Bringing a newsroom culture to your business storytelling

Welcome to December’s edition of the March Foreword. This month, we’re diving into how bringing a newsroom culture to your business storytelling can transform the way you connect with your audiences (clients, investors, staff) and accelerate your strategic imperatives..

I’ll explain the key aspects of newsroom culture that your business will find useful, why adopting this mindset is so beneficial, and how to take the first steps toward building a newsroom culture within your organisation.

What is a newsroom culture?

Let’s start with definitions. A newsroom is unlike most workplaces. The closest comparisons I can think of are a fish market or a trading floor—vibrant, energetic, agile, and buzzing with shared purpose. But don’t worry—I’m not advocating turning your office into a fish market. Instead, I want to highlight the key aspects of newsroom culture that are relevant to business storytelling.

Strategic alignment and shared purpose

If your strategy is clearly articulated and understood by everyone, then, by definition, everything you do should serve that strategy—including how you communicate.

In a previous edition of the March Foreword, I outlined the key building blocks of a storytelling toolkit: identity, messaging, cadence, and content. Your business storytelling should be in lockstep with your current strategic imperatives.

And, as any runner or cyclist will tell you, if it’s not logged on Strava (or your app of choice), it didn’t happen. Doing something is one thing—telling people about it is another. Of course, there may be things you’re working on that you aren’t ready to share just yet. More on that later.

This approach gives your business storytelling an editorial plan. What are the strategic stories you need to tell at this moment?

Reactivity and proactivity

A newsroom culture thrives on balancing reactivity and proactivity. Newsrooms react to developments and events while also proactively setting the agenda.

In business, this means creating content that:

- Joins existing conversations, such as reacting to external events like an interest rate change, a cold snap, or the festive season.

- Starts or continues conversations, such as announcing new clients, partnerships, or products—or showcasing your expertise and culture.

Cadence and consistency

Most newsrooms operate on an “always-on” basis, regardless of their publishing schedule—whether they’re serving a website, a nightly news show, or a weekly publication.

Similarly, your business needs a regular communication cadence to maintain visibility and relevance with key audiences. The frequency will depend on your capacity to publish, but in my experience, the limiting factor is rarely a lack of stories. If you struggle to find something to share each week, you may need to question what your business is actually doing.

Balancing speed and quality

Newsrooms often produce content within hours. For example, in my early evening news days, we’d start with a blank page in the morning and, eight hours later, deliver three hours of live television.

Not everything your business produces needs to win a Palme d’Or—nor should it. The speed and quality spectrum can be as broad as you want: a quick mobile video, a polished two-day shoot, or a Super Bowl ad that takes months.

You can dramatically speed up processes by ensuring your storytellers understand the strategy and feel empowered to make creative decisions. Yes, a second pair of eyes is useful, but the approval process shouldn’t leave content languishing in inboxes for days.

Eight ways to develop a newsroom culture for your business storytelling

1. Make storytelling a core component of your strategic execution.

If you didn’t tell the right people about it, it didn’t happen. View every event, launch, or even free-food Friday as a storytelling opportunity. For the cost of one full-time hire, you can have an always-on, multi-skilled content creator. Just look at your teenager—they’re already doing it.

2. Build and maintain a content calendar.

Plan your messages: who they’re for, how often they’ll be shared, and where they’ll appear. Use formats that are simple to execute, like 90-second videos, photo posts, or short articles. Pre-plan stories with “embargoes,” ensuring key events get the coverage they deserve.

3. Inculcate storytelling as an act of leadership.

Good leadership demands good communication. Expect senior leaders to dedicate time to storytelling—it’s vital for visibility and alignment. Not every leader is a natural orator, but they can find the medium that suits them.

4. Empower colleagues to tell your story.

Colleagues often have great ideas but need encouragement and guidance. Provide strategic clarity and simple formats they can work within.

5. Build your messages over time.

You don’t need to say everything at once. Use content series like “Staff Spotlight,” “Meet the Leader,” or “Customer Insights” to create ongoing narratives.

6. Become a news hound!

Stay alert to what’s happening internally and externally. Sniff out stories, whether it’s a big win, an innovative process, or a chance to contribute to a broader conversation.

7. Measure impact and iterate.

Use analytics or informal feedback to gauge the effectiveness of your storytelling. Adjust as needed—it’s not a one-and-done effort.

8. Keep it human.

In the age of AI, human connection matters more than ever. Whether you’re informing, inspiring, or aligning people, make it personal. Tools like ChatGPT can support your process, but don’t leave it all to AI.

So there you have it—plenty to get started with. I’d love to hear what resonates with you and what doesn’t! If you want to explore bringing a newsroom culture into your business, let’s talk.

Further reading:

How to tell your strategy as a story

Identity, Message, Content & Cadence - the essentials in your storytelling toolkit

My videos on LinkedIn - from Thought Grenades to crazy bike rides