Event

Audience Research and Product Development for Small Newsrooms

NewsSpectrum Digital News Accelerator: Workshop III held on March 22 and 23, 2022

Audience habits and what they expect of their media are changing. This means that news outlets – including minority-language media! – need to work to understand these expectations and rethink how to design and deliver news products and value. At this workshop we focused on audience research and product development process and exploring how to develop news products using audience-centered research and design techniques. 

Part I

HELD ON: Tuesday, March 22 (Part 1) and Wednesday, March 23 (Part 2)
AUDIENCE: Journalists (including freelancers), editors, and media managers with minority-language media in Europe.

Part II

HELD ON: Tuesday, April 26 (Part 2)
AUDIENCE: Journalists (including freelancers), editors, and media managers with minority-language media in Europe.

Topics we covered:

  • Embedding an audience-first approach in newsrooms
  • Audience research and listening techniques
  • Start-up techniques: How to establish your team’s product development process and make sure everyone has a common understanding on how and why we develop a product.
  • How to conduct a successful discovery and research session to reveal your users’ pain points and needs
  • Analysing research to create product and journalism goals
  • Designing products to retain and serve current audiences and products to grow new audiences

Speakers & Presentations:

• Lena Beate Pedersen, Product Manager, Schibsted, Norway
⇓ Presentation available here (pdf file)

• Nigel Mugamu, Founder and Chief Storyteller, 263Chat, Zimbabwe
⇓ Presentation available here (pdf file)

• Karl Oskar Teien, Director of Product, Schibsted / Aftenposten, Norway

Training facilitator: Jacqui Park, Head of Network Strategy and Innovation, IPI

(Trainers’ short bios are available below)

Resources and Recommended Read:

Additional readings and resources, best practices and cases to learn from:

Reading:

Videos:

Meet the Trainers:

Karl Oskar Teien
Director of Product
Schibsted / Aftenposten
Norway

Karl Oskar Teien joined Schibsted in 2015, and has since held product roles in several Schibsted brands in Norway and Sweden. Since the beginning of 2020 he has been Director of Product for Schibsted’s leading subscription newspapers in Norway and Sweden, including Aftenposten, Svenska Dagbladet, and several regional and local newspapers. Before moving into the media industry, Teien worked on mobile-based financial services for low-income communities in India, Kenya, and USA. Karl Oskar holds holds a B.A. in International Studies from Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, Universitat Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona, and University of Cape Town, as well as a Master of Social Entrepreneurship from Hult International Business School in San Francisco and Boston.

Lena Beate Pedersen
Product Manager
Schibsted
Norway

Lena has for the last two years been responsible for building an Aftenposten news product for kids to be used in schools. Previously she has 10 years experience from NRK – the public service broadcaster in Norway –  where she worked as news presenter, producer, documentarist and project manager for NRKs pedagogical streaming service for kids. She has also worked six years in TEKNA – a labour union for engineers. Here she was instrumental in establishing a user oriented mindset and building new digital products based on the needs of different groups of members. Lena has an international diploma in journalism and a bachelor in political science and nordic languages. She is also educated as a lecturer with a master in how we can improve teenagers’ text comprehension. She has hands-on experience with the startup methodology Game plan, design sprint, user research and several process management methods.

Nigel Mugamu
Founder and Chief Storyteller
263Chat
Zimbabwe

Nigel, an accountant in a former life is now a journalist by passion. Nigel, a self-confessed news junkie is passionate about travel, tech, current affairs, dialogue, wine and Manchester United. In September 2012, Nigel established 263Chat. 263Chat is a Zimbabwean online publication focused on encouraging & participating in progressive national dialogue. Together with a team of fellow journalists, they publish the news every day on www.263chat.com. Nigel holds a Bachelor of Financial Administration (Accounting) from Australia and an MBA from the Scotland, UK.

Questions?

Contact Milica Miletic at [email protected]

NewsSpectrum’s Digital News Accelerator

This special workshop is part of NewsSpectrum’s Digital News Accelerator, a series of expert online workshops on digital transition and business needs for minority-language media in Europe. The accelerator is open both to NewsSpectrum grantees and to other representatives of minority-language media in Europe.