Kim Bode
I’m a business journalist turned audience and product strategist. I help mission-driven organizations grow engaged audiences and sustainable revenue.Let's connect.
Bio
My work sits at the intersection of journalism, product strategy, audience and revenue growth. I help news organizations align audience engagement with business strategy to drive long-term sustainability across products, platforms, and markets.I am Head of Growth Initiatives at Newspack, where I oversee the Revenue Development Program and lead international expansion efforts. In my previous role as the Head of Audience Product Strategy, I oversaw the development of Newspack’s audience development and reader revenue tools.I also advise, consult, and coach mission-driven organizations globally on audience development, newsletter strategy, revenue growth, and product thinking. My focus is on supporting teams to turn ideas into meaningful, measurable outcomes.Prior to Newspack, I led the Audience and News Product teams at Devex. Before that, as Senior Product Manager for Emerging Platforms and Engagement at the Los Angeles Times, I owned the product roadmap and strategic direction for off-platform experiences including newsletters, alerts, and podcasts. Earlier in my career, I led community and product operations at News Deeply in New York City and taught a master’s-level course on community-centered journalism at NYU.Originally from Berlin, Germany, I began my career as a business correspondent, reporting for German-language publications including the Financial Times Deutschland, NZZ am Sonntag, Die Zeit, and Zeit Online.I hold a master's degree in Digital Journalism and Innovation from NYU's Studio 20 program and a bachelor's degree in Economics, Political Science, and Media Management from the University of Cologne. Additionally, I graduated from the Cologne Journalism School with a professional degree in Business and Political Journalism.You can find more information on my work on product and engagement strategies and speaking and teaching engagements by following the links.If you're interested in collaborating, please get in touch.
Product & Engagement Strategy
I focus on helping media organizations advance audience and product development with a clear path to revenue growth and long-term sustainability.At Newspack, I designed the Revenue Development Program to address the practical challenges publishers face. The program helps teams turn strategy into action by combining hands-on training, individualized coaching, and peer support to drive audience and revenue growth. In my previous role as Head of Audience Product Strategy at Newspack, I led the development of audience engagement and revenue tools designed to help publishers build meaningful reader relationships and grow subscription and membership revenue.As the Director of Audience and News Product at Devex, I led the news product, audience, and content management teams to drive engagement and conversions across platforms. I defined and implemented an integrated news product and audience growth strategy, emphasizing a user-first mindset, operational clarity, and cross-functional collaboration.Until 2021, I was a Senior Product Manager at the Los Angeles Times, focusing on emerging platforms and engagement experiences. Working at the intersection of editorial, business, and tech teams, I owned product requirements and roadmaps for off-platform products and experiences such as newsletters, alerts, and audio. During my time at the Times, we (re-)launched more than 15 newsletters and email products, overhauled and streamlined the newsletter and email alert work and user flows entirely, and migrated ESPs (Email Service Providers) and podcast platforms, significantly increasing audience growth and engagement, subscriber conversion and retention, and ad revenue.Before that, as Manager of Community and Product Operations at News Deeply, I led the exploration, implementation, and evaluation of tools and processes to advance community-centered journalism. In this role, I designed and rolled out workflows for News Deeply's live journalism initiatives, oversaw the launch of a newsletter as well as advisory councils, developed methods and analyzed data to optimize the effectiveness of our work, and supported user-oriented digital product design.In my consulting and coaching practice, I'm focused on empowering organizations to enhance their newsletter and audience development, drive revenue growth, and foster product thinking. Whether through one-on-one consultations or group workshops, I guide teams and individuals in identifying opportunities and implementing effective strategies. I've had opportunities to collaborate with a diverse range of organizations, spanning across continents and sectors, such as the Media Development Investment Fund, Deutsche Welle Akademie, Human Rights Watch, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Panorama, Mail & Guardian, El Faro, Malaysiakini, and Documented.If you want to talk more about consulting, coaching, speaking and advisory opportunities, please reach out.
Speaking, Coaching & Teaching
My speaking and teaching focus on strengthening product thinking and audience-first approaches in journalism. I share practical frameworks and lessons drawn from hands-on work with news organizations navigating digital transformation.I’ve been invited to speak and coach on community-centered journalism, audience development, newsletter strategy, and product thinking by organizations including the New York Times, BBC, American Press Institute, News Product Alliance, Online News Association, Asian American Journalists Association, WAN-IFRA - World Association of News Publishers, Next Media Accelerator, Danish School of Media and Journalism, Kölner Journalistenschule, and the City University of New York
(CUNY).As an adjunct professor at New York University's Journalism Institute, I developed and taught a master’s level course for the Studio 20: Digital First program on reporting with, rather than on, communities. Through hands-on lessons and engaged journalism case studies, students learned to involve communities in the reporting process using various formats and tools. The course guided them through an entire engaged journalism project cycle, including user research, experimentation, and impact measurement.For speaking or teaching inquiries, please get in touch.
Reporting & Editing
Starting out as a local reporter in Germany, I've been working in and alongside newsrooms for about 20 years. Before I pivoted towards product and engagement to better connect journalism with its users, I held a number of different editorial positions.At News Deeply, before fully immersing myself in community and product strategy and operations, I served as the community editor covering geopolitics, mainly focusing on Refugees Deeply and Syria Deeply.As a former correspondent, I covered U.S. economics, politics, and businesses for a number of European publications. I wrote about presidential campaigns, protests and a lot about finance for the most widely read German weekly newspaper Die Zeit and its website Zeit Online. My favorite beats while reporting for NZZ am Sonntag, the Sunday edition of the oldest Swiss paper Neue Zürcher Zeitung, were tax evasion cases and start-ups. I also served as the Wall Street correspondent for the Financial Times Deutschland before it ceased publication in 2012.During my time as a graduate student at NYU, I enjoyed branching into multimedia journalism and produced a few mini-documentaries, including one for NYC Values, which won an Online Journalism Award in 2016.During my parallel undergrad studies at the University of Cologne and Cologne Journalism School, I completed eight internships at Der Spiegel, SBS Radio, Reuters, the German Federal Foreign Office, sueddeutsche.de, Bonner General-Anzeiger, Badische Zeitung and Perlentaucher.Below you can find links to a selection of my reporting and editing work.
Contact
I work with organizations and individuals on audience, news product, and revenue growth through consulting, coaching, and advisory engagements. My focus is on practical, actionable support that helps teams move from ideas to measurable outcomes.I’m also available for speaking, workshops, and advisory roles. If you’re exploring a collaboration or want to talk through a specific challenge, feel free to email me.