Competencies of Media Managers: Are They Special?

In this chapter, theoretical and historical patterns converge in a central thesis: media management as a role in society has evolved jointly with management science debates, the development of the industry itself and contextual social change at large. Development includes phenomena such as the move from hard skills to soft capabilities, technological disruption of the media and the ongoing trend towards an information society. The central thesis assumes that competencies of media managers are much the same as for any business executive in charge of a company, but also that industry-specific skills are required for managers in media given the essential role media play in the practice of social life and processes of social change.