Loyalty, not scale, is key

The media landscape is changing rapidly, but all isn’t lost, despite the doom mongers. 2026 must bring an emphasis on engaging the readers we already have — it’s far cheaper to keep them than to get new ones — building up direct, loyal relationships through newsletters, community events and Q&As, podcasts and videos, and by using explainers, analysis, and the best visual journalism. All of these should be used to demonstrate why we are needed and, as importantly, why we are different. It’s vital to always consider what our readers want (whether we call this user needs or a bigger emphasis on data) and to remain relevant, trusted, and useful. Loyalty, not scale, is key.

AI will help power this shift, for example, via personalization, and it will clearly become more central to the industry. We will see news products quietly adapting to individual readers and their preferences, and having an impact behind the scenes via routine tasks and workflow. My hope is that AI addresses the tasks which will save us time, and doesn’t take away jobs, but perhaps that’s the optimist in me. I do believe that tech can’t build trust, so we must keep that human voice in our journalism. While it’s great to have personalization, we also need to be personable.

It’s also time to invest in our journalists as brands. People trust faces and voices more often than institutions, and want to build up relationships with them, so stop worrying about puffing up your biggest talent — they are absolutely vital. Let journalists become “creators” (even though that word makes many people shudder) and give them the opportunity to build their own franchises within your newsroom. And if this does lead to some people striking out on their own, you will just have to suck that up and give someone else the opportunity to rise!

Doubling down on what makes your organization unique and valuable is essential — from the biggest names to distinctive formats. But that isn’t the whole picture. Engagement is crucial, but we can’t forget reach, even in the age of AI. Companies must invest in new tools without abandoning the ones that we have. SEO and social will continue to matter, not necessarily as the growth engines they once were, but as important ways to connect audiences and journalism. Their roles are evolving, but they remain vital for getting our journalism in front of people. We are moving into a new world — more talent-driven, more personalized, and more relationship-based — but that doesn’t mean the old one is entirely gone.