What would we build today for people who need trusted, verified information, knowing nothing about newsrooms?
That was Nikita Roy‘s question at the Nordic AI in Media Summit in Copenhagen, hashtag#NAMS25.
Rethinking journalism from first principles. One of the many puzzle pieces came from Helsingin Sanomat editor-in-chief Erja Yläjärvi: “Writing is not a core skill for most journalists in the very near future.” And of course, the article as a format was declared dead, once again.
The conference brings together industry thought leaders from the Nordic countries (with a few guests from Germany, the US, and other countries). They share their experiences with great openness. And since today, everything can be viewed on YouTube!
Of course, this is all challenging. The transformation is far from over. It keeps going, first from print to digital, now from digital to AI.
The discussions covered technology and tools, workflows and systems, and although the publishers and newsrooms in the Nordic countries might be further ahead in some ways, might be braver, there was a question looming:
Are we still optimizing our articles and existing workflows, or are we already thinking about the next steps?
Innovative, brave, radical – there was a moment when publishers in Germany saw an external threat and responded decisively. Back then, young internet media came to Germany: Vice, BuzzFeed, Refinery29, and so on.
bento, ze.tt, wats.on, Byou, and a few others emerged. The brands may no longer be important, but what was learned then, about content, organization, distribution, technology, publishers still benefit from today. Not to mention many great colleagues.
Is it time again to challenge ourselves before others do it for us?
At least one newsroom is already thinking in this direction: Ludwig Siegele is launching the AI Lab for The Economist and is looking for fellows. A great initiative!
The presentations and the many conversations at the conference will keep me thinking for a while. Thank you, Agnes, Sara, Kasper, Olle, and the whole AI in Journalism crowd. I’m grateful for this network!
(Also on LinkedIn)
