The migration started years ago, and the path from journalist to media operator (mogul?) has become more popular — and profitable. See how Jessica Lessin bootstrapped The Information, Nicholas Thompson revived the 167-year-old Atlantic, Vice expats built 404 Media, or former Politico reporters made Punchbowl a massive success. Even local news — arguably the most challenging sector of the business — is brimming with journalists-turned-entrepreneurs who have started their own operations, often out of frustration with former employers. And then there are the many writers who sprung up via (or leapt to) Substack and comparable platforms.
Most journalists used to willfully ignore the “business side.” Today, they’re getting much more comfortable with trying to solve the revenue puzzle that bedevils news. My prediction is that journalists will continue to take matters into their own hands — or spreadsheets — either as entrepreneurs striking out on their own or innovators in established and legacy institutions. Over the next year, we’ll see even more journalists venture into the business side of the news industry or adopt those frameworks and concepts by choice into their work.
For the most part, this will be a positive development for our audiences and industry. After 15 years in newsrooms, I crossed over to the revenue side several years ago and got my MBA along the way. (I often joke that I provide “translation services” between newsroom and business types.) Meanwhile, I’ve seen this mindset shift begin to take hold, as evidenced by the emergence of news product as an entire field and career track.
The shift from advertising to a subscription or membership-based business model has made this more palpable to journalists. After all, most journalists want people to read their stories (is there no better affirmation for your work than if someone subscribes or becomes a member because of it?). And the closer that journalism is to readers (or, in MBA speak, the closer the product is to the customer), the better we can serve them.
In Laura Krantz McNeil’s apt Nieman Reports story, she concluded that newsrooms need people “with a service mindset, who understand how to run a business, but a business with a mission that’s more important than ever.” Absolutely. But on the way, it’s going to get messy. That’s okay, because if we’re not failing, then we’re not innovating enough to survive as an industry.
Take, for example, the following Venn diagram of the hedgehog concept — a classic paradigm from the book Good to Great by Jim Collins. This has become my go-to framework when I think about new initiatives:
Collins’ book has nothing to do with the news industry. But I think we’d deliver more value to our readers and communities if we asked some version of these questions early in the process.
Trust with readers will always remain the bedrock of our business. But before anyone reaches for their pearls, remember that the news media industry has been responding to business opportunities and consumer needs for its entire existence. Isn’t an editor asking “Who’s the reader for this story?” the same thing?
We should all look to our news leaders to consider both journalistic impact and financial longevity in their decisions. That’s not blasphemy. It’s creating value for our communities in the way only journalists can provide — and ensuring that we’re sustainable in a way that can serve them for years to come.
Shira T. Center is a senior director for revenue at Boston Globe Media Partners.
