LUCY KUENG
BOOK A CALL

Books on media industry strategy

I’ve written books on digital transformation, leadership, culture, and innovation in the media industry. I’m currently writing a new book on the creator economy — and how to ensure classic media businesses can find growth in this complex and challenging landscape. 

browse and buy my books below
Lucy Kueng — Strategic Advisor to the Media Industry

Creator Shift — Building a Bridge to Creator Economy Growth

(tbc)

Creator Shift explains how creators and AI are remaking media economics, audience behaviour, and competitive advantage.

It gives leaders a practical playbook for where to compete, what to build, and how to execute without adding complexity
 
Who it’s for: CEOs, top teams, boards in news, publishing, broadcasting, and media-adjacent businesses
 
What you get: a clear map of creator economy business models, plus strategic options for incumbents
 
Key themes: niche growth, talent-led value creation, distribution shifts, AI leverage, new operating models

Evidence base: interviews and case studies across creators and leading media companies

Expected publication: 2026
Expected publication 2026

Strategic Management in the Media — Theory to Practice (3rd Edition)

(Sage, 2024)

Winner of the AEMJM Media Management
and Academics Division 2009 Book Award.

“Its scope and learning are brilliant and dazzling”  — Eli Noam, Columbia Business School

The media industry is developing furiously and fast, and its organisations face unprecedented levels of transformation and challenge. This fully revised third edition of the classic textbook on strategy in the media: 

  • Explores key shifts in media such as digital platforms, streamed media, the creator economy, the metaverse, and generative AI.

  • Takes readers deep into innovation, disruption and strategic adaptation in action with expanded global case studies.

  • Illuminates the theoretical basis behind strategy, such as understanding competition, shaping culture, driving innovation, finding the right leadership approach, and more.

  • Provides new ‘Resources’ and ‘Questions’ sections to guide readers’ further study and support classroom learning.
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Hearts and Minds — Harnessing Leadership, Culture and Talent to Really Go Digital

(Reuters Institute, University of Oxford, 2020)

“It’s a must-read for anyone in the media industry.”
Laying out how news organisations need to be reshaped.

(Reuters Institute, University of Oxford, 2020)

This book draws on over 100 media industry interviews to lay out how news organisations need to be reshaped. Covering the central themes of leadership, culture, DEI, generational shifts, and new talent, roles, and structures, it explores how to move from strategy to action when the landscape is messy and complex. 

Presenting challenges and best practice approaches, this is a guide on how to harness hearts and minds within your organisation to make a success of digital transformation.  

“Once again, Lucy Kueng gives us deep insight into the most important drivers for the ongoing digital transformation in the newsroom. … She combines her own research and practical experience in a brilliant way. It’s a must-read for anyone in the media industry.” — Siv Juvik Tveitnes, CEO Schibsted Media

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Innovators
in Digital News

(I.B. Taurus, 2015)

“Lucid analysis based on detailed inside looks at five of the world’s most interesting news organisations.”

News organisations are struggling with technology transitions and are fearful for their future. Yet some organisations are succeeding. 

Drawing on extensive first-hand research, this book explains how different international media organisations approach digital news and pinpoints the common organisational factors that help build their success.

“Lucy Kueng’s book provides lucid analysis based on detailed inside looks at five of the world’s most interesting news organisations. Everyone in the news business should read it.” — Tom Standage, Digital Editor and Deputy Editor, The Economist

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Inside the BBC and CNN — Managing Media Organisations

(Routledge, 2000)

A unique insight into two of the world’s best-known media organisations during a period of great change and new challenges.

Drawing on five years’ intense research among senior managers inside both organisations, this book explores the beliefs and attitudes that shape management and priorities.

Available in Taiwanese (Asia Pacific Press), Korean (Communication Books), Indonesian (Kantor Berita), and Chinese (Tsinghua University Press).

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"Küng’s book stands out for its focus on concepts, drivers, and dynamics. Its scope and learning are brilliant and dazzling. This updated edition will be a source of insight for students and a tool for industry veterans who seek the perspective of academia."
Eli Noam
" Küng provides scholars, students, and practitioners with invaluable tools to map the impact on media industries by global platforms including the rise of creator culture, the breathtaking speed in which streaming services now dominate media production and distribution, and the threat already posed by the rise of next-gen technologies, whether coined the metaverse or generative AI."
David Craig
“Lucy Küng’s groundbreaking book enters its 3rd edition with a bang! Updated to cover a complex strategic context including the digital platforms, generative AI, streaming, the metaverse and more, and with new illustrative case studies on media trends and organizational practice, this book is a must read for any scholar or student of media management.”
John Oliver