The Digital Growth Summit 2024 in 10 Quotes

Our Digital Growth Summit brought together over 150 leading voices from the news industry and beyond to discuss how technology, particularly artificial intelligence, is reshaping the future of news publishing. The conversations were dynamic and insightful, highlighting both the immense opportunities and challenges AI presents. Here are the key takeaways and some memorable quotes from the sessions.

Safeguarding your readers from disinformation is crucial

Sean Gourley delivered a sobering keynote on the potential for AI to be weaponized for misinformation. He guided the audience through the complexities of the disinformation ecosystem, highlighting that research shows machines can manipulate opinions faster and more effectively than humans.

Gourley emphasized the urgent need for “cognitive security” (i.e., being able to think critically and recognize misinformation) to protect individuals and societies from AI-driven information warfare.

If everyone always lies, the problem isn’t that you’ll start believing the lies, but that you’ll stop believing anything at all—even the truth.

Sean Gourley

Founder & Former CEO

Developing the smartest personal assistant in the world

Varun Shetty outlined OpenAI’s vision for partnering with news organizations, inviting publishers to think big and act fast.

OpenAI aims to be an ally, helping them reach new audiences through AI-powered tools while emphasizing transparency and allowing publishers to control how their content is used. The goal is creating a mutually beneficial ecosystem that drives value for news organizations and users.

We want ChatGPT to be the smartest personal assistant in the world. That personal assistant is going to need to be able to answer a variety of questions.

Varun Shetty

Head of Media Partnerships

News publishers should think like content creators

Dennis Papirowski challenged preconceived notions about TikTok, emphasizing its scale and evolution beyond a simple short-form video platform. With 66,000 videos uploaded every minute, TikTok drives significant cultural impact.

He encouraged publishers to think like creators while staying true to their journalistic identity, leveraging the platform to engage new audiences in innovative ways. However, questions remain about whether a news brand can truly stand out in such an immense flow of content.

We still call ourselves kind of the biggest global short-form video platform or mobile video platform, but we have so much more than that.

Dennis Papirowski

Global Head of Publisher Growth & Development

Investing in brand marketing is as important as ever

Tom McCave from The Economist discussed strategies for engaging new audiences, especially young people, through product diversification and brand investment. Emphasizing the need for strong brand positioning on the core value proposition of trustworthy information, he highlighted initiatives like offering free access to their finite edition app, Espresso, to students worldwide.

Although it might seem counterintuitive for a paid publication, this approach aims to cultivate a habit of consuming quality journalism among younger demographics, securing the audience of tomorrow.

It may feel like a backward step for a predominantly quality paid media outlet to be offering some of our content completely free. But we just believe that sideways step will help to secure our audience for tomorrow.

Tom McCave

VP Performance Marketing

How a small newsroom can still operate a large-scale newsletter system

Johannes Niemeläinen from Keskisuomalainen shared how personalized content newsletters effectively serve core audiences, particularly among older demographics. Leveraging Twipe’s AI-driven newsletter personalization engine, his organization sends automated, personalized newsletters to 75,000 active subscribers over 100 regional news titles in Finland.

While these newsletters have increased engagement among older subscribers, he acknowledged the ongoing challenge of reaching younger audiences who are less engaged with traditional news products.

Even though our newsrooms are small, we can still operate a large-scale, fully automated newsletter system. This is essential for us, as it allows us to deliver personalized content without needing any additional staff or resources.

Johannes Niemeläinen

Data Manager

The importance of addressing fragmented audiences: CEO Panel

Carsten Groß (CEO, Medienholding Süd) and Stig Kirk Ørskov (CEO, JP/Politikens) stressed the importance of putting the customer at the heart of everything. In an age where young and old audiences have such fragmented news consumption needs and interests, media organizations must adapt content and products to meet them.

Swift adaptation to technological changes and creating distinctive, high-quality content are essential to stand out in a crowded market. A significant challenge lies in shifting organizational mindsets to focus on understanding and serving their evolving audiences.

How to integrate AI in your products: Product panel

The Product Panel composed of Christian Röpke (Chief Product Officer, Die Zeit), Mariah Craddick (Executive Director of Product, The Atlantic), and Marina Sorg (Head of Product Development, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung) discussed how organizations can adapt to embrace AI effectively. Namely, they discussed the balance between leveraging AI to enhance user experiences and maintaining audience trust and transparency.

Indeed, while AI offers opportunities for increased efficiency and personalization, integrating it requires thoughtful implementation to preserve brand values and uphold journalistic standards. The conversation underscored that adapting to AI isn’t just a technological shift but also an organizational and cultural one.

Countering news fatigue with positive and concise content

Inanna Lallerstedt from Svenska Dagbladet presented SvD Kompakt, a product designed to combat news fatigue and attract new readers. The product addresses the emotional needs of readers who feel overwhelmed by traditional news formats by focusing on concise, positive, and easily digestible content.

The initiative has successfully attracted 50,000 new young users within the first year and converted 10% to paid subscribers by focusing on addressing user needs.

“We’ve been surprised by the conversion rate of SvD Kompakt users to paid SvD subscribers, which is around 10%. While this wasn’t our primary goal, it’s been a positive outcome since the product’s launch”

Inanna Lallerstedt

Senior Product Manager

The audiences will decide the future of AI

Nic Newman from The Reuters Institute for Journalism highlighted how public perception will play a crucial role in shaping the adoption of AI in the news industry. While awareness of AI tools is growing rapidly, trust and acceptance remain significant hurdles. The speed at which AI is adopted and how institutions implement it will be critically defined by how audiences respond.

The audiences will decide if AI is going to be useful, if it’s going to be time-saving, if it really is going to be relevant in their lives.

Nic Newman

Senior Researcher

Future news organizations will resemble Netflix or TikTok

Natali Helberger from the University of Amsterdam painted a thought-provoking picture of future news organizations, suggesting they might resemble platforms like Netflix or TikTok more than traditional publishers. She emphasized the importance of regulation in fostering innovation, especially amid the rapid evolution of AI. Challenging the narrative that legislation stifles progress, she argued that regulation can create a level playing field and encourage responsible development.

There’s a narrative out there that legislation stifles innovation, and I would only like to mention that without legislation, there is no innovation.

Natali Helberger

Distinguished Professor of Law and Digital Technology

What does the Edition of the Future look like?

Dana Nastase, Twipe’s Head of Business Development, shared key learnings from the “Edition of the Future” project, a joint research initiative between Twipe and Roularta Media Group.

She highlighted best practices for modern digital editions, underscoring the importance of providing a “finite experience” to combat reader fatigue. The result of the project concluded that the key components of engaging news products are ‘finishability’, digital storytelling, and innovative formats.

Readers spent more time when they experienced content within a structured format, compared to navigating scattered articles on a website.

Dana Nastase

Head of Business Development

Conclusion

The summit provided a comprehensive overview of how AI is transforming the news industry. From leveraging AI to personalize content and reach fragmented audiences to the challenges of combating misinformation, the discussions showcased the importance of innovation, collaboration, and responsible development.

As we move forward, it’s evident that embracing technological advancements like AI will be crucial for the future of journalism. It also emerged how news organizations must invest in brand marketing, adapt swiftly to the accelerating pace of change, and uphold the standards that make quality journalism indispensable. Stakeholders need to think big, act fast, and always keep the audience at the center of their endeavors.

Things are moving incredibly fast, and I want to emphasize it. If there’s one key focus for your organization, it should be speed—and it’s only going to accelerate.

Danny Lein

CEO & Founder