Earlier this week, the Manila Bulletin joined other mass media organizations at a global forum on Digital Media Asia (DMA) held at the Manila Hotel. Three years ago, we were at a similar forum in Taipei in which the focal point was the emergence of Artificial Intelligence (AI) as a major force in the continuous evolution and transformation brought on by information technology.

My post-Taipei column was highlighted by the following blurb:

“After missing the search train and the mobile train, news publishers must get their business models right and deploy AI-savvy strategies that are targeted toward specific audience niches. Find this niche and the right business model will find you.”

Participating at the DMA Manila forum has been a most productive learning experience, reminiscent of the Taipei event three years ago.

Winston Utomo, founder and CEO of IDN, the leading media and entertainment technology company in Indonesia, with over 80 million monthly active users across its platforms, said that for the sake of the young generation, it is important to exude “optimistic energy that tomorrow will be better.” He also urged the audience to overcome complacency, noting that “only the paranoid survive.”

Rosalia Loret shared El Diario of Spain’s digital media management experience. She said that “focus(ing) in content that connects” prodded them to adopt a regional differentiation approach in addressing the needs of a diverse membership that they continually seek to engage meaningfully as they strive to establish a sustainable paywall.

Glenda Gloria, co-founder and executive editor of Rappler, said their organization’s guideposts are “clarity, courage and connection.” They are intentionally deploying their unique brand of journalism to build a sense of community. This is typified by their highly successful campaign under the hashtag #FloodControlPH which created engagement “with depth, not just breadth.” She said that Rappler has opted to shift to “customized storytelling” driven by an active feedback loop that has enabled a “shift away from platforms” and a sharper focus on consumer behavior. This has facilitated a process of “narrower (but) deeper conviction” and a higher trust rating that is more meaningful than traditional audience share metrics.

Zuraida Ibrahim, South China Morning Post executive editor, echoed Glenda’s call as she shared SCMP’s new stance to “resist being enticed by artificial intelligence (AI) and search engine optimization (SEO) metrics. SCMP is also more focused on “tapping into (the) community”, while consciously striving to serve readers better. There is also an accent on excellence, on “value, not volume”, as, indeed, the readers’ trust is paramount in maintaining relevance and achieving business viability.

Reviewing a column I had written after participating in the Taipei forum two and a half years ago, I realized there is vast convergence in the key ideas espoused then and now. Allow me to recall the key points emphasized by two featured speakers: Richard Gingras, Vice President of News at Google; and Juan Señor, President of UK’s Innovation Media Consulting Group shared thoughtful insights.

Mr. Gingras pointed out that “generative AI has value, but no values.” Emphasizing the paramount importance of assessing the provider’s reputation, he said that accountability is essential as mass media communicators could ill afford to be regarded as “silos of the elite.” Rather, they should seek to “bridge societal divides” and address the community’s general information needs.

Preferring Socratic inquiry as a means of provoking deeper thought among members of the audience, Mr. Gingras issued several pointed queries, as follows: What are the aspects of managing information policy? What flavor of press freedom do we prefer — and how inclusive is it? What amount of government regulation is acceptable — lawful or awful? What checks and balances are needed? Are we asking the right questions?

He urged his audience to “think beyond memes,” implying the need for more critical thinking to avoid a detour toward a “purely transactional regime (of) frictionless free expression.” He advocates “an independent framework” that is driven by thoughtfulness and enables digital transformation.

Juan Señor, delivered a tour de force as closing speaker, providing participants with a comprehensive synthesis of salient learning points. He called for unity in the news industry, stressing that generative AI, as typified by Chat GPT, is “the most transformative innovation.” He added: “What looked to be the next step in digital transformation has quickly become the transformation of digital itself.” The first imperative is not to fear, but to study the ways in which AI can work for us: “AI will never find the news, but it can summarize, repurpose, add background and context, transcribe…Am AI-first newsroom can be 70 percent automation and 30 percent original journalism.”

His recommendation is “let’s get our business model right.” Deploring that the news industry “missed the search train and the mobile train, calling attention to the paradox: “(AI) is the single greatest threat to our business model but it is also the biggest opportunity.”

Niche-carving is imperative. Building direct relationships with audiences is key. Declaring that “the era of scale and distribution through social media is over,” he called on publishers to “rediscover their target audience (and) develop business models that yield high margins, and cultivate loyal membership following…find this niche and the right business model will find you.”

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