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Artificial intelligence is a constant topic at recent CEO panels, and today's NewFront, which brought together leaders from five major news organizations, was no exception.
But it was CNN Worldwide CEO Mark Thompson who warned of what was at stake.
“If we're wrong, we'll be disintermediated and people will somehow get what's ours the way AI companies have scraped everything we've ever done, and they'll It's going to give us another way and our business will collapse,'' Thompson said. “If done well, this could be a golden age of news experience for people in this country and around the world.”
Thompson said AI is being used as a way for people to find content “easier and faster.”
AI was one of the many issues CEOs addressed at the event.
Thompson also detailed what CNN is aiming for in the digital space, as previously outlined in a strategy memo. “I don’t think anyone has built a great video-driven news product, but we want to build one. Vertical video is viewed hundreds of millions of times. Young people are finding it on TikTok and YouTube. And most news websites seem to be continuing the tradition of newspapers. So what does a true video-driven news product look like? Do you want it?”
As politics becomes more polarized, advertisers are becoming more cautious about placing their spots next to controversial content.
Thompson et al. spoke of a broader definition of what news is: [have made] It's a recent mistake that has become too tied to divisive politics and some very difficult issues. ”
“News is life. That's what it's all about,” Thompson said. “It's about Cowboy Carter. It's popular culture. Sports.”
“I think there's something to be said for not being too narrow about our own perceptions of what news is,” he says. “I think our audience is even more open-minded than we are, and I think our advertisers are even more open-minded.”
“We all ask ourselves, 'Can we make a product so good that people will seek it out at scale?'” said Meredith Kopit Levien, CEO of The New York Times. I think they have the same business challenges.” As information ecosystems evolve, give them a name and hold space for them in your daily life. That's the business challenge. ” She, too, spoke of the Times' efforts to engage people through new means, including content such as Wordle and other puzzles and shopping advice.
BBC News CEO Deborah Turness said: “Our biggest competition is news avoidance. I think we live in a polarized world with polarized politics and culture wars. There's going to be some major wars, real wars. And there's such a toxic mix that people are starting to turn away from the news,” she says, as well as podcasts and feature-length documentaries. He spoke about the movement to further increase coverage of culture and culture.
The dispersal of younger audiences into new formats poses a particularly troubling problem. “Over generations, we're starting to see a real shift away from core brand identities to niche offerings, especially in more personality-based news,” said NPR CEO Katherine Maher. “This is especially true among dependent youth.” So larger companies are starting to think, “What does it mean to actually differentiate ourselves relative to the business, and what is our value proposition?” We are all being asked to be far more agile than ever before. ”
“I think we're in an age of misinformation and disinformation, and I think a lot of technology is making it worse,” said Cesar Conde, chairman of NBCUniversal News Group. That's clearly a headwind. The fact that we're seeing such a major shift in the way consumers engage with and consume news and information is a real shift for all of us.'' The average age is between 35 and 40 years old, making the entire generation younger than Linear.
But CEOs also talked about standing out as a trusted source of information despite the proliferation of content from social media to podcasts.
Conde added: “I think this dynamic will only get stronger in a world where audiences are inundated with so much information, so much news from so many different places. They will gravitate towards a news organization that they are proud of,” he added. A record that emphasizes a very high level of accuracy. News organizations that invest in their own journalism. I think the trend of viewers seeking out brands they can trust will continue. ”
