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“There is absolutely no way that artificial intelligence can replace the journalist next to me who has 30 years of experience in journalism (pointing to Matt),” said Chevaan Daniel, Group Director of Capital Maharaja Group Sri Lanka. “The journalist’s keen insight, rich experience and wisdom cannot be replaced by a computer that relies mainly on data,” Chevaan added.
In an era of rapidly changing media consumption habits, top news executives from around the world gathered at ABU’s Global Journalism Forum 2024 to discuss the future of journalism and how to engage younger audiences. Moderated by Indra Singh, Head of News and Sports at FBC Fiji, the panel explored the challenges of staying relevant in a digital landscape dominated by social media and streaming platforms.
“Journalism means freedom. I think that’s the fundamental principle that we need to understand,” Chevaan said. “So we should be where our audience is. I think it’s time to redefine the concept of journalism.”
He pointed out that the news industry has the same transformative potential as companies like Airbnb, Uber and SpaceX. “They have created markets that have never existed before, and that’s the opportunity for the news industry because it has something that’s so important: people’s trust,” he explained, highlighting the need for innovation in the industry.
“If you have trust, and if politicians no longer have that trust, then you have an obligation to use that platform and that power to do something more than simply report,” Chevan urged journalists.
Understanding young audiences
The discussion highlighted the need for news organisations to look at new ways to connect with audiences, alongside traditional reporting. ABC Australia editor-in-chief Matt O’Sullivan stressed the importance of “old-school journalism” – getting journalists out of the newsroom and into the community to better understand the issues that matter most to people.
“We know very well what the traditional audience wants from us. The real challenge is understanding what the younger audience wants,” he said. “If you don’t discover and communicate with people, you will never be able to compete when there is so much content,” he added.
Matt discussed the challenges of connecting with a younger, more digitally savvy audience. “If we don’t give our audience what they want, we’re going to lose them,” he said.
“When you compete with the likes of Netflix or Paramount or Amazon Prime, we can’t compete with them on entertainment, but we can compete with them on stories that are compelling, that are human-centered, that can change people’s lives,” Matt said.
“Content is very important”
KBS Korea reporter Lee Ho-jun shares insights on how his agency can adapt to changing audience preferences. “The problem is the content, not the platform,” he says.
He shared an example from KBS, where a historical documentary gained huge popularity among young viewers by adapting it to their preferences. “We need to keep up with new ways,” he concluded, stressing the need for innovation in storytelling.
He explained that KBS recruited younger staff and even hired a sound director with experience in the entertainment field to help them create content that would be more appealing to younger audiences.
Suvita Charanwong, co-founder and CEO of Tellscore Co., Ltd., noted the potential for collaboration between young social media influencers and news companies and how they can shape the news landscape.
“I worked with a lot of young people, and in just five years, I saw them set up small media companies. They started to build their own news teams, learn traditional journalism, and become highly digital in the process,” Suveta explained.
By the end of the discussion, the message was clear: the future of journalism lies in adapting to audience needs, embracing new technologies, and building closer connections with the communities that news organizations serve.
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