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JoongAng 60th Anniversary Global Media Conference explores journalism survival strategies in the AI era

Published: 17 Sep. 2025, 20:03 Updated: 18 Sep. 2025, 10:07

JIN MIN-JI
[email protected]

Hannah Poferl, chief data officer of The New York Times, speaks at the the JoongAng 60th Anniversary Global Media Conference held at Lotte Hotel in central Seoul on Wednesday. [JOONGANG ILBO]

Imagine waking up in the morning to a personalized newsletter collected by AI bots. They will find more news that you might find interesting based on your previous searches, then negotiate with other bots from media companies on how much they should pay for the articles.

Such services are one approach to the future of journalism in the AI era, according to Grzegorz Piechota, researcher-in-residence at the International News Media Association (INMA) during the JoongAng 60th Anniversary Global Media Conference held at the Lotte Hotel in central Seoul on Wednesday.

“AI is no longer just our tool,” he said. “It's already happening, and we are heading toward a big reshuffle of the business.”

The two-day event, hosted by Korea’s leading daily newspaper, the JoongAng Ilbo, took place under the theme “The Future of News, News of the Future.” The first day's session introduced four “survival kits” for strategy, innovation, technology and execution, designed as practical tools for media leaders confronting disruption, with the goals of building strong integrations between technologies, developing clear strategies around them and ensuring those strategies are executable.

The speakers at the conference included Hannah Poferl, chief data officer of The New York Times, Hiroyuki Watanabe, chief digital innovation officer of the Nikkei, Juan Señor, president of Innovation Media Consulting Group, Earl Wilkinson, executive director and CEO of the INMA, and Kim Young-hoon, managing director of news service at the JoongAng.

Grzegorz Piechota, researcher-in-residence at the International News Media Association (INMA), speaks at the the JoongAng 60th Anniversary Global Media Conference held at Lotte Hotel in central Seoul on Wednesday. [JOONGANG ILBO]

Redefining news through scarcity
Many believe that people’s declining interest in news is a major contributing factor to the decline in news. But that is just a myth, according to Piechota.

“This business is news-driven. If there are no events, there are fewer people. But in general, traffic today is better than it was in 2019,” he added, noting the endless news that emerges today.

Instead of believing in such myths, the media should be asking strategic questions about what’s scarce in the AI era, where people live in an era with an overwhelming amount of information.

“What is scarce in a world where everyone can afford 10,000 journalists?" said Grzegorz, referring to AI bots. “What is unique? What is distinctive? Answers to these questions will have value in a world where everything else is commoditized,” he added.
Scarce things include limited consumer attention, curiosity in instant answer-giving AI systems, accountability for mistakes, and responsibility for what is published, he said.

Piechota further explained that as AI advances, future newsrooms may resemble record labels, whose business model involves searching for the best talent, nurturing them as artists, and then monetizing them based on their abilities through the sale of content and merchandise.

Earl Wilkinson, executive director and CEO of the INMA, speaks at the the JoongAng 60th Anniversary Global Media Conference held at Lotte Hotel in central Seoul on Wednesday. [JOONGANG ILBO]

News companies will “have some part of the news from hired [staff], but then you will also work with freelancers and creators who might have actually commanded bigger audiences than just your main brand,” he predicted. “In the end, we will be competing for the same money and for the same attention. Therefore, we need to find a way to work with it,” he added.

The future of news is “direct, data-driven and AI influence,” said Earl Wilkinson, executive director and CEO of the INMA.

Technology has become a daily, weekly or monthly disruptor, he said. So, instead of being afraid of AI, media companies must accept the rapid technological growth and instead focus on areas they can control, such as brands and journalism, he said, urging companies to “focus on building direct relationships with reader subscriptions, and embracing AI.”

Hiroyuki Watanabe, executive vice president and chief digital innovation officer of Nikkei, speaks at the the JoongAng 60th Anniversary Global Media Conference held at Lotte Hotel in central Seoul on Wednesday. [JOONGANG ILBO]

Journalism in the digital era
In an era of growing concern about AI replacing journalists, technology is ironically the very force that could save journalism in the competitive creator economy.

“The reason journalism struggles in the digital era is not because the contents or services are bad, but because they are not properly reached out to readers,” said Watanabe. Technology that enables the news to reach a broader audience is what will “save journalism.”

He emphasized the importance of AI-powered product development and brand building.

Poferl from The New York Times said the emerging internet ecosystem demands a new approach to audience development, such as embracing social media.

For legacy media companies, embracing social media can be challenging, as the immediate benefits are not clear and costs are high.

“Social reach likely drives audience, but indirectly,” she said. “Video-first platforms increase reach, though it’s more challenging to measure audience impact.”

Regardless, participation in the new social landscape, along with the changing media environment, is essential.

“Creating, using TikTok, Instagram, other platforms as inspiration for our formats has been incredibly good for us because it's conversational, understandable," Poferl added. "We're giving the story that we cut in the editing process. On our TikTok account, on our YouTube account, we're seeing patterns of people clicking The Times directly.”

But social media and news media should not be confused, according to Señor.

Juan Señor, president of Innovation Media Consulting Group, speaks at the the JoongAng 60th Anniversary Global Media Conference held at Lotte Hotel in central Seoul on Wednesday. [JOONGANG ILBO]

“Digital first does not mean social media first. We've confused that for a long time. News media is not social media, and this is the fundamental thing,” he said.

“Influencers show us the way — they show personality, they expand, they build communities. We can do that as journalists as well, without getting into the game of being an influencer or newsrooms engaging with influencers,” he added.

To build an audience, media companies need an audience that has a daily habit of visiting publishers directly, which is a critical pathway unlikely to be disrupted by platforms.

“Even if they’re not subscribed, once you have a habit, people come directly to you. They don’t necessarily have to find you through other mechanisms,” Poferl said of The New York Times’ audience strategy.

She added that breaking news and rethinking approaches to culture and lifestyle coverage have driven major audience unlocks.

“At the very bottom of the funnel was loyal subscribers. The best referral source, the best audience developers out there are your existing readers and subscribers,” she said.

Kim Young-hoon, managing director of news service at the JoongAng, speaks at the the JoongAng 60th Anniversary Global Media Conference held at Lotte Hotel in central Seoul on Wednesday. [JOONGANG ILBO]

Kim said among the various measures JoongAng trialed to lure in more readers was changing the writing style.

“What kind of story you tell in your writing style is important for getting readers to move beyond the paywall,” he said. “We’ve tried summarizing the main points, using lists, and for the third approach, we tried sparking curiosity. We now have data on that, and we're reviewing which methods are more effective and recommending them accordingly.”

Meanwhile, the second day of the conference will carry the theme of “In an Age of Chaos, Hybrids Beyond Boundaries.” It will be attended by Hong Jeong-do, vice chairman of JoongAng Holdings, Mark Thompson, CEO of CNN, Oscar-winning film director Bong Joon-ho, Lee Soo-man, founder of SM Entertainment and head of A2O Entertainment, and director Maggie Kang of Netflix’s “KPop Demon Hunters.”

BY JIN MIN-JI [[email protected]]