Library

Brendan Beninghof, User Interviews’s Director of Customer Development, talks about the rising trend of democratizing research across an organization. This involves empowering teams and professionals to better understand their user and act on this knowledge.

Brendan Beninghof, User Interviews’s Director of Customer Development, talks about the rising trend of democratizing research across an organization. This involves empowering teams and professionals to better understand their user and act on this knowledge.

The Editor-in-Chief of Axios offers ideas to improve diversity in the newsroom, especially in senior and specialized positions. According to her, the company may need to develop the talent. The author also points out topics around hiring where news leaders could do more.

Instagram's public identity crisis is a real-time case study. Taylor Lorenz summed it all up for the Washington Post. Lorenz interviewed experts who analyzed the whole mess through more of a product lens, discussing audience trust, product iteration, and marketplace positioning.

Laura Hertzfeld proposes in this article a framework for helping newsrooms approach cross-platform storytelling. It involves pairing projects with like-minded artists, strategists, and technologists. Laura shares useful tips, such as starting small, pushing the product team to experiment, focusing on people who are passionate about experimentation etc.

Laura Hertzfeld proposes in this article a framework for helping newsrooms approach cross-platform storytelling. It involves pairing projects with like-minded artists, strategists, and technologists. Laura shares useful tips, such as starting small, pushing the product team to experiment, focusing on people who are passionate about experimentation etc.

American democracy is undergoing what is called democratic backsliding, the tendency for a democratic system to decay. Jay Rosen argues for a different kind of journalism, one that is explicity pro-democracy, in order to tackle the challenges in the new scenario.

American democracy is undergoing what is called democratic backsliding, the tendency for a democratic system to decay. Jay Rosen argues for a different kind of journalism, one that is explicity pro-democracy, in order to tackle the challenges in the new scenario.

Interview with Mariana Santos, founder and executive director of the organization Chicas Poderosas, about diversity, inclusion, and gender in the media. Santos talks about how diversity in journalism shouldn't be a topic regarding only the coverage but also depends on changes in management and leadership.

Interview with Mariana Santos, founder and executive director of the organization Chicas Poderosas, about diversity, inclusion, and gender in the media. Santos talks about how diversity in journalism shouldn't be a topic regarding only the coverage but also depends on changes in management and leadership.

Interview with Mariana Santos, founder and executive director of the organization Chicas Poderosas, about diversity, inclusion, and gender in the media. Santos talks about how diversity in journalism shouldn't be a topic regarding only the coverage but also depends on changes in management and leadership.

Kelly McBride, described in her Poynter bio as "one of the country’s leading voices on media ethics and democracy," describes how she worked with Jennifer Kho, the Chicago Sun-Times' new executive editor, to decide whether to publish graphic images from the Highland Park 4th of July parade shooting.

Land of the Giants is a podcast from Recode, The Verge, and the Vox Media Podcast Network that looks at how tech titans like Amazon, Google, and Netflix became the behemoths they are today and how they've transformed our lives — for better or worse. The latest season is about Meta, and the episode "Facebook Gets a Facelift" in particular has a more product-y focus, being dedicated to implementation of Facebook's News Feed and the tension between business objectives and user preferences.

Explore the 6 phases of the product development lifecycle with this easy to use guide from NPA's Product Kit. Developing a product becomes much more understandable once this process is clear.

Explore the 6 phases of the product development lifecycle with this easy to use guide from NPA's Product Kit. Developing a product becomes much more understandable once this process is clear.

Two of the most important items of a product are mission and vision. This guide from NPA's Product Kit helps to define them with practical tips. Remember to always keep the user in mind.

Two of the most important items of a product are mission and vision. This guide from NPA's Product Kit helps to define them with practical tips. Remember to always keep the user in mind.

Explore the 6 phases of the product development lifecycle with this easy to use guide from NPA's Product Kit. Developing a product becomes much more understandable once this process is clear.

Medium once was the hope for independent publishing on the web. However, after many pivots, it has found itself lost in the middle of many failed strategies, inclusing monetization and original content. Simon Owens explores what went wrong, and the problems with Medium's pivots.

Two of the most important items of a product are mission and vision. This guide from NPA's Product Kit helps to define them with practical tips. Remember to always keep the user in mind.

A spinoff of Lenny's Newsletter, Lenny Rachitsky launched a weekly podcast in June 2022 where he interviews world-class product leaders and growth experts. Listeners come away with concrete, actionable, and tactical advice to help them build, launch, and grow their own product and career. In this episode, Rachitsky speaks with Jackie Bavaro, best-selling author of two books about product management (Cracking the PM Interview and Cracking the PM Career) with experience at Asana, Google, and Microsoft. The discussion covers product strategy (e.g. components of a strategy, signs that your strategy is off, how to get better, etc) and product career advice (e.g. common early career mistakes, things every PM should do regardless of their level, downsides of being a manager and whether it's possible to stay an individual contributor, etc).

Product are generally built around the so-called typical user. However, there is a strong argument, advanced by the text, to focus desig on vulnerable and/or marginalized people. The author remembers recent cases where such a treatment was important.

This short article summarizes the report Design From the Margins, which defends that design processes should be centered on the people most marginalized and impacted by a product/company. The report aims to input a social vision to design.

The product professional John Cutler lists 20 aspects that should be followed by people who work with systems.

The product professional John Cutler lists 20 aspects that should be followed by people who work with systems.

Getting people onboard new projects can be tough, especially when you're trying to advance a new type of vision in your newsroom. This guide from NPA's Product Kit helps exactly in that challenge: how to explain product in a newsroom and get stakeholder buy-in

This guide from NPA's Product Kit helps the user in understanding the main terms of product development, as well as how to choose among methods of product development.

This guide from NPA's Product Kit helps to align strategic planning with newsroom mission and values for product teams. It provides practical tips on how to incorporate a product culture in the newsroom, as well as how to establish goals and key results.

This guide from NPA's Product Kit helps the user in understanding the main terms of product development, as well as how to choose among methods of product development.

This guide from NPA's Product Kit helps the user in understanding the main terms of product development, as well as how to choose among methods of product development.

Getting people onboard new projects can be tough, especially when you're trying to advance a new type of vision in your newsroom. This guide from NPA's Product Kit helps exactly in that challenge: how to explain product in a newsroom and get stakeholder buy-in

This guide from NPA's Product Kit helps to align strategic planning with newsroom mission and values for product teams. It provides practical tips on how to incorporate a product culture in the newsroom, as well as how to establish goals and key results.

This guide from NPA's Product Kit helps to align strategic planning with newsroom mission and values for product teams. It provides practical tips on how to incorporate a product culture in the newsroom, as well as how to establish goals and key results.

Getting people onboard new projects can be tough, especially when you're trying to advance a new type of vision in your newsroom. This guide from NPA's Product Kit helps exactly in that challenge: how to explain product in a newsroom and get stakeholder buy-in

Getting people onboard new projects can be tough, especially when you're trying to advance a new type of vision in your newsroom. This guide from NPA's Product Kit helps exactly in that challenge: how to explain product in a newsroom and get stakeholder buy-in

This article explains how teams can incorporate the lessons from the last European refugee crisis, taking into account their perspectives and information needs.

This former journalist wasn't planning on moving to product — and then she lost her dream job. Mandy Jenkins writes about her transition from freelancing to Head of Product and what she's learned along the way.

This former journalist wasn't planning on moving to product — and then she lost her dream job. Mandy Jenkins writes about her transition from freelancing to Head of Product and what she's learned along the way.

Leaders have the ability — and responsibility — to right past wrongs and to ensure that they are creating a workplace that is inclusive of people from all backgrounds. This is a must-read guide for leaders on how to effectively and compassionately respond to organization-wide calls for action around diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives to build a supportive workplace.

Growth teams are critical to an organization's ability to reach maximum distribution in their respective markets. This step-by-step guide offers an actionable framework for building a successful growth team.

Drawing from research by social scientist and organizational expert Etienne Wenger , this article focuses on how to form an effective community of practice. The author focuses on the intersection of Domain, Community and Practice.

The Guardian’s digital team ran a retrospective over an entire decade to understand how they’ve innovated in the past. This serves as a great case study with learnings for other news organizations.

A discussion of the hazards of drawing too broad conclusions from A/B headline tests drawing upon examples from The New York Times and The Boston Globe.

Key to every business' success and impact is the ability to nurture authentic relationships with customers, users, and stakeholders. This article presents principles for building a strong community for any brand.

Key to every business' success and impact is the ability to nurture authentic relationships with customers, users, and stakeholders. This article presents principles for building a strong community for any brand.

According to a 2021 report from the International News Media Association, most publishers spend more on acquisition of new readers as opposed to retention. However, market leaders put more resources toward engaging existing subscribers. The main takeaway is that retaining light readers is key to a viable subscription business.

Hiring women of color in management roles is not a panacea to unhealthy and inequitable workplace cultures. Unreasonable and unfair expectations can set new hires up for failure. Women of color have to confront many more barriers than other counterparts in similar roles and are often burdened by emotional labor.

Hiring women of color in management roles is not a panacea to unhealthy and inequitable workplace cultures. Unreasonable and unfair expectations can set new hires up for failure. Women of color have to confront many more barriers than other counterparts in similar roles and are often burdened by emotional labor.

Encouraging developing talent to take on informal leadership of a team or project is a great way to support professional growth of employees. However, new research suggests that these duties can also take a toll on informal leaders’ job satisfaction and energy levels.

On a mission for 10 million paying customers, The New York Times has formed a new team to help ensure trust in its journalism and broaden its reach nationally and across political affiliations. The aim of the initiative is to address the crisis of trust in the media, and to explore strategies to establish credibility and wider readership.

How one media startup in South Asia entering the golden age of subscriptions found success by being hyper-focused on audience needs, and ignoring the conventions of news media companies. “Choosing what not to do is as important as choosing what to do”, says 'The Ken's' co-founder and CEO Rohin Dharmakumar.

Making effective meetings accessible to people not in the room is critical to increasing the value and productivity of teams. Asynchronous is the new, healthier way to work effectively for distributed teams.

Making effective meetings accessible to people not in the room is critical to increasing the value and productivity of teams. Asynchronous is the new, healthier way to work effectively for distributed teams.

Propulsorio is a thorough guide from SembraMedia on the basics of the product role in news organizations. It is divided in 8 chapters, each one very focused on the challenges that news product practitioners face. Learn everything from the role of product managers to UX, media sustainability, how to be a better leader, and more.

This article defines and explains the attributions of a Product Manager and how this function operates inside a newsroom. It outlines necessary skills and how the work routine usually is.

Propulsorio is a thorough guide from SembraMedia on the basics of the product role in news organizations. It is divided in 8 chapters, each one very focused on the challenges that news product practitioners face. Learn everything from the role of product managers to UX, media sustainability, how to be a better leader, and more.

This article defines and explains the attributions of a Product Manager and how this function operates inside a newsroom. It outlines necessary skills and how the work routine usually is.

Insights on membership programs based on interviews with staff and members from four newsrooms: the Honolulu Civil Beat in Hawaii, Krautreporter in Germany, The News Minute in South India, and Tortoise in the United Kingdom. A comprehensive look at the subscription and membership strategies, including lessons learned.

Insights on membership programs based on interviews with staff and members from four newsrooms: the Honolulu Civil Beat in Hawaii, Krautreporter in Germany, The News Minute in South India, and Tortoise in the United Kingdom. A comprehensive look at the subscription and membership strategies, including lessons learned.

A collection of great tips to answer the question: "how should a media manager act?" Hint: focus on the basics of product strategy.

The article addresses the question: “Does the concept of product discovery even apply to feature teams?” A feature team, unlike a product team, is oriented towards execution, delivery and development.

The article addresses the question: “Does the concept of product discovery even apply to feature teams?” A feature team, unlike a product team, is oriented towards execution, delivery and development.

A corporate and newsroom culture emphasizing lofty metrics (on both page views and subscription conversions) leads to enormous pressure on reporters to deliver. The result: quitting and unionization. How a culture of business-first metrics may not be best for business.

The author presents a useful model for prioritization: Mission Value vs. Business Value. She makes the case that the most important question for newsroom managers to ask their employees is "What are you doing that you don’t think is a good use of your time, and why?"

A historical analysis of the structural and strategic failures of the news industry to successfully transition to digital publishing, by looking at the booming newspaper journalism era that preceded it.

A historical analysis of the structural and strategic failures of the news industry to successfully transition to digital publishing, by looking at the booming newspaper journalism era that preceded it.

The author makes a critique of agile development methods, putting them in historical context and dissecating its main characteristics.

The article discusses strategies for getting your boss to approve your great idea. It emphasizes the importance of understanding your boss's priorities and concerns, and presenting your idea in a way that aligns with those priorities. The author suggests thoroughly researching and preparing a strong case, including data and examples to back up your idea. It also advises building relationships and gaining support from colleagues and higher-ups before pitching your idea. Finally, the article highlights the significance of being persistent, confident, and open to feedback throughout the approval process.

An audio recording of a panel at the ONA19 National Conferece discussing cross-functional management in newsrooms. To develop effective journalism products there are different 'food groups' involved: editorial, advertising, analytics, engagement, design, marketing, development etc. Newsroom leaders need to understand the different types in order to make product design in journalism work.

The author embarks upon an in-depth investigation and comparison between structuring a product organization as what he frames as an "empowered product team" or a "feature team." His conclusions are surprising.

If you’re working to break down newsroom silos and create a more collaborative, innovative culture in your newsroom, here are some tips/lessons from NPA co-founder, Becca Aaronson, to help you keep your sanity as a product manager. The lessons: own your priorities; learn to say no; get comfortable with ambiguity; remember to focus on what’s good.

The author offers a critique of the design decisions of Medium, specific the ones related to how articles are displayed, and the options offered to writers when publishing their pieces.