Insight Shapes News

In this episode of Insight Shapes News by Kilkaya, host Nils Ove Håland Riise sits down with Helge Voll Hustad, Homepage Editor at VG — Norway's largest news site, where he curates the homepage with news for millions of Norwegians. They start with VG's now-famous "Ice Ice Baby" homepage, run in the middle of one of the darkest news months of the year, and what it says about the r...

What happens when two people who talk before every episode finally sit down in front of a microphone together? In this episode of Insight Shapes News by Kilkaya, host Nils Ove Håland Riise is joined by Tarjei Gilbrant, CEO and co-founder of Kilkaya, fresh from the INMA World Media Congress in Berlin. Both participated in separate study tours visiting major German publishers. This conversation is t...

Content Personalization in news products has typically been placed in low-risk areas—below articles or in separate recommendation modules further down on the page. What happens when it is introduced higher up the page? We talk about the top! In most news products, around 80% of clicks happen on the top part of the page. Very few readers scroll far enough to engage with content further down. This m...

Technology used to feel neutral. Infrastructure choices were seen as operational decisions handled by IT teams. That assumption is now being challenged. In this episode of Insight Shapes News by Kilkaya , host Nils Ove Håland Riise speaks with Endre , a technology strategist and founder of the initiative Choose European , which maps European software alternatives and promotes greater digital sover...

What does it take to lead journalists through uncertainty, resistance, and constant change? In this episode of Insight Shapes News by Kilkaya , host Nils Ove Håland Riise speaks with Jeremy Clifford, former Editor-in-Chief of one of the UK’s largest media organisations and now a leadership coach working with newsrooms. Jeremy argues that the demands placed on newsroom leaders have shifted signific...

How should personalization work in journalism when trust, fairness, and editorial responsibility are at stake? In this episode of Insight Shapes News by Kilkaya , host Nils Ove Håland Riise speaks with Christoph Schmitz , Product Manager at Schibsted Media and lead of Curate , the content recommendation system used across several of the largest news brands in the Nordics. Christoph has worked with...

Why do people really pay for news in 2025 — and what keeps them paying month after month? In this episode of Insight Shapes News by Kilkaya , host Nils Ove Håland Riise sits down with Dominic Grzbielok , Head of Paid Content s at Süddeutsche Zeitung (SZ) . Dominic is a former journalist turned product leader who has spent the last 15 years living in the intersection of newsroom culture, product st...

What happens when competitors share their most sensitive numbers — and build one common truth instead of competing dashboards? In this episode of Insight Shapes News by Kilkaya, host Nils Ove Håland Riise talks with Bente Håvimb, Project Manager at MBL (the Norwegian Media Business Association) , about Medietall — the shared measurement system that unites nearly every Norwegian publisher under one...

When 80% of homepage clicks happen in the very top rows, this is exactly where personalization has the biggest impact. At the same time, publishers face declining traffic from social platforms and search, making the homepage a central place to build direct relationships with readers. In this episode of Insight Shapes News by Kilkaya, host Nils Ove Håland Riise talks with Dana Schlüenzen, Director...

What happens when you give local newsrooms its own AI lab — and build tools that think with you, not just for you? In this episode of Insight Shapes News by Kilkaya, host Nils Ove Håland Riise is joined by Markus Franz, CTO at Ippen Media — Germany’s largest local journalism network — to explore how AI agents, adaptive content, and experimentation culture are shaping the future of journalism. Mark...

What do advertisers really want from publishers — and why do so many budgets still flow to big tech? In this episode of Insight Shapes News by Kilkaya, host Nils Ove Håland Riise sits down with Ann Jack , Managing Director of WPP Media Norway , to talk about what actually drives modern media buying decisions — and what publishers need to do to compete. From clean rooms and connected TV to programm...

What happens when a media company isn’t owned by investors — but by a single trust with a long-term mission? In this episode of Insight Shapes News by Kilkaya, host Nils Ove Håland Riise speaks with Kjersti Løken Stavrum, CEO of the Tinius Trust — the sole owner of Schibsted Media, the largest media group in the Nordics. We explore what changed when Schibsted’s media arm split from its marketplace...

What does it take to turn a casual reader into a loyal subscriber — and keep them coming back? In this episode of Insight Shapes News by Kilkaya, host Nils Ove Håland Riise sits down with Madeleine White , VP of Marketing at Poool and co-founder of The Audiencers , to break down what’s really working in audience strategy today. Madeleine has a unique bird’s-eye view of the global publishing indust...

What happens after the AI hype fades? In this episode of Insight Shapes News by Kilkaya, host Nils Ove Håland Riise sits down with Aliya Itzkowitz — Who works at FT Strategies and built out the framework for the Google News Initiative’s AI Launchpad — to unpack how AI is actually being used inside real newsrooms. Forget the buzzwords. Aliya shares what’s working, what isn’t, and how media companie...

How do you turn a niche publication into a must-have industry platform? In this episode of Insight Shapes News by Kilkaya , host Nils Ove Håland Riise speaks with Tom Seaman , founder and editor-in-chief of Undercurrent News — a B2B media company covering the global seafood industry. With over 70% of its revenue coming from subscriptions . But the real story? Undercurrent went beyond content — bui...

How can news publishers design better stories, faster — without being held back by rigid CMS systems? In this episode, we talk with Tine Karlsen , CEO and co-founder of Vev , about how storytelling, design, and creative freedom are being reshaped in the digital newsroom. From breaking out of static templates to embracing new formats like scrollytelling, Tine shares how publishers can rethink workf...

How can a small Local Newsroom in Northern Norway take on one of Investigative journalism’s biggest challenges — and win? In this episode, we talk with Lars Adrian Giske, Head of AI at iTromsø, about how his team built Djinn — the Data Journalism Interface for News Gathering and Notification. This AI-powered tool is transforming how journalists work by surfacing the most newsworthy content from ma...

Most news publishers struggle to get even 1% of households to subscribe. Delfi Meedia in Estonia has done what few others have—reaching 18% digital subscription penetration , far ahead of industry benchmarks. Ivar Krustok is the Chief AI & Innovation Officer at Delfi Meedia , one of the most successful digital publishers in the Baltics. With a strong focus on innovation, Delfi has built a subs...

Are you creating content your audience actually needs? Lars K Jensen reveals the power of the User Needs Model in journalism and why understanding your audience is the key to engagement, trust, and business success. Lars is the Audience Lead at Berlingske Media and an expert in audience insights, newsroom transformation, and digital strategy. With years of experience in journalism and publishing,...