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Leadership in the Media Industry: Theoretical Approach

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DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-80876-1_38

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 Leadership in the Media Industry: Theoretical
Approach

Cristian Londoño-Proaño(B)

Universidad Tecnológica Indoamérica, Ambato, Ecuador

cristianlondono@uti.edu.ec

Abstract. The digital transformation created dramatic and important changes

in the media industry. The content is saturated and consumption patterns have
varied. Therefore, the audience migrated from traditional means to digital patterns,
which has caused the sale and merging of the media. Every day business models
for the media industry are integrated by new actors and dynamics. Leadership,
innovation, and creativity are some of the alternatives which the media can rely
on to make the most of the opportunities generated by the digital transformation.
Leadership is a process of influence that seeks to achieve common goals. The
media industry has been widely studied by psychologists, philosophers, historians,
management theorists, scientists, politicians, educators, philosophers, biologists,
and geneticists. The media industry is recognized by opinion formers such as
Rupert Murdoch or Greg Dyke. Hence, this article is aimed to do a theoretical
review of the latest researches on leadership in the media industry. It has been
evidenced that little literature on leadership in the media industry has been done.
It is established that human resources play an important role in the changing and
competitive landscape of the media industry and it is determined that people need
to be prepared to achieve the only competitive advantage which is innovation.
In this context, innovation is addressed as long as the leadership style promotes
changes and acts quickly in a very timely manner. Some authors point out that the
most effective leadership style in industries is transformational leadership since
it positively influences followers with motivation and inspiration provoking the
achievement of the organizational goals, which exceed the selfish objectives set by
followers. In addition, it is aimed to promote dialogue and to get the commitment.
Thus, the importance of media leaders managing people and tasks.

Keywords: Leadership · Media industries · Media management

1 Introduction
In the media industry, figures traditionally referred to as “tycoons” have remained man-
aging some organizations [1] and that is the reason why people tend to call them leaders.
In some cases, they have been addressed as successful people, but in many others, they
have been harshly challenged. Media leaders are considered as symbols for the media
conglomerates to which they lead and have become stars of much-watched industries,
[2] and which pays them higher salaries than the financial sector [3].

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021

J. I. Kantola et al. (Eds.): AHFE 2021, LNNS 267, pp. 299–304, 2021.
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-80876-1_38
300 C. Londoño-Proaño

This review will address the importance of leadership in the media. Then the most
relevant leaders of the media industry and the latest research will be also described.

2 Leadership in the Media Industry

The media industry is characterized by its brisk space on change and innovation [4, 5].
Four important changes can be cited: (1) the number of consumers (subscriptions and
audience) decreased in the traditional industry media; (2) the migration of the audience;
(3) some media industries were bought or merged by large media groups; (4) and the
appearance of new actors. Additionally, it is worth noting that the digital market has
failed to sustain the media industry [6, 7]. On top of that, another factor that affects the
media industry is the change in consumption patterns [7].
In the last twenty years, digitization has had a major impact on the media industry.
The competitive advantages of the sector: low-cost production and product quality [4]
were dissolved by the use of new technologies such as the case of audiovisual produc-
tion. Digital production technology has drastically reduced costs. Then, the production
of hardware and software became accessible to people, which caused the democratiza-
tion of video production by reducing costs and increasing the quality of images. Hence,
all producers can provide their productions with low costs and similar image quality pat-
terns. Another topic to discuss is the dissemination of content, which affected traditional
newspapers because it raised the need to create multimedia content and compete with
new players, which at a certain point meant carrying out the process of restructuring and
investing. Therefore, competitive advantages of the sector vanished, leaving the human
resource as the only one responsible for the success of the media industry [5].
On the other hand, the media industry is one of the industries that must be continu-
ously innovated, because audiences watch new books, new movies, and new programs
[6]. Unlike other industries such as the communication one where each product has a
new experience. Therefore, leaders play an important role on underpinning innovation,
adequately managing human resources. Innovation depends on a leadership style that
favors change and acts in a timely and rapid manner [5]. Consequently, leaders are
required to face sudden and continuous change [8].
Leaders are the adequate people to face change because organizations need those
who direct them; in addition, it is vital to get adequate management [9, 10]. The leader
influences employees to generate change and achieve aims, and represents continuous
improvement. The leader understands the organizational culture, promotes dialogues
within the company, analyzes the conditions of the company, and proposes changes,
through motivation, influence, and the shared vision of the entity [5].
Strictly speaking, the changing media industry needs a leadership style that takes
advantage of the opportunities generated by the changes occurring in the area.
Companies in the media industry need effective leaders. Several researchers note that
the most effective type of leadership is transformational leadership [10–13]. This type of
leadership influences followers, through motivation and inspiration, to achieve the goals
of the organization, which are beyond the selfish goals of the followers. In addition,
it promotes dialogue and achieves commitment. Hence, transformational leadership is
evidenced as a necessary element, since it can inspire and motivate change; therefore, it
does not become a traumatic event within the organization.
 Leadership in the Media Industry: Theoretical Approach 301

Transformational leadership is a process in which the leader influences subordinates,

through motivation and inspiration to eventually achieve the goals of the organization
and even exceed expectations. Bass states that transformational leadership has four
dimensions: (1) Idealized influence: it refers to the leader’s charisma, where he becomes
an example of ethics [14]; (2) motivation and inspiration: it refers to teamwork and how
the leader transmits enthusiasm to his followers [11]; (3) individual consideration: the
leader has the ability to promote dialogue and knows each follower, so he is able to
deliver work according to people’s abilities [13]; (4) intellectual stimulation: it refers
to the fact that the leader provides support so that his followers carry out creative and
innovative solutions to old problems [12].
Transformational leadership also brings some benefits to organizations in the industry
of communication: (1) it improves job satisfaction; (2) prevents the symptoms of poor
mental health; (3) provides a feeling of well-being; (4) since leaders give examples,
they can serve followers who have conflicts with their tasks so that innovative manners
to solve problems can be identified; (5) thanks to the charisma and empathy of the
transformational leader, followers are eager to give their efforts in order to achieve the
organizational goals [12, 13]; 6) Transformational leaders have great energy to generate
change in the company [15].
Transformational leaders are constantly communicating to their followers about their
shared vision to carry out permanent improvement, innovation, and creativity. They may
be involved in strategic decision-making as well as in changes of the organizational
culture [16]. For instance, Spar highlights Murdoch’s ability to create business models
that economically exploit satellite technologies and the loopholes of British regulations
[16]. Sky, Murdoch’s company, began its satellite transmissions in Great Britain and it
was the first to transmit; it is essential to point out that at this point regulations were just
being created and implemented. Similar strategic decisions on leadership occurred with
Amazon and Google when it introduced the e-book market, and the legal frameworks
were not defined and clear at all. Consequently, one should bear in mind that an important
strategy is to create new business models that can take advantage of technologies and
can make use of the legal loopholes in the law that come up in new markets.
Successful companies in the media industry are those that have a talented and well-
prepared human team, together with a spirit of innovation [4], under the leadership that
has a clear and shared vision of what is wanted for the company.
Wallman proposes a transformational leadership approach on the media industry,
based on three issues: (a) clear ideas, which refers to the fact that leaders and employees
need to recognize why, how, and when; (b) consistency, which refers to the presentation
of present and future plans, with a set of strategies, and (c) collaboration, which refers
to collaborative work among team members [16].
In the media industry, there are several cases of transformational leaders. For exam-
ple, the case of Steve Jobs when he directed Pixar. Steve Jobs performed true transfor-
mational leadership within Pixar Studios; even though, he had a narcissistic personality
[17]. It is important to keep in mind that Bass and Steidlmeier in 1999 argue on the fact
that narcissism in leaders is not a trait for transformational leadership, as it lacks empathy
and altruism [18]. However, Wikström argues that Jobs is not an example of narcissism
[17]. According to the researcher, Steve Jobs is a narcissistic leader who was productive
302 C. Londoño-Proaño

as he was able to cope with his personality problems because he had support from other
leaders. Additionally, he argues that Jobs was a productive narcissistic leader since he
had charisma, communicative skills, vision and creativity; on top of that, he handled risks
well, he was sensitive to criticism, he was unpredictable but he did not have empathy.
Despite his weaknesses, Steve Jobs succeeded in two big businesses: Apple and Pixar;
and he knew how to control his narcissistic personality by becoming a member of two
companions: Edward Catmull and John Lasseter. In Wikström’s analysis, he notes that
Pixar management was characterized by deploying three of the four transformational
leadership traits proposed by Bass:

1. Idealized influence: it is evidenced in the mix of technology and art. On the one
hand, Catmull was passionate about CGI technology for movies. On the other hand,
Lasseter was an animation legend who inspired many North American animators.
2. Intellectual stimulation: it is evidenced during creative moments when new ideas
bloom up. It is vital to consider that each new Pixar film created new businesses,
new technology, and new creative aspects [17].
3. Inspiration and motivation: it is shown by the charisma of Steve Jobs, and it was an
effective tool to get communication with Pixar vision.

Therefore, Wikström points out that Jobs managed to promote real transformational
leadership since he handled his productive narcissistic personality, thanks to the support
of his colleagues Catmull and Lasseter. Therefore, Pixar carried out the mentioned
transformational leadership where creativity emerged.
Another example of a transformational leader is Reed Hastings, the CEO of Netflix.
Hastings’s company was in the business of DVD rental. In 2007, Hastings saw streaming
as the successor to DVD, and then he made transformations in his business [19]. At this
point, he began to negotiate with Hollywood production companies to stream his movies
and shows, when he transformed his company. In 2011, Netflix showed movies on a
streaming system and sold them on DVD formats. Years later, Netflix gave up on the
idea of creating DVD files and turned to stream. Now Netflix is watched in more than
190 countries.

3 Latest Research
It should be mentioned that transactional leadership is associated with transformational
leadership, and the media industry is not exempt from this consideration. Girdauskiené
and Savanevicˇiené believe that transactional leadership and transformational leadership
are both related in terms of collaborative work, and knowledge transfer in companies in
media industries. Besides, these authors mention that transactional leadership is impor-
tant when delivering technical and structural conditions, while transformational leader-
ship is necessary for the dissemination of information and knowledge that can be done
in an informal way [20].
Researchers from various countries have studied leadership in the media industry.
For example, in Greece, a semi-structured interview with leaders of companies in the
media industry was used, and it was concluded that these leaders used transformational
and transactional leadership to anticipate changes in the industry [21].
 Leadership in the Media Industry: Theoretical Approach 303

In Chile, a study on the leadership style in newsrooms was carried out. Bass and
Avolio’s Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ5x) was applied to Chilean media
managers, and it was concluded that managers perceived themselves as leaders who
inspire, innovate and promote teamwork [22].
Also, a leadership study was carried out in the Chilean and Spanish media. They
applied the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ5x) which was intended for
directors and editors of various media industries, and the results showed that the directors
and editors believe that they are members who inspire, share goals, understand relevant
events, and have a high sense of confidence and ethics [1].

4 Conclusions
Dyke, former director of BBC, mentioned that leadership is more important than business
management [23] and it plays an important role on development nowadays [1]. Due to
constant and dizzying changes, leaders are an important tool to influence, activate and
motivate human resources, so that they take advantage of the new opportunities of the
digital transformation, through innovation and creativity.
Transformational leadership is one of the most effective styles as it leads to suc-
cess in the media industry. Furthermore, it is the process of influence that is based on
motivation and inspiration since followers become able to achieve the company goals
by exceeding their own selfish goals [11, 13]. This leadership manages the change of
the organization and cares about the personal growth of subordinates [17]. Therefore,
leaders must establish a shared vision, manage people, plan strategically, and be disci-
plined [7, 8]. The scientific research establishes that media industry leaders must keep
a two-way dialogue with their followers and provide them feedback. Leaders must be
an example of ethics for their subordinates, and they should promote teamwork, and
generate innovative solutions to old problems.

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