How to successfully execute a dual-transformation at your media business PLUS @r4isstatic talks about product thinking, information architecture and silos with @journalismnews

September 01, 2022

Almost a decade ago, Clark Gilbert successfully executed a dual transformation strategy at the Deseret News, transforming their legacy print business and developing a new, separate digital business. The strategy was very buzzy for a while, with a series about in the American Press Institute, and then it all went a bit quiet. It's interesting to see the Local Media Association talk about the strategy again.

We have a number of good pieces about product thinking both in media companies and more broadly. Journalism.co.uk has an interview with Reach's Paul Rissen, and The Department of Product has an excellent piece on monitoring the health of a product.

Transformation A and Transformation B are equally important for media companies. Toddy Handy breaks them down in our LMA Fest recap.

The dual transformation model applied to media has been around for more than a decade, championed by Clark Gilbert in his leadership at the Deseret News. Gilbert and his team were able to drive successful but different transformation and success at both the legacy and digital businesses. it is interesting to see the model popping up again, and I wonder why it didn’t gain as much traction a decade ago.

Reach Plc's Paul Rissen says that it is time for newsrooms to break the silos in editorial and tech teams so readers can get a better news experience

Paul Rissen talks about a subject that I researched for my master’s degree - the boundary spanning work of product managers. Silos are a symptom of the boundaries in organisations.

Paul has been doing this kind of important work for a long time, and this piece is an excellent overview of information architecture, which helps audiences find information and navigate to what they want to find. Paul's thoughtful approach is so refreshing and needed.

The deal to acquire a small website-building firm continues a play toward digital growth.

An interesting acquisition as it looks to use this site-building product to allow companies to quickly build a digital presence.

"You're going to see a lot more physical activations from us," BuzzFeed's Melanie Summers says.

BuzzFeed has to make money somehow. I don't mean to be cynical about it, and I would expect that this isn't only a source of revenue but also part of an effort to build awareness about their brand.

QCode, Tenderfoot TV, NPR and Acast are beefing up their subscription podcast offerings with more bonus content and additional features.

I'm certain that we'll see a lot more of this as subscription-based businesses as they try to find pricing and bundling options that continue to attract paying customers.

Press Gazette has been reporting on British journalism without fear or favour since 1965. Our mission is to provide a news and information service which helps the UK journalism.

And some subscription businesses that got a late start will struggle.

"For me, fundamentally, the mistake was thinking that journalism was where Medium was going to shine."

Medium's new CEO gives a candid interview about missteps that the platform made. As the summary said, journalism wasn't ever going to be their path to success, but I do wonder how Medium builds a business on the occasional writer. I use Medium but very occasionally, and my audience there is almost non-existent.

In a memo to employees, Snap CEO Evan Spiegel said that 20 percent of employees would be laid off and that Snapchat would end its original shows, in-app games, Pixy camera drone, and Zenly app.

Medium long ago got out of the original content business, and Snap now looks like it is going the same way.

Product strategy isn’t simply about clear decision making; before you can even begin to make any decisions about the direction of your product, you need to spend some time in diagnostic mode where you try to build a big picture snapshot of the health of your product.

A good overview of how to monitor the success of your product in its current form and how to know when it is a good time to iterate again.