Many are the newsrooms where there is someone with the title “new product manager” or something like it.
Not many are the newsrooms where the “new product manager” lives up to his/her title in real life.
I recently ran into a top newspaper CEO who put it directly and, which, in my view, echoes what I have observed myself: “We do have a new product manager but I have not seen him come up with many new products for us to evaluate. I guess he needs more time?.”
Perhaps this specific product manager needs more time.
However, chances are that what the new product manager needs is a rewrite of his job description, some attention from his superiors, and, indeed, a dose of old fashioned direction.
It is easy to understand why so many product managers sit alone in their room, with little company and much less guidance. New product managers are the latest and strangest of fish to jump in the tank that is the newsroom. Editors, and journalists generally, are not usually coming up with new products themselves. Their time is spent coming up with story ideas. Suddenly, the earth under their feet shakes with all kinds of challenges, not to mention the monetary pressures to increase circulation, make more users pay for content, and publish the type of content that advertisers will take to.
Yet, I am convinced that among the most wanted profiles in newsrooms in 2019 will be new product managers and developers.
People who understand digital journalism, the way users consume information today and who will not just come up with new products, but enhance the existing ones.
A recent article caught my attention because it managed to highlight the issues that I think keep many newsroom new product managers from making better progress.
Read on:
The product management mistakes most media companies make — and what you can do to fix them
This piece calls attention to the issue of organizational culture as a factor. Indeed, it is all about the culture of legacy, traditional newsrooms and journalists. Specifically, journalists are used to quick turnarounds. Journalists live for the today of it all. The story is done and published. They think in terms of editions, the finality of “putting the paper to bed”. In today’s environment, the news never goes to sleep, neither do those who produce it and manage it.
New product development takes time. Here is a highlight of the article:
This was the overwhelming theme over the two days of group work and discussions. Participants working from legacy print and broadcast organisations noted that editorial’s “publish when perfect” mindset ran counter to the iterative nature of product development and often caused tension between teams.
At the same time, the daily 24-hour news cycle made it difficult for journalists and editors to understand that it could take several weeks or months for a feature to be tested and built.
New product managers need to be given independency to do their work.
“Others felt that the product departments in their organizations were not given enough autonomy , slowing down progress and causing frustration. The issue of cultural change (and how to lead it) is a widespread challenge ….”
Finally, and anyone who has lived in a newsroom environment will understand this quickly: problems of communication between editors and new product managers.
How a product team communicates with the wider business was another thread that came out over the two days. Despite communication being at the heart of their business, many still felt their stakeholder engagement plan was lacking. Anita said working in “product is about translation between departments” and that clear internal communication is “underrated in news organizations of all sizes.”
In the end, it is not just about daring to appoint someone to develop new products in your newsroom, it is also important to give this person and his/her job the care it requires for good things to happen.
TheMarioBlog post #2939