Faced with a tumultuous landscape of sharp declines in traffic, a highly competitive ad market, and subscription growth challenges, publishers today are re-embracing a “back-to-basics”’ approach.

Rather than flash and glitz, they’re indexing on creating a symbiotic relationship between audiences and advertisers, focusing on the tools that drive content discovery and consistent engagement aligned with business objectives. 

That’s one of the key conclusions The Rebooting found by surveying 46 product executives within the publishing industry. In Back to Basics: The State of Product at Publishers, the researcher discovered an industry ethos that’s eschewing the extravagant in favor of what some describe as the “smaller wins throughout the year.” 

This approach prioritizes foundational aspects like website performance and effective data management. 

Key challenges for modern publishers

This report underscores the evolving role of product management in publishing, highlighting the need for strategic alignment, adequate investment, and adaptability to new technologies like AI to ensure sustainable business models.

Product leaders are also candid about the immaturity and financial constraints of their organizations, often hindered by misaligned incentives. 

As noted above, publishers face numerous challenges, including severe traffic losses, a highly competitive advertising market, loss of ad targeting signals, and declining subscriptions. These issues have led many to consider their product functions as underdeveloped and underfunded.

Organizationally and strategically, there’s also a significant gap in product strategy and vision within companies. Many product teams are seen as lacking modern functionalities and are often reduced to project management roles without a clear product vision.

Investment and resource allocation

There’s a widespread issue with insufficient investment in product development. This is exacerbated by a misalignment between the need for robust product functions and the actual resources allocated, leading to a reliance on external partners.

Respondents also indicated the difficulty they face in securing the necessary level of investment to uphold a high-performing, cutting-edge tech product. More than 50% rated their organization’s investment in their product as insufficient. One anomaly: The New York Times, in contrast, boasts a formidable product division. 

“Everybody else has to be more scrappy, more tactical, and do more with less.”

—Brian Alvey, CTO at WordPress VIP

AI and future preparedness

Half of the respondents admitted to being unprepared for the changes AI will bring, or uncertain of their readiness. This sentiment is echoed in the industry, with a prevailing sense that the rapid pace of change has pushed publishers into a reactive stance.

The integration and impact of AI in publishing are seen as both a challenge and an opportunity. Many organizations feel unprepared for the AI era, though tools like WordPress VIP’s Content Helper are being developed to integrate AI into existing workflows effectively.

Importance of user experience and efficiency

For publishers, there’s an emphasis on the need for long-term, sustainable strategies that focus on core competencies like journalism and audience engagement, rather than overextending into technological advancements that may not align with core business goals.

“How do we make our news truly relevant and timely? We talk directly with subscribers about that.”

—Marissa Zanetti-Crume, Global Head of Product at Bloomberg Media

The report highlights the ongoing need to balance user experience with revenue generation—stressing the importance of understanding audience needs and creating relevant, timely content as key drivers of product strategy.

As such, publishers are moving away from flashy, experimental approaches to a more basic, functional approach that focuses on content discovery and engagement directly tied to those business goals. In other words, evolving beyond just storytelling to support broader business objectives.

As it turns out, website-centricity is a major focus for organizations: more than half of respondents ranked their websites as the top product development priority. 

A final thought

“We’re sitting across all of the businesses within media and thinking super-critically about how well we understand who our audience is,” noted Marissa Zanetti-Crume, Global Head of Product at Bloomberg Media. “How do we make our news truly relevant and timely? We talk directly with subscribers about that. It’s what inspires the design and product work we do.”

But that takes investment. For other publishers, the challenge is accomplishing similar goals without as much.

About The Rebooting

Founded by Brian Morrissey, The Rebooting explores how to “build sustainable businesses in a rapidly changing media industry.” Its subscriber base includes 19,000 media executives, operators, and entrepreneurs.