In the ever-transforming media landscape, editors, news managers, and media executives have had to adapt to changes in audience behaviour, business, and technology - all while covering the news and simultaneously reckoning with issues like diversity, inclusion, and change fatigue. Our Leadership Development programmes ensure that news media leaders face challenges and opportunities from a position of strength.

Our programmes 

We host three types of courses:

  • Open-admission courses: open to applicants from around the world with relevant newsroom management experience
  • Bespoke courses: designed in partnership with and for specific organisations
  • Invite-only forums: for a select group of senior executives and editors

All our programmes offer participants a confidential and constructive setting to exchange actionable ideas and practical insights with colleagues and leadership experts from news organisations around the world. We also present some of the key findings of our in-house research team, who conducts independent, internationally comparative, evidence-based research on digital news consumption and other most significant issues facing journalists and media organisations in a rapidly developing industry. 

Open admission courses
Leading Newsroom Change image/svg+xml image/svg+xml

Programme at a glance 

Leading Newsroom Change is our two-day course for senior media professionals focused on organisational and strategic challenges faced by news organisations. It takes place in person in Oxford.

Programme description 

News organisations are navigating profound changes in audience behaviour, technology and business models. In an environment where change is constant, transformation can no longer be treated as a one-off project. News organisations need to continuously adapt their strategies, structures and ways of working, while managing the demands of their day-to-day operations. 

This course explores the forces reshaping the news industry and what they mean for the decisions media leaders need to make. It combines insights from the Reuters Institute's research with practical examples and experiences from news organisations around the world, examining both the strategic choices involved in transformation and the organisational challenges of putting them into practice. 

The programme offers participants an opportunity to step back from day-to-day operations, reflect on the challenges facing their own organisations, and exchange experiences and ideas with senior peers in a confidential, off-the-record setting. 

We cover topics including:

  • The changing news landscape: Key shifts in audience behaviour, technology and business models, drawing on findings from our Digital News Report and other Reuters Institute research. 

  • Strategic priorities and business sustainability: How news organisations are responding to changing market conditions and making choices about where to focus their resources.

  • Audience development and product innovation: Approaches to reaching, engaging and retaining audiences, and what these mean for editorial strategies and ways of working. 

  • Organisational transformation: How to translate strategic priorities into changes in structures, processes and everyday operations. 

  • Culture change and continuous adaptation: How to challenge established ways of working, overcome resistance, and build organisational cultures that support experimentation, learning and the ability to adapt.

  • Leading people through change: How to bring teams along, navigate competing priorities and maintain motivation during periods of uncertainty. 

  • Emerging technologies and AI: How technological developments are reshaping journalism and the strategic questions they raise for news organisations.

Through presentations, case studies, structured group discussions and interactive sessions, participants learn from industry experts and from one another. The course encourages open conversations about what has worked, what hasn't, and the practical challenges of leading change in different organisational contexts.

The collaborative nature of the programme also helps participants build a network of peers they can turn to for advice and support long after the course ends. 

The course begins with a welcome dinner on Wednesday evening and wraps up by Friday afternoon.

Who is the course for? 

The course is designed for editors and senior managers with 10+ years of newsroom management experience who are responsible for shaping, influencing or implementing change within their organisations. 

It is particularly relevant for leaders who want to better understand the forces transforming the news industry, reflect on their organisation's strategic priorities, and explore how to turn those priorities into meaningful organisational change. 

Previous participants have come from organisations including AFP, the BBC, El País, Süddeutsche Zeitung, Mediahuis, the Financial Times, Rest of World, Dagens Nyheter, DPG Media, The Straits Times, Politiken, The Bureau of Investigative Journalism, and many others.

Upcoming courses 

  • 18-19-20 November 2026
  • 26-27-28 May 2027
  • 30 June - 1-2 July 2027
  • 17-19 November 2027

Cost and registration 
 
Cost: £2,500 per participant. This includes two evening dinners at Oxford University colleges and two lunches. Accommodation and travel are not included. 
 
Registration: To apply for our Leading Newsroom Change course, please complete this form. 

* We recognise that cost can be a barrier to participation for some news organisations. While participation fees are set to reflect the costs of delivering our programmes, where possible, we may be able to offer limited financial assistance for newsrooms with limited resources. This is on a case-by-case basis and subject to availability. Please indicate in your application if you’d like to be considered for this.

What previous participants say

I really enjoyed the combination of the more externally focussed sessions and the business side of the newsroom leadership. The mix and the level of debate between participants really stands out. 

- Melle Garschagen, Deputy Editor-in-Chief, NRC
 
One of the best events of it's kind that I've attended.
- Hannah Rock, Editor of FT Edit, Financial Times
 
The general atmosphere was a positive, a welcome change from the doom and gloom vibe you sometimes come across in the future of journalism course. 
- Lucas Brouwers, Deputy Editor-in-Chief, NRC 
 
An inspiring few days that generated a huge number of ideas for me to concentrate on.
- Jennie Matthew, Head of the English Europe/Africa Desk at AFP
 
[RISJ] cultivated such a vibrant 'community of practice'. It not only nourished our professional souls and growth in the moment but also laid a lasting foundation for all attendees. I highly recommend RISJ's leadership development programs, offering an exceptional and enriching learning experience in Oxford.
- Karlijn Goosen, Deputy Editor-in-Chief, Dutch public broadcaster EO
Essential Skills for Newsroom Managers image/svg+xml image/svg+xml

Programme at a glance 

Essentials Skills for Newsroom Managers is our one-and-a-half-day course on the fundamentals of newsroom leadership, with a specific focus on people management. It takes place in person in Oxford.

Programme description

This course will help participants to develop their people management skills, both in terms of managing direct reports and managing up, create strategies to navigate change and promote effective communication within their teams, and build their professional network.  

Participants will learn practical insights on: 

  • The market forces shaping the news industry and how this affects changes in the newsroom  

  • Fostering healthy team dynamics and wellbeing  

  • Having difficult conversations and providing effective feedback   

  • How to effectively push for change within your organisation  

  • Defining your leadership style

Participants also benefit from the input and expertise of their fellow attendees through structured group discussions and interactive sessions. The collaborative and interactive nature of the programme helps participants build a network of peers they can turn to for advice long after the course ends.

Who is the course for? 

  • New and junior newsroom leaders who are looking to develop their management skills  

  • Aspiring leaders about to step into a role where they will manage a team 

  • Established leaders who want to refresh and solidify their approaches to team management 

Previous participants have come from organisations including AFP, Mediahuis, the BBC, The Financial Times, ZEIT Online, DPG, Radio Slovenija, OCCRP, and many others.  

Upcoming courses 

  • 28-29 January 2027
  • 13-14 May 2027

Cost and registration 

Cost: £1,500 including lunch and a dinner at an Oxford University college (travel and accommodation not included) 

Registration: To apply for our Essential Skills for Newsroom Managers course please complete this form. 

* We recognise that cost can be a barrier to participation for some news organisations. While participation fees are set to reflect the costs of delivering our programmes, where possible, we may be able to offer limited financial assistance for newsrooms with limited resources. This is on a case-by-case basis and subject to availability. Please indicate in your application if you’d like to be considered for this.

What previous participants say 

I feel lighter for having done this programme. A lot of the solutions we need to find, I used to think it was all on me. I think I can now engage my team so we can share that load. 
- Richard Gurner, Editor, Caerphilly Observer
 
It has been so useful to take a step back and have time to think about how my team works and how I can better manage them.
- George Lindsay-Watson, Deputy Engagement and Innovation Editor, The Times and Sunday Times
 
I’ll bring the strategies [I learnt] to my own team and, more importantly, to my own mindset.
- Lea Bayer, Head of ZEIT ONLINE Live
 
Navigating AI Implementation in Media image/svg+xml image/svg+xml

Programme at a glance  

Navigating AI Implementation in Media: From Editorial Strategy to Organisational Transformation is our two-day course for media professionals focused on strategic AI leadership in the newsroom. It takes place in-person in Oxford. 

 

Programme description  

This programme explores how media leaders can integrate AI into newsroom workflows in human-centric ways, prioritising editorial judgement and agency, and building cultures that support experimentation, learning, and collaboration.  

This course is designed for mid-career and senior media leaders who are grappling with questions around AI integration and implementation within their organisations. 

It provides research insights, practical frameworks and guiding principles to help participants navigate the challenges and trade-offs involved in this transition and make more informed decisions about how AI should be developed in their teams.   

The  programme is not designed to produce an AI strategy. Instead, it creates space to examine different approaches to implementation, understand the organisational and editorial considerations involved, and reflect on what effective and responsible leadership looks like in practice. 

In addition to the speakers we have lined up, participants benefit from the input of their fellow attendees through structured group discussions. The collaborative and interactive nature of the programme helps participants build a network of peers they can turn to for advice after the course ends.     

 

Who is the course for?  

The course is for mid-career and senior media leaders who have strategic decision-making power on issues of AI implementation within their newsrooms. Participants must be currently employed full-time in a news organisation.  

 

Upcoming courses  

  • 11-12 February 2027 

     

Cost and registration  


Cost: £2,100 per participant. This includes an evening dinner at an Oxford University college and two lunches. Accommodation and travel are not included.  
   
Registration: To apply for our Navigating AI Implementation in Media course, please complete this form. 

 

image/svg+xml Download our open admission courses brochure • 232kb
Other programmes
Invitation-only programmes  image/svg+xml image/svg+xml

Each year we host several invitation-only events for senior executives and editors. These include:

  • Editor-in-Chief and CEO Forum
  • Public Service News Forum
  • News Innovation Forum
  • Digital News Forum
  • Leading Climate-Focused Newsrooms 
Custom programmes   image/svg+xml image/svg+xml

We also create private bespoke leadership programmes for small, mid-size and global news organisations, for different stakeholders at all levels of seniority.  

We work with you to design, deliver and evaluate an executive education programme according to your organisation’s needs and strategic priorities.  

Previous organisations we worked with include the BBC, Dagens Nyheter, RFE/RL, the Daily Maverick, and Reuters News Agency.

Email Tania Montalvo for more information.

What previous participants say 

We have been collaborating with Reuters Institute for a long time, with different kinds of programs and seminars. This year, we have added a tailor-made, digital two-day seminar for our editors/middle managers regarding media trends, diversity and changing newsrooms. It was very valuable and highly appreciated by the group - and has led to important discussions and developments internally
Martin Jönsson, Head of Editorial Development, Dagens Nyheter, Sweden
 
A rare opportunity to custom-design a course for our newsroom leaders with RISJ. Insightful guest speakers and challenging topics sparked further work that continues today.
Styli Charalambous, CEO and co-founder, Daily Maverick
Relevant research

 

If you are interested in what we do and want to receive our weekly newsletter, join our mailing list in this link. 

Photos from previous sessions