Despite the need for creativity, inspiration and content, media corporations operate primarily as a business according to underlying corporate ideals, rules and regulations. The various responsibilities towards customers, staff and, often also, shareholders and society define the mission of managers that reflects on all key areas of corporate organization (such as human resources, accounting and marketing). When including the underlying economic principles of markets in which media corporations operate, the extensive scope of necessary skills for successful management becomes apparent. The understanding of corporate organizational design and workflows, but also the practice of corporate governance (and related regulations) are mandatory for corporate planning, decision making and reporting. Apart from short-run decisions and intermediate planning, the strategic approach to corporate goals requires a more holistic view on a company, its structure, markets, audiences as well as internal and external communication, thus affecting the main corporate departments. A sound assessment of these parameters and their implementation into corporate planning determines overall company development on the normative, operative and strategic levels.

The evolution of audience behaviour and our advancing technologies make change and innovation an indispensable mission statement for media ventures today. Unique ideas and extraordinary concepts need support and reinforcement throughout the whole working environment in which innovation is supposed to take place. Enabling such a positive setting is the fine art of successfully developing a new and challenging media industry domain. An important part of the sound assessment on the way to implementing innovation is knowing if and when firstmover approaches to markets make the difference. It is not before business models meet the various demands of change initiatives that creativity and inspiration can really flourish and pay off. Previous new media operations have sufficiently shown that major advantages can be drawn from the implementation of innovation. Yet, success is always dependent on a precise and holistic planning, often against a tight schedule:
involving the right personnel with relevant skills at the right time, building a stronghold against risks with strategic alliances, gathering official licenses and other allowances in time, paving the ground for sustainable creativity on the long run etc. – when taken into account factors such as these allow for turning change and innovation into a promising and beneficial venture for staff, corporation and the industry on the whole.

Building on the foundations of all previous themes, this media management training unit focuses on identifying criteria that effect processes of change and innovation in the media industry.