“Our role as the media is to serve the public, it’s not to serve ourselves.”
Gerard Ryle
“Have our standards of accountability kept up with the people who now have the power to shape public opinion?”
Tatiana Der Avedissian
“It’s really going to be up to citizens who want to be well-informed, not be hoodwinked, not be listening to people who aren’t trustworthy.”
Mark Halperin
“We all kind of need to be the change we want to see in the world... and work towards rebuilding a culture of thinking of journalism as a truth-seeking enterprise and valuing saying true things.”
Kat Rosenfield
“We really only have one thing when it comes to a license to practice and that’s our integrity. And if we don’t have integrity, then we really shouldn’t practice.”
Jenna Lee
Key Takeaways
Der Avedissian opened with Reuters Institute 2026 figures showing that social media and video have overtaken legacy outlets as a way people get news, 54% versus 51%. Thirty percent now name social media and video as their main source, up from 20% in 2020, and 10% already use AI chatbots for news.
Lee argued that a journalist’s only real “license to practice” is integrity. She said bias is a choice every newsroom must actively guard against, that no one will police the industry for it, and that trust is earned through good work every day so audiences turn to journalists when it matters.
Rosenfield said legacy media has squandered public trust over the past decade through what audiences see as ideological capture, pushing people toward individual personalities they trust. She warned that the attention economy rewards personality over diligence, and that independent creators face “audience capture.” That makes outlets willing to tell audiences uncomfortable truths essential.
The panel disagreed on algorithms. Halperin called algorithms amplified by AI the biggest concern and said neither government nor the private sector will rein them in, leaving the responsibility with consumers. Rosenfield argued users largely shape their own feeds. Lee said good work can still break through, citing her team’s profile of a 9/11 survivor that passed 11 million YouTube views.
Ryle said journalists should embrace technology, but misusing AI leads to factual errors. He added that investigative reporters avoid commercial AI models because using them means handing over sensitive information, and he raised concerns about a few large companies controlling the models.
With advertising-based business models broken, Ryle called the concentration of media ownership in very few hands the biggest danger. Proposed solutions included reader-supported models like Mediapart’s 250,000 subscribers, philanthropy, and public broadcasting, though the moderator and Halperin questioned the BBC’s impartiality. Halperin’s alternatives were wealthy backers partnering with journalists who are also strong business leaders, and creators banding together for the scale needed for foreign bureaus and FOIA requests. Lee argued journalism must be run as a service to its audience, and that independent platforms can show advertisers measurable results.
Ryle said that in place of “parachute” reporting, the ICIJ works collaboratively with local journalists, as with the roughly 400 reporters on the Panama Papers. He said under-covered countries like Armenia benefit from platforms that give local outlets global reach, and should study reader-funded models that work elsewhere.
Action Items
Newsrooms and creators should adopt clear, public standards for separating fact from opinion, presenting multiple sides, and disclosing sponsorships and AI use.
Build direct, trust-based relationships with audiences, such as subscriptions and memberships, that rely less on algorithms and advertising.
Encourage independent creators to partner with each other or with established organizations, gaining the scale needed for foreign bureaus, records requests, and breaking news.
Philanthropists, investors, and foundations should fund independent and nonprofit journalism, especially in under-covered countries, to counter concentrated media ownership.
Use collaborations with local journalists for international and conflict reporting rather than relying on outside correspondents flown in.
Investigative newsrooms should use AI carefully by verifying every output and keeping sensitive source material out of commercial models.
Invest in media literacy so audiences understand how their own behavior shapes their feeds and seek out diverse, trustworthy sources.
