“The newsroom needs a new operating system”

Interview with: Nadine Remus

At a meeting of the “Organization & Processes” cluster of the CommTech working group, Nadine Remus, Head of Corporate Communications at GEMA, gave an impulse on the question “Does the newsroom need a new operating system?”. We conducted the following interview with her afterwards:

AG CommTech: Nadine, you initiated the debate with the thesis that the newsroom needs a new operating system. That sounds like more than just a small update. What do you mean by that?

Nadine Remus: I’m not really interested in fine-tuning or new tools. By “operating system”, I mean the basic logic according to which a newsroom works: the interplay of structure, processes, roles, culture and how decisions are made. Many newsrooms today still run on a model that was created under different conditions and comes from a more predictable time. It worked well for a long time. However, the abundance of topics, constant crises, AI, new forms of work and fragmented communication are now pushing this system to its limits.

AG CommTech: The newsroom was long regarded as a model for success. Where exactly is it starting to crumble today?

Nadine Remus: In several places at the same time. Many newsrooms are extremely dependent on people. They work as long as certain people are there, routines are in place and informal knowledge is available. If this breaks down, for example due to fluctuation, changes in management or external shocks, the system becomes unstable surprisingly quickly. At the same time, the reality of issues has changed. Corporate communications no longer just focuses on three or four key topics and manages the background noise. At the same time, several transformation sites are being served, day-to-day business is being managed and strategic goals are being kept on track. The classic newsroom is simply not built for this.

AG CommTech: You also talk about a new fragmentation of communication. What are you observing?

Nadine Remus: Communication no longer just takes place in the central department. A kind of micro-communication hub is emerging in specialist departments, projects or initiatives, which communicate very independently. That’s nothing negative at first. These units are closely aligned with the topics and target groups and are often very effective. It becomes problematic when narratives, timings, priorities and resources are no longer brought together. We then lose the strategic context and the system also becomes porous in operational terms. This can be dangerous in crisis situations.

AG CommTech: Many would now reflexively call for more centralization. Why do you think this is the wrong approach?

Nadine Remus: Because it doesn’t reflect reality. The wealth of topics and complexity can no longer be “processed” centrally. If everything has to go through one place, it becomes slow. We should accept that communication is decentralized and continues to multiply. In addition, the constant question of subject sovereignty takes up an incredible amount of time.

AG CommTech: What does this mean for the role of the communications department in the future?

Nadine Remus: She needs to be more self-confident in her management role. In many places, it is still not recognized as a business function. It belongs at the table when decisions are being made and not just when it is “just to be implemented”.

AG CommTech: The business partner model played a central role in your thesis. Why do you think this is so important?

Nadine Remus: Because it is a very pragmatic response to fragmentation. Communicators remain organizationally anchored in the communication unit, but work closely with individual board members, business units or projects. They bundle topics, get to the heart of the key messages, moderate expectations and ensure that nothing gets lost in the shuffle.

Above all, however, they pose the question of what is really strategically important and what is not at an early stage. Where the model is put into practice, this noticeably changes the role of communication: you are involved earlier and can negotiate priorities better.

AG CommTech: Critics say this contradicts the classic newsroom concept.

Nadine Remus: I see it differently. It is a further development and brings order to an organization that communicates in many places at the same time.

The newsroom remains the place where topics come together, are evaluated, prioritized and implemented. The business partners are the link between the communications unit and the Management Board or specialist department. With their expertise, they are directly involved where the topics arise in the organization. This allows them to exert influence much earlier and the issues are brought to the table sooner. This saves many loops and unfavorable planning. However, this only works if the role is appropriately mandated and the necessary trust exists. Examples such as Schaeffler show that this can work very well.

AG CommTech: You also spoke very clearly about culture. Is that the decisive lever in the end?

Nadine Remus: Absolutely. No matter how well thought-out the structures and processes are, if the culture doesn’t go along with them, the newsroom won’t work. It is crucial that responsibility does not end with your own channel or subject area.

This is not new. However, in many places it is tipping back towards silo thinking. This has a lot to do with uncertainty, cost pressure and individual visibility. People are securing their own territory. That’s human, but it makes collaboration much more difficult. A new operating system must also take this change into account.

AG CommTech: What role does AI play in this new operating system?

Nadine Remus: A very big one. AI speeds up production enormously and forces us to reorganize quality. Texts are created faster, but often seem more interchangeable and are more prone to errors. That’s why we need new roles: People who ensure quality, check facts and curate tone. In future, communication will be measured even more by whether its senders are credible and the content is relevant. Editorial expertise, much more general knowledge and the ability to develop creative ideas are fundamental to this.

AG CommTech: And the employees? Employee ambassadorship was also an important topic.

Nadine Remus: Employees have been communicating for a long time, whether planned or not. They have their own reach and shape the external image. Instead of wanting to control, guard rails and exchange formats should provide support and allow a certain amount of freedom. With appropriate monitoring, you can usually see when something becomes strategically sensitive. Organizations such as Deutsche Telekom show that trust in employees’ communication activities is more beneficial in the long term than strict control.

AG CommTech: If you summarize all this: What is the biggest void in today’s newsrooms?

Nadine Remus: The link to corporate strategy. Many models are very well described in operational terms, but are surprisingly vague in strategic terms. How are priorities created? When is communication allowed to say no? How is strategy constantly synchronized with corporate reality? Without answers to these questions, every operating system remains incomplete.

AG CommTech: To conclude: In your opinion, what is the central guiding principle for the newsroom of the future?

Nadine Remus: We should take further development in larger steps in order to keep up with the pace of transformation and other future-proofing activities. By the time an ideal newsroom is built, the organization may already be somewhere else entirely. We should therefore think more flexibly, not operate with roles that are too rigid and bring a certain lightness to the handling of topics and requirements. Decision-making rules and structures are important, but creating a culture that deals with “constant stress” in a more playful way and therefore also leads to more resilient teams is one of the biggest management tasks for me.