Leading Through Disruption: Key Traits of Successful News Media Leaders
The news media landscape is in constant flux. Navigating this turbulence requires more than just adapting to change; it demands proactive, visionary leadership. A recent playbook report from WAN-IFRA, compiled from insights at the World News Media Congress, identifies key characteristics consistently demonstrated by leaders successfully steering their organizations toward a sustainable future. Here’s a breakdown of those traits, offering actionable takeaways for anyone in the media industry.
1. Inspiring a Vision for the Future
Simply reacting to challenges isn’t enough. truly effective leaders paint a compelling picture of what’s possible. This isn’t about blind optimism,but about articulating a future worth striving for,and then galvanizing teams to move towards it.
“If we want renewal, we need to be incredibly optimistic about it, and we need to lead people towards that.” – Joshi Hermann,Founder and Editor of Mill Media,UK.This means going beyond daily headlines and focusing on the long-term impact of your work. It’s about inspiring belief in the value of journalism itself.
2. Building Organizational Resilience
The most successful leaders don’t dwell on difficulties. Instead, they proactively build resilience within their organizations, preparing for inevitable disruptions.
This frequently enough involves diversifying revenue streams. It also means leveraging existing strengths to explore new opportunities.As Bartosz Hojka,CEO of Agora,Poland,puts it: “We built our strategy around resilience because I believe that in our unstable world,it’s probably one of the most significant traits of media companies. And to me, resilience is not about surviving a crisis but advancing in a crisis – using it as an opportunity.”
3. Anchoring Strategy in a Clear ’Why’
Beyond key performance indicators (KPIs), a strong sense of purpose is crucial. Knowing why your journalism exists – and who it serves – provides a powerful foundation for strategy and vision.
Styli Charalambous, Co-Founder and CEO of Daily Maverick, south Africa, emphasizes the need to define this: “Why does our journalism exist, and who are we doing this for?”
Monicah Ndung’u, Chief Corporate affairs and Partnerships Officer of Nation Media Group, Kenya, highlights the importance of positive societal impact: “Our biggest bet remains on how we can remain trusted, relevant, and provide depth and context nonetheless of vertical platforms or tools. And it all comes back to impacting society in a positive way, every day.”
This “why” isn’t just a feel-good statement; it’s a guiding principle that informs every decision.
4. Cultivating a Culture of Constant Adaptation
The pressure to innovate is relentless. Leaders who thrive in this environment foster a culture that embraces change, encourages experimentation, and prioritizes open communication.
Dmitry Shishkin, Strategic Editorial Advisor at Ringier International, advocates for honest self-assessment: “[W]e also have to keep asking ourselves tough questions: Are we original enough? are we producing a lot of commodity news, for example? Are we having those honest conversations in our newsrooms?”
Xenia Daum, CEO of Kleine Zeitung, Austria, stresses the importance of trust and transparency: “[D]riving cultural change while maintaining trust and stability in the newsroom has required thoughtful, consistent communication and a lot of listening.”
Lisa Irenius, Editor-in-Chief and CEO of svenska Dagbladet, Sweden, champions a learning mindset: “In today’s environment you have to experiment, so it’s all about getting team members and journalists onboard to take on an captivating project. To show that ‘we did this and we learned this.'”
Want to delve deeper? The full WAN-IFRA playbook report offers detailed strategies from leading organizations like Le Monde, Die Zeit, The New York Times, FT, and The Atlantic.
This article originally appeared in strategy & leadership, our newsletter about the trends, insights and people shaping the future of news. To get stories like this in your inbox first, sign up here.
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