Newsrewired speaker spotlight: Naja Nielsen on innovation, leadership and Nordic media

Credit:  Joshua Bratt / BBC

Naja Nielsen spent six years at the BBC as digital director, where she led the newsroom's digital journalism through the pandemic, the invasion of Ukraine, the Israel-Hamas war and the UK and US elections.

She also oversaw changes to the news app, BBC's launch on TikTok, news formats for election voters, the analysis section BBC In Depth and an overall push towards serving the needs of digital audiences.

But a new challenge lies ahead for Nielsen, as she joins Swedish public broadcaster, SVT, as media director on 1 June. But before then, she delivers the keynote speech at our next Newsrewired conference on 13 May 2025, setting the tone for a day of discussing the cutting edge of digital journalism. Check out the full agenda and grab your tickets whilst you can.

We caught up with Nielsen ahead of time to reflect on her accomplishments at the BBC and explore her vision for the future of public broadcasting in the Nordics. The interview has been edited for brevity.

Q: What stands out as your proudest achievement at the BBC?

My achievements are also the product of my colleagues, my bosses, my teams. When you take on leadership responsibilities, your decisions and the people you hire do have real effects, but we have very much worked as a team.

Sometimes what I simply did was give people permission to do what they knew was right. There are many experts within organisations who know the right thing to do but are not necessarily in positions of power. With the size of the BBC, it is tempting to try to do everything at once, which is a common mistake big companies make. I simply helped everyone focus on the must-win battles.

Q: Give me an example of a must-win battle.

Over the last decade, audiences developed different needs - they want to follow news as it unfolds, while also wanting more quality, immersive and in-depth reporting.

We doubled down on the live bit, creating a live team and live pages, but in a way aligned with the BBC. From the outset, we made sure our expert journalists, the big personalities everyone connects with the BBC, were delivering their analysis and context into the live coverage. This is really important for public service because everyone can do breaking news, but only the BBC can provide that depth of expertise.

When something big unfolds, millions and millions of people come to the BBC Live pages. And I see that as the window where people are paying attention.

On the opposite end of the scale, we focused on depth and quality. BBC Verify, BBC In-Depth, and our major investigations show how we have taken our tradition of documentary making and brought it to digital platforms.

Q: Is that easier said than done? Is it easy to lose sight of your values as you innovate?

I don't think it is, because all innovation is rooted in those values. What's happened at the BBC over the past six years is the result of many people taking it upon themselves to innovate, from the board and executive committee to the Director General, Tim Davie, and my bosses.

People outside the BBC may not be aware how seriously people inside the BBC, from the very top positions, are concerned with solving the BBC's core mission and making it fit for the future. There is a very self-critical and driven culture inside the BBC.

I've rarely gotten a "no" from Tim or from Deborah [Turness]. If we had a good idea that would modernise the BBC and work better for audiences while delivering on our editorial promise, the answer was usually "yes." And that includes the necessary allocation of resources, which is very difficult in an environment where the real-time budget is so much smaller than 10 years ago.

Q: Is there anything you wish you'd done differently?

I was hesitant about launching on TikTok - we did it eventually and have grown into one of the biggest accounts, but I wish we had moved faster. Not just because of TikTok's growth, but because the storytelling of video on TikTok really innovated the video format.

On the other hand, any successful media company in the world has strong owned platforms. I have not seen examples of successful media basing everything only on social media. It has to be both. We have now introduced more short-form videos inside BBC products - I think we could have done that a bit faster.

Q: What do you think of TikTok?

All the concerns about ownership, surveillance, and privacy are legitimate, but I do not think we know very much about it. We have to assume there are similar concerns with all big platforms, no matter who owns them. With current developments, we need to be very open to liabilities and privacy problems with all of them.

On the flip side, if used smartly with care about data sharing, these platforms allow people to connect in new ways. I do not think many younger people would want to go back to a world without social media. TikTok is a driving innovative force right now, and at some point, it will be replaced by some other smart innovation.

Q: Do public broadcasters face different challenges in Scandinavia compared to Britain?

Yes and no. Most media companies worldwide face similar challenges regardless of business models. What's different is the context. The Nordic market, especially Sweden, consists of very digitised societies with populations that have very digital habits. People have lots of devices and can utilise all the digital opportunities when they can afford devices and data plans.

SVT is in a really strong position. They have been very innovative, open-minded, fast, and focused on developing their platform. Its streaming service, SVT Play, is bigger than Netflix in the whole market - and Netflix does have plenty of Scandinavian content.

The private sector in Norway and Sweden has been fully committed to digital transformation since the 90s. There are very strong digital businesses and habits in the entire media ecosystem built over decades. Remember, Spotify is Swedish, and a lot of the global music industry has grown out of Sweden - when you hear hits from Rihanna or Pink, they are usually produced by someone in Sweden.

Q: Are Swedes as critical of public broadcasters as Brits are towards the BBC?

You should never confuse commercial and private interests' takes on the BBC or SVT with what people actually think. Both in Britain and Sweden, there is strong backing for public broadcasting, though in Sweden it's even stronger. Trust in SVT is sky-high and has grown over recent years. Their services are used by everyone.

I think there are two elements to that. First, SVT has been very good at innovating and modernising alongside their country, as have many Swedish media companies. Second, the proximity to Russia means geopolitical tensions and threats are much more tangible in Sweden than in Britain. That means people need to talk more to each other, and SVT, like the BBC, facilitates that national conversation.

Public service is about more than just informing everyone. It is also about backing homegrown storytelling and creativity.

Q: What's on the agenda for day one at SVT?

The first thing is getting to know the people I will be working with, beyond just their titles and names. Number two is figuring out everything SVT does that already works well. Rather than trying to invent something new, it is usually a good approach to pour more fuel on what's working. For things that are not working, it is smart to take time to figure out the right solutions.

Q: Do you have a vision for SVT?

SVT is in a very strong position, which means it can be in an even stronger one. Just like all successful media companies, if they' ae already good, they can deliver even more value to existing users, attract new ones, and provide more value to Swedish society.

We are going to look at how we can be even better at informing everyone, backing Swedish creativity, and bringing people together.

Q: What's the space to watch?

A lot of newsrooms in Britain and elsewhere could benefit from study trips to see what their peers are doing, especially in the Nordic regions. The Nordic newsrooms have already implemented AI solutions in many different areas of their operations.

AI is the unignorable force that's going to disrupt media now. It is not about hype anymore - it is about pragmatic solutions aligned with editorial and ethical values. Things are moving fast, and they are doing valuable real-life experimentation that means they're learning quickly what works and what doesn't.

It is essential for media companies to succeed by using enabling technologies effectively. You can implement many AI solutions and not become a better business, but done right, technology can help you thrive and succeed, and can help journalists thrive too. It's worth watching not just SVT but all media in those countries, learning from both their successes and mistakes.

You're in luck - there are still spaces left on our Newsrewired study tour, on the 14 May, grab your place now

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