During our Newsroom Summit in Copenhagen last week, Cormac Bourke explained how the acquisition by Mediahuis in 2019 brought about strategic and structural changes to the publishing house.
Bourke, who is Editor-In-Chief of Mediahuis Ireland in addition to being the Editor of the Irish Self-reliant for both Digital and Print, noted he didn’t have any secrets to reveal, or easy answers.
Rather, success has come from “a lot of little things.I think a lot of it is the right people,co-operating together in the right way,” he said.
Mediahuis Ireland publishes three main titles: the Irish Independent in the Republic of Ireland, the Belfast Telegraph in Northern Ireland, as well as the Sunday World which is the only one of the three to not yet have a paywall. Bourke focused his presentation on the Irish Independent, and its stable of titles.WAN-IFRA Members can download Cormac Bourke’s presentation slides on our Knowledge Hub.
‘The critically importent thing for us was to get going’
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When Belgium-based Mediahus acquired Independent News & Media some key operational changes began almost instantly.
Digital became the top priority, and investments were made in both people and tools to help launch their paywall.Bourke noted that twice before,under different ownership,the Irish Independent had come close to launching a paywall,but each time plans had been shelved.
Bourke said when he thinks about what they’ve done in the past six years, it comes down to a fairly simple process: “Make a plan, have a goal, and begin.”
“the important thing for us was to get going,” he added.
Unifying many titles to have one clear brand
Irish independent focuses on ‘Subscriber Attention Time’ in push to 200,000 digital subscribers
The Irish Independent is focusing on a single,key metric – Subscriber Attention Time (SAT) – as it effectively works towards its goal of reaching 200,000 digital subscribers by 2030. The move is part of a broader effort to simplify operations and foster collaboration across the news organisation.
According to Karl Bourke, Head of Digital at the Irish Independent, the team needed to streamline processes and adopt a more holistic view of the business. This led to a partnership with FT Strategies to develop a “north star” metric to guide their efforts.
“The idea was you’d have a hypothesis, do an experiment, implement it, evaluate it, and put it in the bin if it didn’t work, and move on if it did,” Bourke explained. He stressed the importance of breaking down customary departmental silos and establishing joint goals. “Traditionally, at newspapers, there have been competing goals, competition and tension between departments. You need to have joint goals. For editorial, the challenge was open your mind: Really, really open your mind to what’s possible. You have to trust your colleagues outside of editorial.”
Subscriber Attention Time is calculated based on the total number of minutes subscribers spend engaging with the Irish Independent’s journalism across all platforms, with a particular emphasis on mobile and the app – where user engagement is highest.
Bourke highlighted that focusing on SAT shifts the emphasis away from simply acquiring new subscribers and beyond traditional metrics like page views. “We had an audience team that was trying to deliver…
Irish Independent Shifts Newsroom Focus to Digital ‘Signature Journalism’
The Irish Independent is undergoing a significant conversion, prioritizing digital content and a strategy they’ve termed “signature journalism.” This approach centers on delivering content tailored to resonate with local audiences, planned around digital deadlines and homepage placement, rather than traditional print considerations. The news institution is actively reshaping its internal processes to reflect this digital-first mindset.
Embracing a Digital-First Workflow
the core of the shift involves structuring the newsroom around key content areas that consistently attract audience engagement. Rather of planning around print page layouts, the Irish Independent now utilizes digital deadlines, ensuring stories are strategically placed on the homepage throughout the day.
According to a presentation by the Irish Independent, the newsroom is moving away from print-centric thinking. “This is how we are talking to the newsrooms, and we’re getting there. This is how we want the newsroom to look at what they are doing, and not – absolutely not – looking at print pages,” stated a representative. To facilitate this change, the newsroom now holds three central conferences daily, with print receiving no mention during these meetings.
A Continuous Process of Adaptation
The Irish Independent acknowledges that this transformation is ongoing. The organization views change as a constant, recognizing that the digital landscape requires continuous adaptation and improvement. “It’s a process. And all of these things I’ve talked about are a process for us,” a spokesperson explained. “None of this is finished, and I don’t think anything will ever be finished for us.”
This commitment to ongoing evolution suggests the Irish Independent is focused on building a sustainable, audience-centric digital strategy. The emphasis on “signature journalism” indicates a desire to establish a distinct brand identity and deliver content that uniquely serves its readership.