Change Management In The Communications Industry

Tentatively changing the layout of a daily newspaper in several steps or introducing a new column on Saturdays, a new competition on local radio or a changed broadcasting slot for the hit parade or a new slightly altered company logo or a new column in the employee magazine: For a long time, incremental change instead of radical change was more common in the media and communications industry. Companies could afford to focus primarily on evolutionary steps—in many cases, this was even massively appropriate. After all, the reader, the listener, the viewer is often a conservative creature of habit.

As a classic for one of the most radical changes in history, change management literature repeatedly cites the fact that Henry Ford introduced the assembly line in 1908 and thus established the automobile as a mass product. Incremental change through evolution, as well as radical change, occurs in all industries. Change management literature rarely differentiates between different sectors in its statements. The book “Change Management in Gesundheitsunternehmen” by Martina Oldhafer et al. published by SpringerGabler in 2019 is almost an exception. So why shouldn’t everything that change management classics such as John Lewin have established with his three-phase model or John P. Kotter with his eight-step model also apply to the media and communications industry?

The introduction of a newsroom, a new social media channel, the new principle of online-to-print instead of exclusive reports in the daily newspaper, or the merger of two newsrooms into one unit: these are all radical change processes that must be managed. This chapter shows how this can be achieved.

In order to be able to implement changes successfully, a corresponding corporate culture is necessary. The following is an example of what the media and communications industry still needs to internalize for this.

Journalists, press spokespersons or creatives in advertising agencies are always externally oriented in their communication. Change communication largely refers to internal communication during a change—but not exclusively internal communication, since in addition to employees, other stakeholders must also be informed during change processes (see Deutinger 2017, p. 8 f.). An example: A regional daily newspaper revises its layout. Readers must be informed about the redesign so that they can find their way around in their daily reading routine. In addition, the publisher must clearly communicate why the redesign is necessary and what advantages are seen in it. This communication also contributes to a stronger personal bond. It should be clearly communicated what the primary goal of the revision is, what graphic innovations there are and what style elements will be used. This example makes it clear that several stakeholders must be taken into consideration when it comes to change communication in one’s own company.

Change management can be learned. The bibliography at the end of this book lists basic books that provide an initial insight into the topic. Some of the books focus on different topics, such as change communication or change management tools.