Almost every CEO board these days will inevitably address the topic of artificial intelligence, and today’s NewFront meeting with the heads of five major news organizations was no exception.
But it was Mark Thompson, CEO of CNN Worldwide, who warned about what was at stake.
“If we do something wrong, we’ll become disintermediate, and people will get our stuff one way or another, just like AI companies have abolished everything we’ve ever done anyway, and they’ll get them in other ways and in to our companies will collapse,” Thompson said. “If we get it right, it could be a golden age of news experiences for people across this country and around the world.”
Thompson spoke of AI being used as a way to find content “easier and faster.”
AI was among the challenges CEOs addressed at the event.
Thompson also outlined what CNN wants to accomplish in the digital space, as he previously outlined in a strategy memo. “I don’t think anyone has built a great video-based news product, and that’s what we want to build. We have hundreds of millions of vertical video views. But a lot of younger people are finding it on TikTok and YouTube. And most news websites seem to follow the newspaper tradition in some way. So what does a real, video-enabled news product look like?”
As polarization in politics has increased, advertisers have become increasingly wary of placing spots next to controversial content.
Thompson and others spoke of a broader definition of what news is, noting that “all of us to some degree, certainly on the broadcast side, [have made] The mistake of the last few years is to get too caught up in divisive politics and some very difficult issues.”
“News is life. It’s everything,” Thompson said. “It’s about Cowboy Carter. It’s popular culture. Sports.”
“I think it has something to do with not being too narrow in our own perception of what news is,” he said. “I think our audience is more receptive than we are sometimes, and I think our advertisers are more receptive.”
Meredith Kopit Levien, CEO of The New York Times Co., said: “I think we all face the same business challenge: ‘Can we make products that are so good that people search for them and ask for them at scale? ‘” call them by name and make room for them in their daily lives, no matter how the information ecosystem evolves, period? That’s the business challenge.” She also spoke about the Times’ efforts to attract people through new avenues, including Wordle and other puzzles, as well as other content such as shopping tips.
Deborah Turness, CEO of BBC News, said: “Our biggest competitor is news avoidance. I think we live in a polarized world with divisive politics and culture wars. There are also a few huge wars, real wars. And there’s such a toxic mix and people are starting to move away from the news.” She spoke of efforts to build more lifestyle and culture coverage, as well as podcasts and long-form documentaries.
A particularly vexing problem is the expansion of younger audiences into new forms. Katherine Maher, CEO of NPR, said: “You’re starting to see a real generational shift away from big brand identities and towards niche services, particularly among younger people who focus on much more personality-driven messaging.” This has led to larger companies “thinking about what it means to actually differentiate ourselves in relation to the company and what the value proposition is.” It requires all of us to be much more agile than in the past.”
Cesar Conde, chairman of NBCUniversal News Group, said: “I think we’re in a time where misinformation and disinformation are on the rise.” I think it’s exacerbated by so much technology. So that’s clearly a headwind. The fact that we are seeing such a massive shift in the way our consumers want to use and consume news and information is a real change for all of us.” The broadcaster has invested heavily in areas such as NBC News Now, whose average age is between 35 and 40 years old, a whole generation younger than linear, he said.
But despite the proliferation of content, from social media to podcasts, CEOs also talked about standing out as trusted sources of information.
Conde added: “I think in a world where audiences are inundated with so much information and news from so many places… I think that dynamic will increase, meaning they will gravitate towards trusted brands and news organizations , which have been around for a long time.” Records with an emphasis on accuracy and exceptionally high standards. News organizations that invest in original journalism. I think we will continue to see this trend of audiences looking for these trusted brands.”