The Next Generation of Media Companies Will Have No Engineers
A counterintuitive truth is emerging in the digital media landscape: the most successful companies of tomorrow may well be those without a single in-house software engineer.
As artificial intelligence reshapes content creation and distribution, and as consumer habits shift at breakneck speed, media companies that thrive will be those that focus on their core competency – creating compelling content – while partnering with specialist tech providers for everything else.
The Printing Press Parallel: Lessons from Media’s Past
There was a time when major newspapers owned their printing presses, seeing them as a crucial part of their operations. But as printing technology advanced and became more specialised, most media companies realised that owning and operating presses was a distraction from their real mission: journalism.
Media analyst Ken Doctor has observed this trend in the newspaper industry. Companies that held onto their printing operations too long often found themselves burdened with oversized infrastructure and costly obligations. These investments, once seen as crucial, became financial albatrosses in a rapidly changing media landscape.
We’re now seeing a similar patterns emerge with in-house engineering teams.
The ‘Technological Complexity Myth’ in Media
Many media companies labour under the misconception that their technical needs are unique, complex, and therefore require a full in-house engineering team.
Unfortunately, this “complexity myth” often leads to over-indexed investments in custom solutions and large engineering departments. Ironically, if you believe that your technical needs are too complex to be managed by a third party, you’ll likely to hire an in-house engineering team, who in our experience become one of the main culprits of creating unnecessary complexity.
In-house engineering teams often build custom solutions that require ongoing maintenance, further entrenching the perceived need for a large engineering department.
However, the reality is that most media operations require relatively standard technology. The idea that you need to build a custom content management system or maintain a large engineering department is often more about perceived needs than operational necessity.
This approach of relying on external partners and specialists offers a lower fixed cost base compared to maintaining an in-house team. It allows organisations to innovate on a flexible cost basis as required, scaling up for major projects and scaling down during quieter periods. This flexibility is crucial in an industry where technological needs can change rapidly and unpredictably.
By outsourcing technical operations, media companies can maintain a lean internal structure focused on their core competencies while still having access to cutting-edge technology and expertise. This model not only reduces fixed costs but also provides the agility needed to adapt quickly to new market demands or technological shifts.
How WordPress has Matured into a Modern CMS Platform
Over the past five years, WordPress and other modern content management systems have evolved dramatically, reaching a level of sophistication that greatly exceeds custom-built CMS solutions. With the introduction of features like the block editor and full site editing, WordPress has become a more powerful, flexible platform that can meet the needs of even the most demanding media organisations.
When harnessed by experts like The Code Company, WordPress offers media companies the best of both worlds. On one hand, it provides the flexibility and user-friendly interface that allows non-technical staff to manage content effectively. On the other, it can be locked down to meet enterprise standards, ensuring security, scalability, and compliance.
Need to launch a new section on your site? Change your subscription model? Create a custom landing page for a major story? Increasingly, these tasks don’t require an engineer at all. Instead, they can be accomplished by savvy product managers or digital producers using the sophisticated tools built into modern WordPress publishing platforms.
Importantly, this isn’t about giving media companies a “free-for-all” with website flexibility. Rather, it’s about providing a carefully structured environment where the power of WordPress can be leveraged safely and effectively. By partnering with WordPress specialists, media companies can ensure their CMS is tailored to their specific needs, optimised for performance, and maintained to the highest standards – all without the overhead of a large in-house engineering team.
This approach aligns perfectly with the evolving needs of media companies. The technological requirements of most media organisations have been simplified, not complicated, by these advances in content management systems. With the right implementation, WordPress can handle everything from basic content publishing to complex subscription models and personalised user experiences, all within a framework that prioritises security and scalability.
Product Managers: The New Tech Leads in Media
This shift necessitates a new internal structure for media companies. Rather than a large engineering department, the key technical roles become product managers and digital producers. These hybrid roles combine an understanding of the media business with the ability to leverage modern CMS features effectively.
They can translate business needs into technical requirements and work with external partners to bring projects to life. In many cases, a skilled product manager can be more valuable than an entire engineering team, especially for companies below the $10 million revenue mark.
Preparing for the AI-Driven Future of Media
As we stand on the brink of an AI revolution that promises to upend traditional media business models, this lean, flexible approach to technology becomes not just advantageous but essential for survival. AI is poised to transform content creation, curation, and distribution in ways we’re only beginning to understand.
Media companies saddled with large, costly in-house engineering teams and rigid, custom-built systems will struggle to adapt quickly enough. We’ve seen this play out time and again with organisations that have invested heavily in internal engineering teams. All too often, these teams become siloed, focused on maintaining existing systems rather than innovating.
The Enterprise Exception: When In-House Engineering Teams Make Sense
While there is a strong case for outsourcing engineering in a lot of cases, it’s important to acknowledge that this approach isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution. For larger, more sophisticated media organisations – particularly those with annual revenues exceeding, say, $10 million or those dealing with genuinely bespoke technical requirements – maintaining some level of in-house engineering capacity can still be beneficial.
These organisations often have unique needs that go beyond standard content management. They may be developing proprietary technologies, managing vast amounts of data, or integrating complex systems that require dedicated, full-time technical staff. In these cases, a hybrid model that combines in-house expertise with external partnerships often proves most effective.
However, it’s crucial to note that these cases are the exception rather than the rule. The vast majority of media companies, especially those in the small to mid-market space, will find that partnering with external technical specialists provides the optimal balance of cost-efficiency, flexibility, and access to expertise.
Even for larger organisations, the principle of focusing on core competencies still applies. The key is to critically evaluate which technical functions truly need to be kept in-house and which can be more effectively managed by specialist partners. This strategic approach to technology management can help even the largest media companies stay agile and competitive in a rapidly evolving digital landscape.
Embrace Agility, Focus on Content
The media companies that will thrive in the coming years will be those that stay lean, agile, and focused on their core mission of creating and curating great content. They’ll partner with a specialist website agency who can bring best-in-class solutions and deep expertise. They’ll invest in flexible internal resources who can leverage the increasingly powerful features of modern content management systems.
The future of media belongs to those who don’t code – at least, not in-house.
It’s time for media companies, especially those in the small to mid-size range, to take a hard look at their technology strategies. Are you building an engineering empire, or are you building a nimble, content-focused media business ready for the challenges and opportunities of tomorrow? The choice you make today could well determine whether your company thrives or merely survives in the years to come.
