Why Journalism Products Generally 'Not Up to Scratch' by @petren PLUS 50 Ways to Make Media Pay by @damianradcliffe

November 17, 2021

My friend Nick Petrie has some excellent observations about newsroom change but actually news organisation change. A good teaser would be these two lines:

"So why is both our journalism and our overall product experience generally not up to scratch?

It’s partly because we are often competitor obsessed rather than customer focused."

Yup! I'm in the last five weeks of writing my master's dissertation and one of the frustrations from product managers or product-oriented employees was that they were ignored when they brought insights from users that could have helped content have more impact or could have supported sustainability.

Another piece by another friend - Damian Radcliffe has updated his report in 50 ways to make media pay. It's a good list and a healthy reminder that in the words of digital news leader Jim Brady, there are no silver bullets only shrapnel. Or put another way, multiple revenue streams are a must.

I also have a useful overview of how to set OKRs - objective and key results - by Roman Pichler. It's a great priority setting that legendary VC John Doerr has advocated for and introduced to successful companies like Google. There are several media leaders like Dmitry Shishkin, formerly of the BBC, who have used OKRs at media organisations.

Speaking of my master's dissertation, I'm in the home stretch of this marathon. That plus a heavy load as I help manage post-merger integration means that I really have to focus. I'm going to cut the newsletter back to one day a week and change up the format a bit. My goal is to publish the newsletter on Monday and focus more deeply and less broadly. After the holidays, normal service will resume. (Although my wife has banned me from working on evenings and weekends for at least January as I recover from two years of heavy labour working on my master's.) See you on Monday.

Why newsrooms need to stop transforming and start changing - The news industry has had the greatest gift of all when it comes to disruption: time. And it squandered it.

What’s New in Publishing is proud to present 50 Ways To Make Media Pay, a special insight report sponsored by publisher technology platform, Sovrn, and written by Damian Radcliffe, the Carolyn S. Chambers Professor in Journalism at the University of Oregon. Newly revised for 2021, it is an essential, exhaustive look at the multiple revenue opportunities available to …

The Data-Driven Reporting Project is committed to awarding $2 million to journalists working on document-based investigative projects.

how to set effective product-related goals using OKRs

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