News Organizations Must Adapt or Risk Becoming Irrelevant

World News Day co-organizer Branko Brkic has cautioned that news organizations must adapt to the evolving media environment or risk becoming obsolete. Brkic, the founder of South Africa's Daily Maverick, emphasized that journalism remains crucial in a society driven by information, but traditional media outlets must cease operating as they once did. He stated, "The old days are not coming back. We need to forge a new equilibrium, and the only way we can achieve that is by joining forces."

The call for collaboration comes as more than 1,000 news organizations worldwide support World News Day on Monday. Prominent media groups like The New York Times, Reuters, and the Kyiv Independent are disseminating editorials, advertisements, and cartoons to underscore the significance of "trusted journalism." Brkic pointed out that media entities previously competing must now cooperate, adding, "If we fail to alter the game, we simply won't exist."

He warned that continued fragmentation could leave established media organizations vulnerable, stating, "If we persist in this manner, we'll simply be isolated players destined for elimination. If we don't bring about substantial and swift changes, we'll become roadkill."

The warning coincides with a decline in global trust in news. According to the Reuters Institute's latest Digital News Report, trust in news plummeted to an all-time low in 2026. Additionally, more individuals now seek news through social media and AI chatbots, as reported by the study. The report also revealed that social media and video platforms surpassed news organizations' websites and apps as primary sources of online news in the previous year, although these platforms are less trusted.

A separate report from UK media regulator Ofcom indicated that people are accessing news from a broader spectrum of sources, with YouTube experiencing rapid growth and 20% of people utilizing AI tools to obtain news. However, Ofcom found that traditional news providers are still viewed as more reliable, accurate, and impartial compared to online platforms.

Brkic admitted that mainstream media organizations have made errors but affirmed that professional journalism remains indispensable. He stated, "We cannot function without a thing called the truth, without facts." He further emphasized that journalism constitutes the foundational information infrastructure of society, noting, "This is the information-based society.

We are the infrastructure for that information-based society. And that society will truly struggle without us."