Journal articles and academic book chapters by François Nel
Nordic Journal of Media Management, 2020
Purpose: This paper sheds light on the distinctive nature of entrepreneurial-oriented behaviours ... more Purpose: This paper sheds light on the distinctive nature of entrepreneurial-oriented behaviours in news media firms. We reconsider conceptualisations of exploitation and exploration in the industry
and seek to explore the extent to which they are related to organisational performance.
Methodology: In a cross-sectional study, we draw on data from a longitudinal investigation into the decision making of news media executives worldwide. The study focuses on a correlational analysis
of primary data collected from media executives across 107 countries. With a large sample size (N =1438) and strict significance testing, we address the potential limitations of a purposive sampling strategy.
Findings/Contribution: We find that firms that prioritise exploration higher than exploitation are more likely to be reporting financial success than those who do the opposite. We propose that the study contributes to the understanding of the impact of volatile times on the media industry, by
suggesting that, even in the midst of considerable disruption, the exploration of new opportunities nevertheless has the potential to reap financial rewards. In so doing, it answers both the specific
appeal for greater clarity of organisational ambidexterity measures, as well as calls to test and expand existing theory in various contexts, and to develop theory that is directly pertinent to media management science.
Purpose - This paper contributes to the understanding of ambidexterity in news media firms by: (1... more Purpose - This paper contributes to the understanding of ambidexterity in news media firms by: (1) reconsidering conceptualisations of exploitation and exploration in the industry; (2) offering a multidimensional construct for success of innovations; and (3) drawing on unique data from a longitudinal study into the decision making of news media executives worldwide, to test whether there is a significant difference between the priorities of leaders at firms that report success versus those who report losses.
Design/methodology/approach – This paper draws on the statistical analysis of original data collected from 1438 individuals in 107 countries through a 22-question survey conducted annually from 2011 to 2016 in 11 languages.
Findings – This study supported the hypothesis that the extent to which an organisation prioritises exploration predicts its organisational performance. Thus, the analysis supports the view that entrepreneurial ambitions of news media leaders are connected to organisational success.
Research limitations/implications – While the results are based on a large sample, there still are limitations to the research, as the sampling procedure was purposive. Whilst this methodology could be criticised on the basis of researcher bias, objectivity was ensured through rigorous quantitative analysis, based upon strict significance testing.
Practical implications – Throughout this period characterised by permanent, on-going change, media firms have continued to report both growth and profit even as traditional revenue streams have declined. This study identifies that the leadership of those successful firms prioritised exploration of new opportunities, while not losing focus on the need to exploit existing markets. While the results of this study cannot be statistically generalised beyond the population of the respondents, our robust analysis invites news media executives who are currently relying on an exploitation strategy to reconsider their priorities.
Originality/value – This paper answers the call for media scholars to test and expand existing theory, and to develop theory that is directly pertinent to media management science, and which is potentially relevant to other fields too.
Keywords: media innovation, entrepreneurship, newspapers, organisational ambidexterity, innovation success.
Article Type: Research paper
Future of Journalism Conference , 2017
This paper reflects on entrepreneurship, leadership and the entrepreneurial orientation of firms ... more This paper reflects on entrepreneurship, leadership and the entrepreneurial orientation of firms in order to propose a construct of entrepreneurial leadership and to discuss its link to organisational performance in the context of the contemporary news media industry. Drawing on original data collected from 68 countries through a 22-question survey conducted in 10 languages during the third quarter of 2016, it considers the relationship between news media managers’ entrepreneurial orientation and the performance of their firms. Thus, we aimed to test whether leaders who prioritise investment in those aspects of the business that drive the entrepreneurial processes, practices and decision-making in organisations impacts on the overall success of their firms. Mindful of the pressure on news companies’ traditional revenue streams, we hypothesise that entrepreneurially ambitious news media executives at successful firms are more likely to prioritise building the entrepreneurial orientation of their organisations than do their counterparts at unsuccessful firms. We find that key dimensions of entrepreneurial orientation - innovativeness, autonomy, risk taking, proactiveness, and competitive aggressiveness - are significantly related to digital revenue performance, while entrepreneurial leadership is related to a range of financial performance indicators with a large effect size. As such, this paper proposes that the performance of successful media firms - including their financial performance - has more to do with the extent to which leaders foster the attitudes and activities that drive the entrepreneurial orientation of their organisations than external factors such as typical changes in market dynamics. Entrepreneurial leadership may, based on the study, help a news media company keep pace with technological progress, grow its business and create the economic value many consider essential to secure the future of quality journalism.
In M. Friedrichsen and W. Mu¨hl-Benninghaus (eds.), (2013) Handbook of Social Media Management, M... more In M. Friedrichsen and W. Mu¨hl-Benninghaus (eds.), (2013) Handbook of Social Media Management, Media Business and Innovation, DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-28897-5_11,
Berlin Heidelberg: Springer-Verlag, pp. 179-200
Pressed to Change: Business model innovation and integration in the British local newspaper industry, Apr 2013
The British newspaper industry’s health, under pressure
since advertising share started slippin... more The British newspaper industry’s health, under pressure
since advertising share started slipping in 2005, worsened
dramatically in 2007 with the advent of what has become
known as the Great Recession – and continues to struggle
into 2013. Just how publishers have responded to the
challenges to their traditional business model is examined
– on industry-wide, organizational and operational levels
– through cases drawn from amongst the sector’s largest
companies, Johnston Press and Trinity Mirror. The study
concludes that future success is likely to require greater
horizontal and vertical integration of organizations and
operations in order to weather any downturn, and also the
use of strategies that demonstrate lateral integration with
the new digital economy.
Predictions of the imminent death of once-powerful printed newspapers have grown louder in many d... more Predictions of the imminent death of once-powerful printed newspapers have grown louder in many developed countries, where structural changes fuelled by shifting consumer demand and the rapid growth of networked digital technologies have battered the sector. Nonetheless, most publishers are still in operation, albeit with shrinking readerships and advertising revenues. In response, many have launched news websites and applications for mobile devices and tablets with the aim to make their content and services accessible anytime, anyplace and through any device. The rise of Web 2.0 practices have further challenged publishers to engage with users in so-called participatory- and citizen journalism practices.
This chapter scrutinizes how the leading newspapers in each of the UK’s 66 cities have employed interactive technologies to include users online, on mobile and on tablets. The study draws on three longitudinal data sets to provide unique and empirically-based insights into how the social media practices of newspapers are paying off.
Newspapers are in flux. Having seen their traditional businesses battered by forces that include ... more Newspapers are in flux. Having seen their traditional businesses battered by forces that include the structural changes fuelled by the rapid growth of networked digital technologies and the cyclical shifts in the economy, mainstream news publishers have intensified efforts to adapt their journalism processes and products in order to generate new income. However, growing digital revenue streams to match, if not surpass, the losses in print circulation and advertising incomes has proved more difficult than many had predicted. A bright – or at least not quite so dim – spot glows from mobile devices. Drawing on data from an annual audit conducted in 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011, this article examines how 66 metropolitan newspapers in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have performed with respect to channels, content, conversation and commerce (4C’s). While findings show the expansion of newspapers’ mobile endeavours, these are uneven and characterised by repurposing existing content and duplicating traditional commercial models.
KEY WORDS: newspapers; future of journalism; media competition; mobile news; online business models
"Much like their counterparts in the United States and elsewhere, British newspaper publishers ha... more "Much like their counterparts in the United States and elsewhere, British newspaper publishers have seen a sharp decline in revenues from traditional sources—print advertising and copy sales—and many are intensifying efforts to generate new income by expanding their online offerings. A study of the largest circulation newspapers in the 66 cities in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland showed that while only a small minority did not have companion websites, many of the publishers who do have an online presence have transferred familiar revenue models. It has also been recognised that income from these sources is not enough to sustain current operations and innovative publishers have diversified into additional broad categories of Web business models. Significantly, this study did not only compare the approaches of various news publishers with each other, but it also considered how active newspaper publishers were in taking advantage of the variety of business models generally being employed on the Web—and which opportunities were ignored.
Keywords: business models; newspaper websites; newspapers; online revenue"
The need for journalism curriculum reform is widely acknowledged in the United Kingdom, yet the w... more The need for journalism curriculum reform is widely acknowledged in the United Kingdom, yet the wheels of the academy turn slowly. How are its journalism educators to resolve this dichotomy and meaningfully prepare their students for the realities of a fast-changing profession? This essay critically reviews an intervention designed to complement and inform the process of curriculum development, while equipping journalism students with the additional skills and attributes that they will need in order to break into an industry that is, by all accounts, changing its shape and shifting its expectations of its workforce.
Conference Presentations by François Nel
TITLE: Entrepreneurial leadership and value creation in news media firms
This paper reflects on... more TITLE: Entrepreneurial leadership and value creation in news media firms
This paper reflects on entrepreneurship, leadership and the entrepreneurial orientation of firms in order to propose a construct of entrepreneurial leadership and to discuss its link to organisational performance in the context of the contemporary news media industry. Drawing on original data collected from 68 countries through a 22-question survey conducted in 10 languages during the third quarter of 2016, it considers the relationship between news media managers’ entrepreneurial orientation and the performance of their firms. Thus, we aimed to test whether leaders who prioritise investment in those aspects of the business that drive the entrepreneurial processes, practices and decision-making in organisations impacts on the overall success of their firms. Mindful of the pressure on news companies’ traditional revenue streams, we hypothesise that entrepreneurially ambitious news media executives at successful firms are more likely to prioritise building the entrepreneurial orientation of their organisations than do their counterparts at unsuccessful firms. We find that key dimensions of entrepreneurial orientation - innovativeness, autonomy, risk taking, proactiveness, and competitive aggressiveness - are directly and significantly related to overall organisational performance with a large effect size. As such, this paper proposes that the performance of successful media firms - including their financial performance - has more to do with the extent to which leaders foster the attitudes and activities that drive the entrepreneurial orientation of their organisations than external factors such as typical changes in market dynamics. Entrepreneurial leadership may, based on the study, help a news media company keep pace with technological progress, grow its business and create the economic value many consider essential to secure the future of quality journalism.
Though we're still working on the final report, I recently previewed some initial findings from ... more Though we're still working on the final report, I recently previewed some initial findings from our longitudinal study into the decision making of news media executives at WAN-IFRA's 14th International Newsroom Summit in London. Damian Radcliffe summed it up in article for The Media Briefing published today and embedded some of my presentation slides.
Entrepreneurs, support agencies and funders, researchers and educators, and policy influencers w... more Entrepreneurs, support agencies and funders, researchers and educators, and policy influencers were invited to contribute to the first Journalism Entrpreneurship Summit in the UK on 27th of February 2015 at Google Campus London in order to take the temperature of the UK entrepreneurial ecosystem in the UK. These slides accompanied the convenor Francois Nel's opening remarks, which are available at: http://bit.ly/FrancoisNelJES2015 . Correspondence to: Francoisonline@gmail.com .
Though the Internet’s role in compelling a re-examination of the once-discrete roles of news prod... more Though the Internet’s role in compelling a re-examination of the once-discrete roles of news producer and news audience has been widely discussed and the need for a systematic review of this evolving relationship has been noted, relatively little is known about the specific strategies local newspapers employ to cultivate and main these community connections, nor the extent to which these efforts have paid off.
This study addresses that gap by examining how local newspapers in Britain, an understudied group with long-standing ties to local and even “hyperlocal” communities, have undertaken the challenges of building, transforming, and maintaining relationships with their news users online and on mobile. With reference to communication, journalism and relationship theory, two datasets compiled between 2008 and 2010 are considered: an annual audit of the online and mobile activities of the largest newspapers in each of Britain’s 66 cities, as well as the concomitant print circulation and online user figures. Research interviews bring a qualitative dimension to the analysis that identifies variations in approaches to three forms of interactivity - navigational, conversational and personalization – and offers a taxonomy of tactics and tools organisations use to foster and maintain increasingly symmetrical relationships with digital news users.
The results also indicate that while these initiatives might be increasing the satisfaction levels of empowered digital news users, some news organisations feel frustrated by the extent to which their efforts have been recognised and rewarded.
KEY WORDS: online interactivity; organisation-public relationships; digital news; newspapers
Abstract
This study examines how British weekly newspaper editors, an understudied group with ... more Abstract
This study examines how British weekly newspaper editors, an understudied group with long-standing ties to “hyperlocal” communities, regard the challenges of building, transforming, and managing knowledge in the midst of sweeping media change. Drawing on literature from media sociology and knowledge management, it suggests that these veteran editors are profoundly uncertain about how to translate what they believe about journalism, and know about creating it, into successful delivery of new products to new audiences.
Societies in transition require new processes and new relationships for their visions to be effec... more Societies in transition require new processes and new relationships for their visions to be effected. While it is acknowledged that the barriers to change are significant and that the levers for change are varied, there is usually an appreciation that the news media have an important role to play. Therefore, it is not surprising that the mainstream news media – newspapers, television and radio -- in particular, are typically under pressure to both help drive social change, and to demonstrate that they had been affected by the social change. An investigation of the debate on the South African media’s transformation following the country’s first democratic elections on April 27, 1994, shows that the role of news information sources – and particular the relationships between commercial media organizations and public relations practitioners – has largely escaped the public scrutiny to which other elements of media influence have been subjected. Drawing on a series of in-depth interviews with editors and senior public relations practitioners, this paper explores the state of the relationships between the daily newspapers in the legislative capital city, Cape Town, and their commercial content providers, with reference to Huang’s (2001) cross-cultural, multi-item scale for measuring organization-public relations (called Organization-Public Relations Assessment [OPRA]). The paper also investigates to what extent these organization-public relationships (OPRs) have been impacted by the national transformation agenda. Amongst the key findings are that the decline in skills amongst journalists and the corresponding increase in capacity of publicists have resulted a change in the power dynamic between the two parties. This discussion paper aims to contribute to a further study in which it will be argued that alterations in the media environment have eroded the gate-keeping function of the news media and subsequently its power in a democratic society.
Books by François Nel
Retour page d'accueil Chercher, sur, Tous les supports. Retour page d'accueil, ... more Retour page d'accueil Chercher, sur, Tous les supports. Retour page d'accueil, Plus de 1.616.000 de titres à notre catalogue ! Notice. ...
Industry Reports by François Nel
Executive Summary
At Kaleida we started wondering if maybe both sides of the platform-publisher d... more Executive Summary
At Kaleida we started wondering if maybe both sides of the platform-publisher dynamic have inflated views of what the other is getting in this relationship. Maybe neither side is co-dependent. Maybe the value of
coexisting on the same medium is worth more than the costs of fighting each other.
This research explores those questions. We've collected and analysed data from several different types of sources and used a few different techniques to build the foundations for what we hope becomes useful research for everyone.
KEY INSIGHTS:
• There were approximately 7.4 billion sessions to articles on news publishers’ digital properties initiated by clicks from 3rd party sites in Europe in January.
• News consumers click on 32% of the headlines they typically see in a day.
• We estimate approximately 23 billion “News Exposures” (headlines seen on 3rd party sites) in Europe in January.
• We found that one session was worth about €0.007.
• The total digital ad revenue driven off referral traffic to articles was about €53M or 1/3 of the total digital ad market for news.
• The demand for news amongst 18 to 24 year olds is more than you might think. And the numbers for the 55+ age group made us wonder if there's latent capacity in the market for even more news from more sources than what’s on offer today.
• Google and Facebook drive over 80% of all the traffic sourced from 3rd parties.
• After Wikipedia we found that Search as a category drives the next most valuable source of traffic to news followed by Social platforms in terms of visit depth.
• Survey respondents in Germany showed a higher interest in news than either the UK or France.
• People told us they are much more likely to click on a story if the original source is a recognised news publisher.
• The super active news consumers prefer publishers’ web sites and mobile apps as a main source of news vs Facebook, Google or any other source for news. They use news publisher’s sites and apps on a daily basis.
Our research shows real appetite for news.
The platform-publisher-people triad is working very well in many ways. It’s not a dependent or even co-dependent relationship for any of the constituents. Traffic generated by 3rd party sites is powerful fuel for a news
business, but news can survive without it, too.
The challenge is working out how platforms and publishers can develop a healthy longterm coexistence.
Contributors:
Matt McAlister, Kaleida
Graham Tackley, Kaleida
Dr Coral Milburn-Curtis, Green Templeton College, University of Oxford
Dr Francois Nel, University of Central Lancashire
Rev Dan Catt, Data Scientist
Dr Gabriel Hughes, Founder and CEO, Metageni
WAN-IFRA is publishing our latest analysis of the relationship between the attitudes and prioriti... more WAN-IFRA is publishing our latest analysis of the relationship between the attitudes and priorities of news media managers and the performance of their firms as their new World News Publishers Outlook 2017 report.
The report will officially be released on Wednesday, 20th September.
Our work on the report (and some related academic papers) is underpinned by our 7th annual 22-question survey of news executives conducted in 10 languages across all the major regions of the world. The vast majority of the nearly 250 respondents - 43% - identified themselves as “senior managers,” a category that we defined to include owners, publishers and CEOs.
What also makes this report unique is that we have not just used simple charts to describe our findings, but have also conducted some advanced statistical analysis that enabled us to answer a key business question: Do decision makers at successful firms have different priorities to those at unsuccessful companies? The answer: Yes.
The full report will be available from at: www.wan-ifra.org/outlook_2017 and more details about the project - and how to get in touch to discuss opportunities for academic and industry collaboration - here: http://www.innovationresearchgroup.com
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Journal articles and academic book chapters by François Nel
and seek to explore the extent to which they are related to organisational performance.
Methodology: In a cross-sectional study, we draw on data from a longitudinal investigation into the decision making of news media executives worldwide. The study focuses on a correlational analysis
of primary data collected from media executives across 107 countries. With a large sample size (N =1438) and strict significance testing, we address the potential limitations of a purposive sampling strategy.
Findings/Contribution: We find that firms that prioritise exploration higher than exploitation are more likely to be reporting financial success than those who do the opposite. We propose that the study contributes to the understanding of the impact of volatile times on the media industry, by
suggesting that, even in the midst of considerable disruption, the exploration of new opportunities nevertheless has the potential to reap financial rewards. In so doing, it answers both the specific
appeal for greater clarity of organisational ambidexterity measures, as well as calls to test and expand existing theory in various contexts, and to develop theory that is directly pertinent to media management science.
Design/methodology/approach – This paper draws on the statistical analysis of original data collected from 1438 individuals in 107 countries through a 22-question survey conducted annually from 2011 to 2016 in 11 languages.
Findings – This study supported the hypothesis that the extent to which an organisation prioritises exploration predicts its organisational performance. Thus, the analysis supports the view that entrepreneurial ambitions of news media leaders are connected to organisational success.
Research limitations/implications – While the results are based on a large sample, there still are limitations to the research, as the sampling procedure was purposive. Whilst this methodology could be criticised on the basis of researcher bias, objectivity was ensured through rigorous quantitative analysis, based upon strict significance testing.
Practical implications – Throughout this period characterised by permanent, on-going change, media firms have continued to report both growth and profit even as traditional revenue streams have declined. This study identifies that the leadership of those successful firms prioritised exploration of new opportunities, while not losing focus on the need to exploit existing markets. While the results of this study cannot be statistically generalised beyond the population of the respondents, our robust analysis invites news media executives who are currently relying on an exploitation strategy to reconsider their priorities.
Originality/value – This paper answers the call for media scholars to test and expand existing theory, and to develop theory that is directly pertinent to media management science, and which is potentially relevant to other fields too.
Keywords: media innovation, entrepreneurship, newspapers, organisational ambidexterity, innovation success.
Article Type: Research paper
Berlin Heidelberg: Springer-Verlag, pp. 179-200
since advertising share started slipping in 2005, worsened
dramatically in 2007 with the advent of what has become
known as the Great Recession – and continues to struggle
into 2013. Just how publishers have responded to the
challenges to their traditional business model is examined
– on industry-wide, organizational and operational levels
– through cases drawn from amongst the sector’s largest
companies, Johnston Press and Trinity Mirror. The study
concludes that future success is likely to require greater
horizontal and vertical integration of organizations and
operations in order to weather any downturn, and also the
use of strategies that demonstrate lateral integration with
the new digital economy.
This chapter scrutinizes how the leading newspapers in each of the UK’s 66 cities have employed interactive technologies to include users online, on mobile and on tablets. The study draws on three longitudinal data sets to provide unique and empirically-based insights into how the social media practices of newspapers are paying off.
KEY WORDS: newspapers; future of journalism; media competition; mobile news; online business models
Keywords: business models; newspaper websites; newspapers; online revenue"
Conference Presentations by François Nel
This paper reflects on entrepreneurship, leadership and the entrepreneurial orientation of firms in order to propose a construct of entrepreneurial leadership and to discuss its link to organisational performance in the context of the contemporary news media industry. Drawing on original data collected from 68 countries through a 22-question survey conducted in 10 languages during the third quarter of 2016, it considers the relationship between news media managers’ entrepreneurial orientation and the performance of their firms. Thus, we aimed to test whether leaders who prioritise investment in those aspects of the business that drive the entrepreneurial processes, practices and decision-making in organisations impacts on the overall success of their firms. Mindful of the pressure on news companies’ traditional revenue streams, we hypothesise that entrepreneurially ambitious news media executives at successful firms are more likely to prioritise building the entrepreneurial orientation of their organisations than do their counterparts at unsuccessful firms. We find that key dimensions of entrepreneurial orientation - innovativeness, autonomy, risk taking, proactiveness, and competitive aggressiveness - are directly and significantly related to overall organisational performance with a large effect size. As such, this paper proposes that the performance of successful media firms - including their financial performance - has more to do with the extent to which leaders foster the attitudes and activities that drive the entrepreneurial orientation of their organisations than external factors such as typical changes in market dynamics. Entrepreneurial leadership may, based on the study, help a news media company keep pace with technological progress, grow its business and create the economic value many consider essential to secure the future of quality journalism.
This study addresses that gap by examining how local newspapers in Britain, an understudied group with long-standing ties to local and even “hyperlocal” communities, have undertaken the challenges of building, transforming, and maintaining relationships with their news users online and on mobile. With reference to communication, journalism and relationship theory, two datasets compiled between 2008 and 2010 are considered: an annual audit of the online and mobile activities of the largest newspapers in each of Britain’s 66 cities, as well as the concomitant print circulation and online user figures. Research interviews bring a qualitative dimension to the analysis that identifies variations in approaches to three forms of interactivity - navigational, conversational and personalization – and offers a taxonomy of tactics and tools organisations use to foster and maintain increasingly symmetrical relationships with digital news users.
The results also indicate that while these initiatives might be increasing the satisfaction levels of empowered digital news users, some news organisations feel frustrated by the extent to which their efforts have been recognised and rewarded.
KEY WORDS: online interactivity; organisation-public relationships; digital news; newspapers
This study examines how British weekly newspaper editors, an understudied group with long-standing ties to “hyperlocal” communities, regard the challenges of building, transforming, and managing knowledge in the midst of sweeping media change. Drawing on literature from media sociology and knowledge management, it suggests that these veteran editors are profoundly uncertain about how to translate what they believe about journalism, and know about creating it, into successful delivery of new products to new audiences.
Books by François Nel
Industry Reports by François Nel
At Kaleida we started wondering if maybe both sides of the platform-publisher dynamic have inflated views of what the other is getting in this relationship. Maybe neither side is co-dependent. Maybe the value of
coexisting on the same medium is worth more than the costs of fighting each other.
This research explores those questions. We've collected and analysed data from several different types of sources and used a few different techniques to build the foundations for what we hope becomes useful research for everyone.
KEY INSIGHTS:
• There were approximately 7.4 billion sessions to articles on news publishers’ digital properties initiated by clicks from 3rd party sites in Europe in January.
• News consumers click on 32% of the headlines they typically see in a day.
• We estimate approximately 23 billion “News Exposures” (headlines seen on 3rd party sites) in Europe in January.
• We found that one session was worth about €0.007.
• The total digital ad revenue driven off referral traffic to articles was about €53M or 1/3 of the total digital ad market for news.
• The demand for news amongst 18 to 24 year olds is more than you might think. And the numbers for the 55+ age group made us wonder if there's latent capacity in the market for even more news from more sources than what’s on offer today.
• Google and Facebook drive over 80% of all the traffic sourced from 3rd parties.
• After Wikipedia we found that Search as a category drives the next most valuable source of traffic to news followed by Social platforms in terms of visit depth.
• Survey respondents in Germany showed a higher interest in news than either the UK or France.
• People told us they are much more likely to click on a story if the original source is a recognised news publisher.
• The super active news consumers prefer publishers’ web sites and mobile apps as a main source of news vs Facebook, Google or any other source for news. They use news publisher’s sites and apps on a daily basis.
Our research shows real appetite for news.
The platform-publisher-people triad is working very well in many ways. It’s not a dependent or even co-dependent relationship for any of the constituents. Traffic generated by 3rd party sites is powerful fuel for a news
business, but news can survive without it, too.
The challenge is working out how platforms and publishers can develop a healthy longterm coexistence.
Contributors:
Matt McAlister, Kaleida
Graham Tackley, Kaleida
Dr Coral Milburn-Curtis, Green Templeton College, University of Oxford
Dr Francois Nel, University of Central Lancashire
Rev Dan Catt, Data Scientist
Dr Gabriel Hughes, Founder and CEO, Metageni
The report will officially be released on Wednesday, 20th September.
Our work on the report (and some related academic papers) is underpinned by our 7th annual 22-question survey of news executives conducted in 10 languages across all the major regions of the world. The vast majority of the nearly 250 respondents - 43% - identified themselves as “senior managers,” a category that we defined to include owners, publishers and CEOs.
What also makes this report unique is that we have not just used simple charts to describe our findings, but have also conducted some advanced statistical analysis that enabled us to answer a key business question: Do decision makers at successful firms have different priorities to those at unsuccessful companies? The answer: Yes.
The full report will be available from at: www.wan-ifra.org/outlook_2017 and more details about the project - and how to get in touch to discuss opportunities for academic and industry collaboration - here: http://www.innovationresearchgroup.com
and seek to explore the extent to which they are related to organisational performance.
Methodology: In a cross-sectional study, we draw on data from a longitudinal investigation into the decision making of news media executives worldwide. The study focuses on a correlational analysis
of primary data collected from media executives across 107 countries. With a large sample size (N =1438) and strict significance testing, we address the potential limitations of a purposive sampling strategy.
Findings/Contribution: We find that firms that prioritise exploration higher than exploitation are more likely to be reporting financial success than those who do the opposite. We propose that the study contributes to the understanding of the impact of volatile times on the media industry, by
suggesting that, even in the midst of considerable disruption, the exploration of new opportunities nevertheless has the potential to reap financial rewards. In so doing, it answers both the specific
appeal for greater clarity of organisational ambidexterity measures, as well as calls to test and expand existing theory in various contexts, and to develop theory that is directly pertinent to media management science.
Design/methodology/approach – This paper draws on the statistical analysis of original data collected from 1438 individuals in 107 countries through a 22-question survey conducted annually from 2011 to 2016 in 11 languages.
Findings – This study supported the hypothesis that the extent to which an organisation prioritises exploration predicts its organisational performance. Thus, the analysis supports the view that entrepreneurial ambitions of news media leaders are connected to organisational success.
Research limitations/implications – While the results are based on a large sample, there still are limitations to the research, as the sampling procedure was purposive. Whilst this methodology could be criticised on the basis of researcher bias, objectivity was ensured through rigorous quantitative analysis, based upon strict significance testing.
Practical implications – Throughout this period characterised by permanent, on-going change, media firms have continued to report both growth and profit even as traditional revenue streams have declined. This study identifies that the leadership of those successful firms prioritised exploration of new opportunities, while not losing focus on the need to exploit existing markets. While the results of this study cannot be statistically generalised beyond the population of the respondents, our robust analysis invites news media executives who are currently relying on an exploitation strategy to reconsider their priorities.
Originality/value – This paper answers the call for media scholars to test and expand existing theory, and to develop theory that is directly pertinent to media management science, and which is potentially relevant to other fields too.
Keywords: media innovation, entrepreneurship, newspapers, organisational ambidexterity, innovation success.
Article Type: Research paper
Berlin Heidelberg: Springer-Verlag, pp. 179-200
since advertising share started slipping in 2005, worsened
dramatically in 2007 with the advent of what has become
known as the Great Recession – and continues to struggle
into 2013. Just how publishers have responded to the
challenges to their traditional business model is examined
– on industry-wide, organizational and operational levels
– through cases drawn from amongst the sector’s largest
companies, Johnston Press and Trinity Mirror. The study
concludes that future success is likely to require greater
horizontal and vertical integration of organizations and
operations in order to weather any downturn, and also the
use of strategies that demonstrate lateral integration with
the new digital economy.
This chapter scrutinizes how the leading newspapers in each of the UK’s 66 cities have employed interactive technologies to include users online, on mobile and on tablets. The study draws on three longitudinal data sets to provide unique and empirically-based insights into how the social media practices of newspapers are paying off.
KEY WORDS: newspapers; future of journalism; media competition; mobile news; online business models
Keywords: business models; newspaper websites; newspapers; online revenue"
This paper reflects on entrepreneurship, leadership and the entrepreneurial orientation of firms in order to propose a construct of entrepreneurial leadership and to discuss its link to organisational performance in the context of the contemporary news media industry. Drawing on original data collected from 68 countries through a 22-question survey conducted in 10 languages during the third quarter of 2016, it considers the relationship between news media managers’ entrepreneurial orientation and the performance of their firms. Thus, we aimed to test whether leaders who prioritise investment in those aspects of the business that drive the entrepreneurial processes, practices and decision-making in organisations impacts on the overall success of their firms. Mindful of the pressure on news companies’ traditional revenue streams, we hypothesise that entrepreneurially ambitious news media executives at successful firms are more likely to prioritise building the entrepreneurial orientation of their organisations than do their counterparts at unsuccessful firms. We find that key dimensions of entrepreneurial orientation - innovativeness, autonomy, risk taking, proactiveness, and competitive aggressiveness - are directly and significantly related to overall organisational performance with a large effect size. As such, this paper proposes that the performance of successful media firms - including their financial performance - has more to do with the extent to which leaders foster the attitudes and activities that drive the entrepreneurial orientation of their organisations than external factors such as typical changes in market dynamics. Entrepreneurial leadership may, based on the study, help a news media company keep pace with technological progress, grow its business and create the economic value many consider essential to secure the future of quality journalism.
This study addresses that gap by examining how local newspapers in Britain, an understudied group with long-standing ties to local and even “hyperlocal” communities, have undertaken the challenges of building, transforming, and maintaining relationships with their news users online and on mobile. With reference to communication, journalism and relationship theory, two datasets compiled between 2008 and 2010 are considered: an annual audit of the online and mobile activities of the largest newspapers in each of Britain’s 66 cities, as well as the concomitant print circulation and online user figures. Research interviews bring a qualitative dimension to the analysis that identifies variations in approaches to three forms of interactivity - navigational, conversational and personalization – and offers a taxonomy of tactics and tools organisations use to foster and maintain increasingly symmetrical relationships with digital news users.
The results also indicate that while these initiatives might be increasing the satisfaction levels of empowered digital news users, some news organisations feel frustrated by the extent to which their efforts have been recognised and rewarded.
KEY WORDS: online interactivity; organisation-public relationships; digital news; newspapers
This study examines how British weekly newspaper editors, an understudied group with long-standing ties to “hyperlocal” communities, regard the challenges of building, transforming, and managing knowledge in the midst of sweeping media change. Drawing on literature from media sociology and knowledge management, it suggests that these veteran editors are profoundly uncertain about how to translate what they believe about journalism, and know about creating it, into successful delivery of new products to new audiences.
At Kaleida we started wondering if maybe both sides of the platform-publisher dynamic have inflated views of what the other is getting in this relationship. Maybe neither side is co-dependent. Maybe the value of
coexisting on the same medium is worth more than the costs of fighting each other.
This research explores those questions. We've collected and analysed data from several different types of sources and used a few different techniques to build the foundations for what we hope becomes useful research for everyone.
KEY INSIGHTS:
• There were approximately 7.4 billion sessions to articles on news publishers’ digital properties initiated by clicks from 3rd party sites in Europe in January.
• News consumers click on 32% of the headlines they typically see in a day.
• We estimate approximately 23 billion “News Exposures” (headlines seen on 3rd party sites) in Europe in January.
• We found that one session was worth about €0.007.
• The total digital ad revenue driven off referral traffic to articles was about €53M or 1/3 of the total digital ad market for news.
• The demand for news amongst 18 to 24 year olds is more than you might think. And the numbers for the 55+ age group made us wonder if there's latent capacity in the market for even more news from more sources than what’s on offer today.
• Google and Facebook drive over 80% of all the traffic sourced from 3rd parties.
• After Wikipedia we found that Search as a category drives the next most valuable source of traffic to news followed by Social platforms in terms of visit depth.
• Survey respondents in Germany showed a higher interest in news than either the UK or France.
• People told us they are much more likely to click on a story if the original source is a recognised news publisher.
• The super active news consumers prefer publishers’ web sites and mobile apps as a main source of news vs Facebook, Google or any other source for news. They use news publisher’s sites and apps on a daily basis.
Our research shows real appetite for news.
The platform-publisher-people triad is working very well in many ways. It’s not a dependent or even co-dependent relationship for any of the constituents. Traffic generated by 3rd party sites is powerful fuel for a news
business, but news can survive without it, too.
The challenge is working out how platforms and publishers can develop a healthy longterm coexistence.
Contributors:
Matt McAlister, Kaleida
Graham Tackley, Kaleida
Dr Coral Milburn-Curtis, Green Templeton College, University of Oxford
Dr Francois Nel, University of Central Lancashire
Rev Dan Catt, Data Scientist
Dr Gabriel Hughes, Founder and CEO, Metageni
The report will officially be released on Wednesday, 20th September.
Our work on the report (and some related academic papers) is underpinned by our 7th annual 22-question survey of news executives conducted in 10 languages across all the major regions of the world. The vast majority of the nearly 250 respondents - 43% - identified themselves as “senior managers,” a category that we defined to include owners, publishers and CEOs.
What also makes this report unique is that we have not just used simple charts to describe our findings, but have also conducted some advanced statistical analysis that enabled us to answer a key business question: Do decision makers at successful firms have different priorities to those at unsuccessful companies? The answer: Yes.
The full report will be available from at: www.wan-ifra.org/outlook_2017 and more details about the project - and how to get in touch to discuss opportunities for academic and industry collaboration - here: http://www.innovationresearchgroup.com
Since 2010, this study has been tracking the performance and priorities of innovating news publishers worldwide. Launched in collaboration with the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA), the study in 10 languages is led by François Nel of the University of Central Lancashire and conducted in association with Martha Stone of WNMN.
A free copy of the report is available for download at the link below.
Convened by François Nel of the universities of Central Lancashire (UCLan) and Oxford in collaboration with William Perrin and Sarah Hartley of Talk About Local and Javier Luque Martinez of the International Press Institute, the day-long workshop on 27th February 2015 was hosted by Google at Campus London and facilitated by Katie Taylor and Onno Baudouin of UCLan with additional project support from Emma Urjasova of the University of Leeds and reporting by Gemma Walsh of Oxford.
CORRESPONDENCE from entrepreneurs, support agencies, researchers, educators and policy makers who would like to collaborate further are particularly welcome and should be sent to:
François Nel, Director of the Journalism Leaders Programme at the University of Central Lancashire and Visiting Fellow at the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, University of Oxford. francois.nel@btinternet.com
Download the full report at: http://bit.ly/JES2105TakingThePulse
Data for the 2014 study will be collect through May. The questionnaire is aimed decision makers in print, electronic and digital media enterprises and is available in 10 language - including Arabic, Chinese, and Persian: http://wnmn.org/world-newsmedia-innovation-study-2013 .
We welcome queries from media scholars with strong industry links would like to contribute, particularly those who can stimulate participation amongst those in their networks.
And there are many of them.
This study’s principal author François Nel of the University of Central Lancashire estimates that the UK’s mainstream journalism corps has shrunk between a quarter and a third over the past decade (and 30% to 40% on the 2001 estimates widely used by the industry).
Here we highlight the experiences of a fraction of those – 144 – who responded to an online questionnaire conducted in collaboration with Journalism.co.uk.
The stories are sobering. “I worry about money and I worry about direction – where I’m going, what I’m doing, who I am now,” wrote a 46-year-old former section editor who was chosen to take a redundancy package in April 2009 along with “a third of the staff” in her office. Her concerns about finding, not only a new income, but also a new identity, echo those of many respondents.
Asked what it is like knowing that their careers in traditional newspaper journalism might be finished, many respondents found it difficult to maintain a characteristic stiff upper lip.
“Gutted,” said a 46-year-old male photographer who has a GCSE qualification, 19 years of experience in regional papers and dependent children living at home.
“I feel sh** after reading that question,” said a 28-year-old former assistant magazine editor with a postgraduate degree. “And wish I had never even tried to get into this bloody profession.”
Some respondents saw it as an opportunity. “I know I could go back. But I don’t want to,” said a 32-old-old former sub-editor for a national weekly newspaper. “I want to find a way of earning money for myself with my talents so I can leave London and start a family with my husband. My priorities have changed.”
Whatever their experiences, whatever their prospects, most agreed on this: it had been a road worth travelling. When asked if they would do it all again, nearly 70% said they would still have chosen journalism as a career - even if they had known what would happen to the industry.
While the findings cannot be generalised, we believe they should not be ignored.
These voices can help inform media managers, union officials, policy makers, training bodies, educators, would-be journalists, those still working and, perhaps most importantly, the thousands of other journalists who have left - or have been forced out - of the profession.
We welcome your comments, questions and suggestions on this exploratory study. And, in particular, your views on what we should learn from – and do with – this information.
Please post your thoughts on Journalism.co.uk , or send them directly to the study author François Nel at FPNel@uclan.ac.uk, or on Twitter to @francoisnel using the hashtag #laidoff.