and the person answering.

16 August 2022

Which of 3 stages of data organisation is your media company in?

Most news media companies share the same data organising strategies and path. Here are the three stages of the journey. Where is your company?

15 August 2022

Reorganising media product analytics teams reveals new decision-making opportunities

Media companies can utilise new product analytics structures to bolster subscriptions and content recommendations.

31 July 2022

Monitor, Business Day focus on newsroom talent, digital culture

During the INMA African News Summit this week, executives from Monitor Publications in Uganda and Business Day in Nigeria shared how they are attracting good journalists and keeping employees where they need to be in the digital transformation.

28 July 2022

In digital news operations, editors drive success across the organisation

The editorial team must learn to embrace new disciplines that have traditionally been in other areas of news media companies.

24 July 2022

FT shares lessons about combining the newsroom + business

FT’s head of editorial digital development, Renée Kaplan, shares how the media company brought the business of the media industry to its newsroom.

13 July 2022

FT shares lessons about combining the newsroom and business

FT’s head of editorial digital development, Renée Kaplan, shares newsrooms lessons learned with INMA Newsroom Initiative Lead Peter Bale.

13 July 2022

Data curious have many options to ease into deeper understanding

There are many self-guided training options that provide an education on specific data details for media team members without a data background.

04 July 2022

The data curious have many options to ease into deeper understanding

There are many self-guided training options that provide an education on specific data details for team members without a data background.

30 June 2022

Media companies need to start thinking about their place in the metaverse

Taking advantage of metaverse capabilities will create limitless opportunities for organisations to ensure employee and customer loyalty by providing enhanced user experiences and conquering new markets.

27 June 2022

Media companies share how they build data culture into their foundations

Leaders from Condé Nast, NHST Media Group, Gannett/USA Today, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, and The Conversation recently told INMA members how their companies are building data-driven cultures that prioritise collaboration across teams and brands.

23 June 2022

Should data governance have a stand-alone team in your company?

INMA Smart Data Initiative Lead Ariane Bernard explains why a dedicated data governance team might be necessary at your media company.

07 June 2022

In the digital transformation quest, don’t neglect people

Personnel management at the highest level is the foundation for all future strategies. Here is how that looks at media companies.

07 June 2022

COVID pandemic changed the way Dagens Nyheter teams work together

As working from home continued after the initial COVID lockdown, newsroom staff at Dagens Nyheter started struggling. Editorial leaders jumped in to help create a sense of community and make sure employees felt appreciated.

24 May 2022

Washington Post, Condé Nast create collaborative teams around product

Product leaders from Condé Nast and The Washington Post share how their product teams have evolved into more collaborative efforts with other departments in their companies.

19 May 2022

SPH Media, El Comercio share their data transformation journeys

Jensen Boey of SPH Media and Giulianna Carranza of El Comercio shared stories of their data transformation during Wednesday’s Webinar.

18 May 2022

What can product teams learn from the inventor of the iPod and iPhone?

INMA Product Initiative Lead Jodie Hopperton shares what she is learning from Tony Fadell’s (the inventor of the iPad and iPhone) book about data-driven product decisions vs. opinion-based product decisions. Plus, a look at how culture and clear goals drive a strong product culture.

17 May 2022

Media companies that prioritise talent need to forget these 10 things

To get and keep the best talent, news media companies need to level up to the newest priorities and mindset of employees, letting go of these 10 myths, Tammy Erickson, executive fellow/organisational behaviour at the London Business School, told INMA members.

05 May 2022

SCMP uses paywalls, team infrastructure to understand readers

SCMP’s paywall allows a rigorous approach to understanding readers and what they are looking for. It also enables SCMP to make decisions around product and growth much faster.

25 April 2022

Outsourcing tech can save time, be cost effective

A tech vendor with the right resources can begin working on projects right away, versus in-house teams that may need to be brought up to speed.

18 April 2022

No, news staff is not OK

Journalists are at the forefront of the world’s challenges, and they need support to cope. Here are eight ways newsroom management can help.

10 April 2022

News companies must create a culture newsrooms will buy into

Media leaders from JP/Politiken, Gannett/USA Today Network, The Guardian, and The Globe and Mail shared the why and how of creating newsroom buy-in to business goals during a recent INMA Newsroom Initiative master class.

05 April 2022

Product teams: Who works on what and for how long?

INMA Product Initiative Lead Jodie Hopperton shares thoughts on how to avoid duplicative work by product team members.

24 March 2022

How do media companies benchmark a product?

INMA Product Initiative Lead Jodie Hopperton explores how media companies benchmark products (hint: there is no one answer) and how to avoid duplicative work by product team members.

22 March 2022

Consider these 6 factors when building a culture of experimentation in media companies

The process of building and promoting a culture of experimentation at media companies is important for corporate innovation and success in volatile times.

21 March 2022

Attracting, retaining Gen Z requires flexible work environments, cross-role learning

Gen Z wants a work environment within a media company where they are not judged on anything other than their work — a place where everyone is given a chance to grow.

20 March 2022

Focus, job functions are evolving as newsrooms undergo digital transformation

While digital transformation is happening, the bigger challenge remains how to transform the fundamental print-first organisation, processes, and mindset that pervade newsrooms today.

08 March 2022

COVID has changed newsrooms forever

The changes brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic require media companies to consider permanent, long-term approaches to content creation and delivery. Events are one content area that must be reconsidered.

27 February 2022

Archant excelled during pandemic with focus on its people, ad clients, newsroom

In an INMA members-only Webinar, Archant CEO Lorna Willis and Chief People Officer Tom Kay described the customer-first approach that helped advertisers problem solve during the pandemic, as well as how employee relations changed in the time of COVID.

23 February 2022

Standard Group builds on data, culture for paywall model

The managing editor of digital at Standard Group Limited in Kenya shared the building blocks of the company’s reader revenue strategy and how data is key to everything.

30 January 2022

Product teams often become the mediator when company objectives conflict

As one of her three big themes for this year, INMA Product Initiative Lead Jodie Hopperton shares advice on how to handle conflicting objectives — a job that often falls to the product team.

26 January 2022

How news media (and INMA) evolved a decade in only one year

INMA President Damian Eales, global head of transformation at News Corp, addresses the issues facing news media companies such as work-from-home, paid content, the role of data, where advertising goes next, the Big Tech relationships, and where INMA fits among these big subjects.

17 January 2022

Staffing, communication are bound to change in the post-COVID newsroom

COVID-19 has changed newsrooms forever. The “distributed” or “virtual” newsroom is the new normal.

16 January 2022

Communicating to product team is a key part of the product process

Product leaders from Gannett, The Straits Times, The Hill, Dow Jones, and Financial Times emphasised the importance of clear communication to successfully build and navigate product roadmaps during the recent INMA Methodologies to Launch and Innovate Products Master Class.

11 January 2022

New normal of pandemic has changed the role of media leaders

The pandemic changed what is expected of media leaders. Future leaders will be acknowledged for demonstrating neo-leadership traits like tenacity during volatility, virtual empowerment, decisional agility, and emotional resilience.

16 December 2021

2021 taught the media industry so much about product

INMA Product Initiative Lead Jodie Hopperton looks back at a year of learning about product. Her biggest lesson learned: Clearly articulated goals and objectives are everything.

08 December 2021

Training is key to overcoming the media talent gap in Africa

During the recent INMA Africa News Media Summit, BCC Africa Advisor Peter Burdin shared his thoughts on the challenges and opportunities of turning around the media talent gap on the continent.

22 November 2021

5 ways to get diversity, equity, and inclusion into your media products

INMA Product Initiative Lead Jodie Hopperton dives into the ACT report, cheering on its focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion.

09 November 2021

Guidance for newsroom newcomers can accelerate the slow pace of transformation

Digital transformation supports a business model of providing news that audiences want, where and when they want it. But the slow infusion of this thinking into legacy companies can be challenging for digital natives in the newsroom.

26 October 2021

How the “Diversity Triangle” can help media companies move forward

Building on her work as a leader in The Wall Street Journal’s diversity initiatives, Louise Story shares her theory on how diversity among audience, product, and team members/company leaders must work together for media companies to successfully diversify their audiences and staff members.

29 September 2021

What media companies need to know moving from the Great Resignation to the Great Hire

Media organisations that intend to stay at the top of their game with world-class talent need to ensure hiring is beyond what it used to be before 2020.

27 September 2021

Prensa Libre focuses on 3 short-term challenges as it grows digital subscriptions

As part of the Facebook Latin America Reader Revenue Accelerator Programme, Prensa Libre adopted an experimental mindset as it launched its digital subscription platform and brought together a multi-disciplinary team.

12 September 2021

Right skills, recruitment tactics key to successful editorial team development

Dietmar Schantin of IFMS Media Consultancy shares key practices that news media organisations can implement to hire the best people for the right positions.

11 August 2021

4 opportunities to reduce the churn of product team members

INMA Product Initiative Lead Jodie Hopperton shares four opportunities media companies offer employees that other product-focused teams (tech companies, for example) may not.

21 July 2021

Nine shares 5 principles for an effective relationship between product and editorial

During the first day of INMA’s debut Asia/Pacific News Media Summit, the director of product at Nine in Australia shared how content and editorial teams have come together at the company. The free summit drew 612 participants from 35 countries.

15 July 2021

Financial Times, Aftenposten share how they align product and editorial teams

John Kundert, chief product officer at Financial Times, and Karl Oskar Teien, director of product at Aftenposten, joined INMA Product Initiative Lead Jodie Hopperton for an INMA members-only Webinar to discuss the delicate relationship between product and editorial.

07 July 2021

Media companies must balance editorial and content teams

INMA Product Initiative Lead Jodie Hopperton digs into what differentiates journalism and content experiences, as well as the natural tensions around the two media company teams.

22 June 2021

Media companies should use HR data to enhance employee performance

Data can help media leaders identify those individuals who will best benefit the company, measure their own effectiveness, and identify team blind spots.

08 June 2021

Gannett president talks to INMA about 2020 lessons and 2021 plans

INMA Executive Producer Mark Challinor interviews Gannett President Maribel Perez Wadsworth about COVID challenges in the past year, Gannett’s commitment to diversity, future goals for USA Today and its other titles, digital subscriptions, and Big Tech.

19 May 2021

Dagbladet considers newsroom life after COVID-19

The global COVID-19 pandemic presented media with challenges that may be shaped into new opportunities. Here are the things Dagbladet is considering as it transitions to a post-COVID newsroom.

09 May 2021

Media leaders should embrace spiral of recruitment where A-players hire A-players

When a position isn’t filled quickly, there is a tendency to make concessions. But news media executives who wait for that “unicorn” will find it worth the wait in the long run.

02 May 2021

Big Tech executive shares advice on handling product teams, customers, stakeholders

INMA Product Initiative Jodie Hopperton talks to the head of product management at Asana, Jackie Bavaro, about what processes to take with new product ideas, how much interaction product managers should have with customers, how to best work with stakeholders, and best practices in hiring a product team.

28 April 2021

Empathy, communication carry the media employee experience post-pandemic

Health, safety, employee well-being, and mental health were among the most talked about aspects of the workplace in 2020. Will these lessons carry into the future at media companies?

20 April 2021

Why results-oriented, human-centered A-players help grow media companies

A-players are characteristically human centered, results oriented, have high-learning agility, and are intrinsically motivated. They like to excel, come in all shapes and sizes, and can work in all departments of the company.

06 April 2021

6 steps for connecting departments in a media organisation

The most important thing for building a culture of connection is that a deeper connection must be made between the different departments (horizontal) and between the different layers in the company (vertical).

09 March 2021

Connection, empathy define the world’s most successful leaders

Needs-focused leaders realise their success is dependent upon a host of invested stakeholders. News media leaders can learn from the companies consumers truly love.

28 February 2021

Media organisation alignment builds foundation for future digital subscription success

Strategy, structure, and culture must work in harmony for organisations to realise their full digital subscription potential.

15 February 2021

Lessons shared on creating a collaborative product team

15 February 2021

3 things media companies should consider when hiring for brand new roles

Management consultant Abhijit Bhaduri shares thoughts on how to hire for new roles that no one already has experience for, as well as three things media organisations need to consider.

04 February 2021

How to communicate in a way that makes sense to all media teams

INMA Product Initiative Lead Jodie Hopperton shares advice on successfully communicating among media company departments.

03 February 2021

How a corporate mission inspires digital transformation

Media organisations may need to engage in exercises to redefine their core mission as they work through digital transformation with their teams.

02 February 2021

Management expert shares 3 methods for hiring better media talent

Author and management consultant Abhijit Bhaduri shares three pieces of advice for hiring better talent with INMA.

21 January 2021

Media companies share ways product teams work with tech

INMA Project Initiative Lead Jodie Hopperton takes a big picture look at how many news media companies — Tamedia in Switzerland, Bauer in Germany, Schibsted in Norway, and MediaNews Group in the United States — intersect product and tech.

20 January 2021

How MediaNews Group creates strategies and buy-in for product teams

Jodie Hopperton, head of INMA’s new Product Initiative, talked with the head of product and technology of the U.S.-based MediaNews Group about how the product team works internally.

19 January 2021

Empathy, authenticity are key pillars of a strong organisational foundation

Leading from a place of empathy and authenticity shows employees that media organisations care about their people.

18 January 2021

Opportunity to upskill is key to attracting new talent for Indian news media organisations

Author and management consultant Abhijit Bhaduri outlines three key factors to take into consideration when recruiting new talent — the most important being the candidate’s opportunity to upskill.

14 January 2021

Grupo RBS details its 2-year data-driven journey

Developing a data-driven strategy at Grupo RBS over the past two years involved hiring the right talent, positioning technology within the company, and building out data products.

03 January 2021

Cross-functional staff roles at The Daily Beast results in clear brand messaging

The lean staff at The Daily Beast means that everyone works together in cross-functional ways to produce the content and brand messaging for the company.

22 December 2020

HR leaders should remember employee advocacy is important to a news brand

Employees are powerful advocates for an organisation, building trust with and demonstrating transparency to the outside community.

07 December 2020

At Dagens Nyheter, the editor-in-chief is also the CMO

At Dagens Nyheter, digital subscriptions are a key focus of the company strategy, so it was natural to have the editor-in-chief also be the CMO.

03 December 2020

Culture of connection was key to the subscription comeback at Mediahuis

Two executives from Mediahuis Partners found success in transforming their companies through human connection, resulting in astounding growth. They shared their journey in an INMA Webinar.

02 December 2020

Funke, Nikkei share how innovations in management structure drive growth in subscriptions, revenue

Funke Media Group in Germany and Nikkei in Japan are finding success driving growth through innovations in their organisational strategies. They shared how at an INMA Readers First Meet-up.

22 November 2020

Culture change brings editorial, commercial together at Aftenposten

When Aftenposten transformed to bring its editorial and commercial departments together, the culture change resulted in teams working together for mutual success.

29 October 2020

Financial Times aligns virtual newsroom, culture to new reality

Financial Times responded to its virtual transition with updated communication platforms, metrics, and strategies, meeting and exceeding its audience engagement goals for 2021.

12 October 2020

Stuff NZ’s “All of Us” programme aims to inspire, retain high-performing employees

Implementing the “All of Us” initiative has created a quantifiably more diverse, dynamic, and responsive workforce for Stuff. Here are the programme’s five objectives.

27 September 2020

Amedia closes the gap on live graphic production despite 1,550-kilometre distance

Amedia’s live graphic production requires a cross-country team, but viewers reap the benefits to enjoy coverage of Norway’s women’s premiere league football.

21 September 2020

What will the COVID impact on media corporate culture look like?

The pandemic has forced media companies to adapt and adjust their corporate cultures in ways they never imagined possible. How will it all work in the longer run?

15 September 2020

NZME cultivates, retains journalists with its People Programme

NZME took a flexible, modern, and personalised approach to training and mentoring employees, and it has paid off with better retention.

13 September 2020

Times Group HR director shares 4 rules of passion-driven leadership

The rule of BLUE — believe, learn, undying intent, and evaluate — highlights key cornerstones media human resources teams need as they help employees achieve their purpose through passion. COVID adds another: Sincerity.

31 August 2020