
4 Feb 2025
Hanne looking back on her presentation on Stakeholder Alignment for News Recommender System (NRS) Implementation
After a great first day of interesting sessions, good talks and a fun party, it was my turn to present some findings at Etmaal van de Communicatiewetenschap. This annual conference unites communication scholars from Belgium and the Netherlands and the 2025 edition took place in the beautiful city of Bruges.
I could write pages about the picturesque setting and the striking juxtaposition of the historic nature of this city and the innovative, future-oriented discussions we had there. However, let’s get to the point: My presentation on the adoption of news recommender systems (NRS) by legacy, commercial news publishers in Belgium and the Netherlands, and the multi-stakeholder complexities that influence this process.
Why Is the Adoption of News Recommender Systems Lagging Behind?
While academic research has advanced significantly in the domain of news recommenders and personalization, the practical implementation of NRS in legacy news organizations remains limited. There exists a significant gap between the assumed widespread integration of recommendation algorithms and the reality of their adoption in established news platforms. My research suggests that a key reason for this disconnect lies in the intricate, multi-stakeholder environment in which NRS are designes and implemented.
The Multi-Stakeholder Challenge
Within news organizations, multiple actors with distinct institutional logics shape the adoption process. Three dominant logics are at play:
The journalistic logic, which prioritizes editorial independence, public service, and the integrity and diversity of news content.
The commercial logic, focused on revenue generation and return on investment.
The tech logic, driven by algorithmic efficiency, and optimization of the NRS functionalities.
These different stakeholder interestes and values create tensions and trade-offs: How do news organizations balance algorithmic curation with journalistic gut-feeling for selection and prioritization of news content? How can they ensure that business interests do not overshadow editorial considerations? And how can resources be allocated effectively to maximize the potential of NRS without undermining traditional newsroom workflows?
My research highlights the crucial role of the Product Owner (PO) in navigating these tensions. Rather than a single PO mediating in between, all actors, we observe a network of multiple POs, each acting as an “interpreter” or “translator” for the institutional logic they represent. These POs play a vital role in facilitating communication, aligning perspectives, and crafting a strategic roadmap for NRS adoption.

Two Key Stakeholder Alignment Strategies
To ensure smoother adoption of NRS, POs employ two crucial stakeholder alignment strategies:
Knowledge Management Strategy
The POs facilitate communication between the newsroom, business unit, and tech teams, ensuring knowledge sharing and developing a common understanding. They use educational tools such as “dummy-proof” presentations and explainer videos to foster a shared understanding, mitigating misunderstandings and increase stakeholder buy-in.
Showcase Success Strategy
To demonstrate the value of NRS, POs present performance metrics through dashboards. However, simply displaying data is not enough. We underscore the importance of literacy within newsrooms as without a good understanding of data insights and the foundational skills to interpret dashboards, stakeholders cannot meaningfully engage with performance metrics or make informed strategic decisions.

Moving Forward: A Call for Media Management Studies
While advancements from computational sciences and normative narratives in journalism studies are exploring the possibilities of news personalization, media management perspectives remain underexplored. My presentation at Etmaal highlights the need for further studies that bridge the gap between theoretical research and practical implementations.
The discussions and feedback I received at Etmaal reaffirmed the relevance of this research, and I look forward to continuing this conversation in future collaborations. For those interested in the role of recommender systems in news media, let’s get in touch!