The transformation of Mittmedia, a regional media group in Sweden, is a case study in balancing innovation with an ever-changing media landscape. How does a traditional local newspaper company manage digitalisation while remaining relevant to its communities under difficult economic conditions?
Mittmedia’s journey, spanning the 2010s when the newspaper industry at large struggled with the dominance of the digital, highlights the necessity of adaptation in an era where both print and digital must coexist. Mittmedias vägval: Radikal innovationskultur möter traditionstyngd koncern [Mittmedia’s Choices: Radical Innovation Culture Meets Tradition-Bound Corporation] offers valuable insights for managing structural change within the media industry. Two of the authors of the book, Jonas Harvard and Ingela Wadbring, bring their expertise in media studies to shed light on this transformative period.
– Mittmedia went one step further and pursued digital transformation more bluntly than any other newspaper group at this time, Harvard says.
The Project Origins
The idea for a book, based on the research project Business as unusual: Journalistik, ekonomi och ledarskap i Mittmedia [Business as unusual: Journalism, economics, and leadership at Mittmedia], originated from discussions between scholars from The DEMICOM research centre at Mid Sweden University and Mittmedia representatives, who agreed it would be interesting for researchers to get a “behind-the-scenes” perspective on the company’s digital shift, Harvard says.
– Usually, scholarship research comes much later and has access to a very limited set of internal documents. But this time it started as a joint venture – “Let’s see what happens if we let a researcher into our meetings!” Harvard continues.
Given Mittmedia’s innovative role in digitalisation, Wadbring and Harvard anticipate rather extensive interest in the Mittmedia Group. A popular scientific book in Swedish would engage the media industry, while scholarly articles target an academic audience.
– In the 2010s, almost no media business company had a working digital business model, but Mittmedia was at the forefront. They were fully committed to digital products over printed ones, which made other media companies curious about the results, Wadbring says.
Strategic Decisions and Economic Influences
As the title of the book suggests, the transformation Mittmedia underwent in the 2010s was filled with decisions and important strategic choices, one of which was the adoption of the “digital first” strategy, aiming to replace print with a digital product.
– The most critical decision was adopting the “digital first” strategy – a move unique in the media industry at the time. Even though revenue still came from print, the management aimed for a digital core product by 2020, which they only partly achieved, says Wadbring.
Harvard notes that massive transformations – to try out new models and products and transform the internal structure – usually require risk capital, which Mittmedia didn’t have. Mittmedia had to survive on subscription and advertising revenue, making this case uniquely tricky.– Initially, they had a margin to invest in development, but as the economy turned to the worse, they were forced to combine innovation with radical cost-cutting. This included firing staff, saving money on everything, and selling real estate. They even sold off pieces of art that the company owned in order to raise money, Harvard adds.
Impact on Working Conditions
A transformation of this size affected everyone within Mittmedia. While employees had mixed experiences – some thrived, while others faced job insecurity – the management handling the transformation felt informed and united, explains Wadbring.
– The management accepted the idea from the top management and understood that everyone had to walk in the same direction; those who didn’t agree either had to change their mindset or leave. Among the employees, however, the experience varied – some were hired as digital spearheads, while others faced the possibility of losing their jobs. Many older people struggled to keep up with the new pace and technology, making it a tumultuous time in general, Wadbring notes.
Mittmedia’s radical approach included initiatives like live television and creating NEW divisions within the company.
– Some parts of the company perceived that there was an “in-group” – those involved with the digital innovations, and an “out-group” – those working with the printed newspaper and those perceived as unable to keep up with the digital development, and therefore not part of Mittmedia’s future. The feeling of exclusion was difficult to manage as they needed to move forward as one company, says Harvard.
Mittmedia’s approach to digital transformation also piqued the curiosity of other media companies and organisations, who visited to learn from Mittmedia’s practices, showcasing their position at the forefront. This resulted in Mittmedia receiving the award for most innovative company in 2014 by the International News Media Association (INMA). Wadbring observes that media companies took lessons from Mittmedia on what – and what not – to do.
Harvard summarises how divided the perception of Mittmedia was and why the INMA award mattered to the company:
– It’s fascinating how polarising Mittmedia was within Sweden’s newspaper industry. Many were annoyed by their outspokenness and when things started to go wrong for Mittmedia – such as conflicts with the union and declining finances, some in the industry took satisfaction in it, saying “That’s what happens when you say you know better than everyone else”. That’s why the award for the most innovative company was so meaningful internally in Mittmedia; they felt like they were fighting against the rest of the world and the media industry.
Centralisation and Local Journalism
To manage costs, Mittmedia centralised its newspaper operation with several editors-in-chief each responsible for multiple titles and a central unit for editing for all newspaper titles. This created tension within Mittmedia between being a local news provider and pursuing efficiency. Readers perceived a decline in the quality of local news, leading to subscription cancellations.
– On the one hand, Mittmedia was committed to being the first and foremost local news provider, a core part of their identity. On the other hand, there was a strong drive towards efficiency, being data-driven and using scale advantages, Harvard comments.
The management had many measurement tools for the website, which they didn’t have for the printed newspaper. This allowed them to focus on what was widely read online, rather than content that reached few people. For quite a while, Mittmedia consciously tried to produce news content which would fit in many different newspapers, but the readers didn’t respond well to this.
– For someone living in a Mittmedia region, but who saw news from other areas that didn’t affect them, it felt like their local newspaper’s quality was declining, Harvard says.
– They even started to refer to their readers as “customers”, rather than as “readers”. I think they were among the first media companies to do this. In a democratic sense, it’s not about giving people what they want, people should also be given content they don’t realise they need. But in a digital setting, where everything can be measured, it’s hard to justify producing content people don’t read, Wadbring asserts.
Harvard comments on the broader implications of Mittmedia’s strategy, remarking that if the company had failed, large regions of northern Sweden would have been left with no local news coverage, which would be a disaster for politics and democracy.
Lessons for Future Transformations
The transformation of Mittmedia provides key insights for managing similar changes in the media industry. The authors describe Mittmedia as acting like a fast-growing tech company, but without the financial backing to absorb the risks connected to innovating quickly, and there was immense pressure at all levels. According to Wadbring, the management was so focused on a single direction – “the Mittmedia way” – that they sometimes failed to take into account the negative impact the transformation had on the employees. The leadership maintained a firm stance, believing their way was the right way, says Wadbring.
– One key lesson, not unique to the newspaper industry, is to always be mindful of the people involved. At times, the management may have been under such high pressure that they couldn’t provide the level of care in all situations, Harvard points out.
– At the end of the book, we discuss whether it is possible to be agile in your management approach in situations like these. In the interviews and the documents, we saw a theme of flexibility versus conviction emerging, Wadbring mentions.
Since Mittmedia was acquired by Bonnier and Amedia in 2019, they haven’t abandoned their digital-first strategy, though the pace of the transformation away from printed newspapers slowed down. In the end, Mittmedia’s ambitious drive for digital transformation and leaving print behind for good highlights both the potential and challenges of transformation of a mature industry like the newspaper sector. This leaves us with valuable lessons on balancing innovation with sustainability, managing human capital, and preserving local journalism in an increasingly digital world.
– And, of course, Mittmedia must have done something right – the company is still around, although absorbed by a larger one, concludes Harvard.
Lars Nord, professor at Mid Sweden University and the fifth author of the book, passed away earlier this year.
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Mittmediad vägval. Radikal innovationskultur möter traditionstyngd koncern
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