Rewriting the Newsroom Playbook: 5 Tough Realities from Industry Leaders  

At a time when newsrooms are juggling linear broadcasts, websites, mobile apps, social feeds, and OTT channels, the pressure to deliver trusted news faster and more efficiently has never been higher.  

In a recent TV News Check panel, industry leaders from Sinclair, NBCUniversal, Hearst, Graham Media Group, and Ross Video shared how they’re tackling these challenges, revealing shared frustrations, bold overhauls, and glimmers of optimism. 

Here are the key takeaways from that discussion. 

1. Old workflows are breaking under pressure 

Traditional newsroom structures, often built around legacy newsroom computer systems (NRCS) and siloed digital content management systems (CMS) platforms, aren’t cutting it anymore. 

“We’re still largely dealing with the same infrastructure that’s been running local newsrooms for a long time,” said Sean McLaughlin, VP of News at Graham Media Group. 

Disconnected systems and manual handoffs are struggling to keep up with the demands of multiple platforms, slowing content distribution at a time when speed is crucial. Many stations are still operating on workflows built for a different era. 

“There’s just too many obstacles from field to viewer. We created all of these complicated systems in between…We need to simplify all of these processes.” said Ernie Ensign, AVP News, Technology & Operations at Sinclair. 

2. Story-centric workflows are the new mandate 

More and more newsrooms are taking a “story-centric” approach to workflow design. 

“Story centricity means it’s about the story itself, not the platform or the output,” explained Rene Gonzalez, Technical Product Manager at NBCUniversal News Group. Many broadcasters are shifting toward unified workflows that support that vision, where one story can feed many platforms without duplication. 

For more insights on the multiplatform news organization in 2025, watch the full panel discussion here: 

3. AI and cloud infrastructure can help — but only with the right strategy 

Better cloud-based tools are slowly driving a transformation of the newsroom. They are driving efficiency, but must be tied to a long-term editorial vision. Rene Gonzalez emphasized the advantages: “Cloud-based and serverless environments lift the limits of on-prem infrastructure.” 

Sinclair has already centralized over 60 master control channels in the cloud. “We’ve been able to create some more flexibility in these operations,” said Ensign. “It’s helped us create some more story and reporter-driven type formats.” 

“AI is now a tool for us, and it is a tool that needs to be used responsibly,” added Ernie Mourelo on the topic of AI. “But it is a way for us to leverage technology to find those stories that we may not have found otherwise.”  

4. It’s tough to change newsroom culture  

While technology is evolving quickly, human behavior isn’t. Despite the promise of new tools, resistance to change remains a significant barrier in many newsrooms.  

“The one thing that I have underestimated in my entire 30 years of doing this is how hard it is to change behavior in a newsroom,” said McLaughlin. Even tools with obvious benefits face resistance. “We’ve been testing tools that are very user-friendly,” Ensign told the group, “And you would think users would immediately embrace and see the potential—but change is very difficult. I think we underestimated how difficult that change will be.”   

5. Ensuring quality journalism is still what matters most 

The push for tech reform is about protecting journalism itself. Regardless of the toolset, good storytelling remains the guiding principle.   

“The story is what distributes. The newscast is just one vehicle,” said McLaughlin. “The content isn’t any good unless you spend time on it. Let’s just make the food taste better.” Technology should serve the content, not the other way around. That means reevaluating how newsrooms are staffed and how field resources are used. 

Technology can help, but strategy must lead 

As these experts made clear, the tools are catching up to the needs—but only if leaders are willing to rethink content production and distribution workflows.  

“Media organizations are constantly being asked to do more with less,” said Ensign. “We need to hit the easy button…centralize all of our content in the cloud… [and] create extensible systems to plug in whatever tool is necessary as the business needs change.”  

The solution isn’t just technological—it’s cultural. Building better workflows is critical, but building alignment across people, tools, and purpose is what will make them better.