Caysey Welton of Folio interviewed Harvard Business Review editor in chief Adi Ignatius about its strategy during the coronavirus pandemic.
Here is an excerpt:
Folio: COVID-19 is as much an economic crisis as it is a public health crisis, so as a business publication how have you responded to the situation editorially?
Adi Ignatius
Adi Ignatius: Everything has changed. We’ve really started to develop the metabolism of a newsroom. We’ve always tried to be timely, but we knew we needed to do that more and produce several articles a day related to COVID, or working at home or coping with the crisis. We had a lot to say. Almost overnight we developed a newsroom mentality. It felt absolutely right. We put our COVID coverage free in front of the paywall. And we ramped up the volume, as well as the way we deliver content.
Most recently we launched a LinkedIn TV show [“HBR Quarantined”], and we approach it that way, with a musical lead-ins and a new guests every week. It grew out of the the realization that our followers are in lockdown and are hungry for insights. We try to present these topics the way you would discuss them with friends and family. The response has been incredible.
Folio: Is this a concept you will continue to explore post-quarantine?
Ignatius: We launched it as a six-week series. We’re in week five and decided to extend it to eight. Companies are not going back to work any time soon and, in some cases, never. So our expectations is the need for this will continue. At some point we will return [to offices] but we don’t know if it will be mandatory. So the rationale for this show means we should keep doing it. We have people reaching out asking to do the show and we think we can get sponsorship eventually.
