Innovations in resilience strategies during the Covid-19 pandemic

Abstract

This chapter addresses innovation initiatives in Norwegian news media in response to the Covid-19 pandemic in early 2020. Based on a mapping survey among 24 top and middle Norwegian news media managers, the analysis reveals three strategies for coping and recovering from a crisis: bouncing back, bouncing forward, and bouncing beyond. Several news media bounced back from Covid-19 in a swift recovery from the crisis while maintaining and improving existing activities through incremental innovations. Other news media bounced forward by absorbing the crisis and exploring innovation possibilities in new service offerings, distribution channels, and markets. A few news media bounced beyond, suggesting that news media adapted to the crisis by digitalising the newsroom and reorganising towards more service-based mindsets, community engagement, and value co-creation.