Every newsroom eventually faces the same dilemma. They have too many tools and they're simply not talking to each other. An editor or tech manager's first instinct may be to fix this situation with an integration. According to Robert Dönges, Kordiam's Partner and Integration Manager, that instinct is usually right. Where most teams go wrong is building the integration before deciding what it's supposed to change.
We sat down with Robert to talk about what actually goes into deciding whether, when and how to connect various tools in your newsroom tech stack.
The integration oversight most teams make
Often, the mistake happens right from the start. Newsrooms design an integration around how they already work, rather than deciding what the integration is supposed to change.
"Many editorial teams want an integration solution that is based on their current way of working," Robert explains. "However, if they do not first consider how the integration is supposed to make work easier and what advantages it should offer over existing workflows, it will usually be useless — just another system that employees will reluctantly have to populate."
It's a pattern Kordiam customers recognize from the other side, too. When Die Rheinpfalz adopted Kordiam, IT Project Consultant Michael Ehret described hitting the same wall: simply carrying over their old workflow into the new tool wouldn't have worked.
An integration built to mirror existing processes just recreates the same problems in a new system. But an integration built around a specific goal (removing a handoff or closing a workflow gap) gives you something clear to measure: either it did what it was designed to do, or it didn't. Kordiam's role in these conversations, Robert says, is often less about the technical build and more about pushing the editorial team to define that goal before anything gets scoped.
When does a newsroom tech stack not need an integration?
Not every gap between tools is worth closing with an integration, and Robert is direct about that.
"The key factor in determining whether an integration is worthwhile is the complexity of editorial planning across different channels and publication schedules, and the number of editorial teams involved," he says. "If planning data only needs to be shared occasionally or within a small team whose members are in constant communication anyway, an integration might be overkill."
Editorial workflow management doesn't automatically improve with more connected systems. Sometimes the best integration is the one you skip.
What it looks like done well
One case Robert points to is Heise Medien's integration with analytics platform Upscore. Heise's editorial team built a prototype that pulls post-publication performance data such as article views and conversions directly into their planning environment. This integration replaces the need to switch between tools or scroll through separate dashboards.
The value isn't just fewer clicks. Article performance data now feeds directly into planning decisions, so the team can see what worked and adjust the next round of coverage.
How does Kordiam decide what integrations to build?
That same discipline shapes how Kordiam approaches integration requests internally.
"We welcome all integration requests brought to our attention," Robert says. Taking one on means embedding Kordiam more deeply into a newsroom's editorial workflows, something he says pays off in saved time. Standard programming costs for a new integration are often covered on Kordiam's side.
Not every request gets built the same way. What matters is whether an integration is likely to serve more than just one or two customers. That assessment usually determines whether Kordiam builds it in-house, brings in a service provider, or supports a customer building it themselves using existing technology. Kordiam currently tracks a list of 99 CMS or CMS-like systems, and already has an integration built, in progress, or under discussion with 23 of them.
The takeaway
Treat integrations as decisions, not features. Everyone needs a clear goal attached before anything else. Get that part right, and the rest of the questions — build it yourself, bring in a partner, or decide it isn't worth it yet — tends to follow.
About Robert Dönges, Partner and Integration Manager, Kordiam:
Robert Dönges spent many years working as an editor, news manager, managing editor and digital transformation project lead at various daily newspaper publishers in southern Germany. Since January 2022, he has worked as Partner and Integration Manager at Kordiam GmbH, where he is responsible for leading integration projects, securing new integration partnerships and maintaining them over the long term.
