Product Expansion Program's Mentoring Circles served a global cohort of journalists facing unique challenges
November 10, 2022– In partnership with the Google News Initiative and delivered alongside the Newmark J-School at CUNY, in April 2022 the NPA launched the Product Expansion Program, an initiative designed to support changemakers as they bring product practices to life in their news organizations.
The Product Expansion Program began with a series of workshops to promote the implementation of product philosophy in newsrooms.
After the workshops took place, we held a series of mentoring circles for product professionals to address individual challenges. Alumni from the Newmark J-School at CUNY and invited participants received guidance for four months from their mentors and alumni.
Participants were part of a global cohort with members from Kenya, Brasil, the United States, Mongolia, Italy, Zimbabwe, Philippines, and other countries. The mentees came from digital news organizations, media startups, non-profit news organizations, and legacy media companies. Each participant shared the unique challenges they faced, which differed based on their organization and context.
"I really enjoyed the variety of issues and cultural contexts that everyone faced. The group was also excellent at sharing and supporting each other through their challenges," said Andrew Losowsky, Head of Community Product at Vox Media, one of the mentors from this program.
The mentoring circles provided a space for mentees to reflect deeply on a professional challenge. The program was designed to give participants the tools and feedback to prepare a plan or strategy to be applied on how to address the challenge they face with the guidance of their mentor.
“The mentoring circles really helped put the major challenges I have into perspective, share new ideas and also glean from the experience of others,” said mentee, Habib Oladapo, Programmes Manager at Civic Media Lab in Lagos, Nigeria.
“I found a few pointers and resources that are of great help and I am currently adopting for the next phases of projects in my organization,” said Oladapo.
Stacey Peters, another participant, reflected that “the NPA Mentoring Circles provided the grounding and practical steps that I needed to make a much-needed career pivot.” The journalism entrepreneur emphasized that the small group setting allowed for an intense focus on the issues faced by members of her cohort.
“While we all faced differing challenges, the common themes allowed us to methodically move our projects forward. I'll be forever grateful for this transformational program”, said Peters.
“I was very impressed by the mentees in the program over the four months,” said mentor Upasna Gautam. “My most memorable lesson was when we talked about the importance of high agency. You don't need permission. With the right attitude and aptitude, you can make yourself a PM.”
Mentees were grouped into four thematic areas according to their professional obstacles and personal goals:
“Challenges and Roadblocks”, led by Andrew Losowsky, Head of Community Product at Vox Media
“Management and leadership” led by P. Kim Bui, Senior Director for Product and Audience Innovation at the Arizona Republic
“Planning and Workflows” led by Gia Castello, former Program Manager for Knight Fellowships at the International Center for Journalists
“Transitioning into a product role” led by Upasna Gautam, Product Manager for Core Programming at CNN.
"We are proud to partner with Google News Initiative to keep expanding Product Philosophy in newsrooms and accompany leaders and change makers while they keep pushing toward audience-focused journalism around the world," said Feli Carrique, Executive Director of NPA.
