The news industry must innovate, but do not forget about your mission and your audiences. That was the top line of a session at last week's Newsrewired conference (27 November) by Mattia Peretti, ICFJ Knight Fellow and founder of News Alchemists, a network of media industry innovators promoting human-centric journalism.
"We've been in crisis for at least 20 years," Peretti noted, referring to the combined challenges of low trust in news, rising news avoidance and industry-wide layoffs. But he highlights another challenge: media's obsession with relevance.
Reuters Institute research last year revealed that more than half of media leaders prioritise audiences' attention (56 per cent) over being respectful of audiences' time (37 per cent).
The message: it is no wonder that people do not trust or like the news when the news experience is not designed with users in mind.
New technology from AI could help, but Peretti admits the industry is now thinking about the technology in reverse. It's worth remembering that he is no stranger to AI - he was the project manager of the JournalismAI initiative at Polis, run by LSE.
"Especially with the generative AI boom, we have been experimenting with a lot of different things and yet the audience is largely missing from the conversation."
To address these challenges, he has launched the News Alchemists movement, bringing together industry professionals committed to putting people's needs and societal benefits at the centre of journalistic practice.
The call to action is clear: journalism must move beyond content production to become a genuine service that empowers and supports communities. That is the best path to a sustainable future for news. So with whatever new advancement of AI that is around the corner, it is worth asking the question: "Is this a service to society that helps people navigate their lives and strengthen democracy?"
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