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The Cultural Change Ignition Program was co-organised by WAN-IFRA and the Facebook Journalism Project from October 2020 to January 2021. It worked with 30 media leaders from fifteen news companies from Argentina, Brazil, Colombia and Mexico, to refresh their digital and management skills and reflect on guiding their companies into the future.

"During the sessions, participants were invited to consider profound day-to-day cultural changes within their news organizations, conceptualize their role in society and rethink the ways they operate, compete and monetize" explained Julieta Shama, Head of News Partnerships at Facebook for Spanish Speaking Latin America.

“News organizations worldwide have taken important steps to adapt to the digital era. But some measures are just not enough,” said Rodrigo Bonilla, Americas Director, WAN-IFRA. “To adapt to the complexity and speed of the digital age, to remain relevant and necessary, you have to stop, think and comprehensively transform the way in which news media companies operate. Digital transformation requires a new mentality, which understands that change is not the exception, but the rule in the world in which we live.”

The programme included the participation of 9 top-level media experts such as Columbia Business School Professor and best-selling author Rita McGrath; media expert Ken Doctor; Anita Zielina, News Innovation and Leadership Director at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY; and former BBC and World Editors Forum member, Dmitry Shishkin. It was led by Diego Carvajal, Regional Digital Director for Discovery LATAM and US Hispanics. 

The guide offers four strategies to help media executives initiate change in their newsrooms. Each chapter goes into detail — in a practical and visual way — to provide tips and examples from experts who spoke during the program:

Chapter 1. Put the user at the center Chapter
2. Adopt a product mindset Chapter
3. Implement effective leadership Chapter
4. Build a data-driven strategy

Download

The Cultural Change Change Ignition Guide for News Publishers is available for download in English, Spanish, and Portuguese.

ABOUT THE FACEBOOK JOURNALISM PROJECT The Facebook Journalism Project works with publishers around the world to strengthen the connection between journalists and the communities they serve. It also helps address the news industry’s core business challenges. The trainings, programs, and partnerships work in three ways: 1. Building community through news by working with and investing in organizations that fund quality journalism; 2. Training newsrooms globally; and 3. Partnering with news publishers and nonprofits to combat misinformation, promote news literacy, fund new initiatives, share best practices, and improve journalism on our platforms. For more information, please visit facebook.com/journalismproject.