The Observer (Uganda): Navigating Disruption, Reinventing Relevance is a strategic leadership case study examining two decades of independent journalism, institutional resilience, and organisational decline at one of Uganda’s most respected media institutions.
Set against the backdrop of a rapidly shifting East African media landscape — where social media platforms, digital-native outlets, and individual content creators are displacing legacy print institutions — the case surfaces timeless management challenges: governance failures in founder-led organisations, the tension between editorial mission and commercial survival, leadership succession under duress, and the strategic calculus of digital transformation with constrained resources. It is designed for MBA and Executive Education participants studying strategy, leadership, or media management; board members and C-suite executives in leadership development programmes; investors and fund managers evaluating distressed assets or emerging-market media opportunities; and journalists and media entrepreneurs building sustainable business models in the digital age. Participants will apply frameworks including Porter’s Five Forces, Christensen’s disruption theory, the McKinsey 7-S model, and Blue Ocean Strategy to a real, unresolved crisis — one with no easy answers — making it ideal for developing the kind of nuanced, trade-off-aware thinking that defines exceptional strategic leadership.