Today is World News Day, and I’m writing to you from a beautiful venue just outside Cape Town.
Bloomberg has brought a small group of African media leaders together to talk about the future of our industry. The setting is lovely. The conversation is important. And yet, if I’m honest, I’ve arrived with a boulder on my chest.
Talented former colleagues at Media24 are leaving as jobs are cut, some without a clear next step. People who gave decades to e.tv and eNCA are sending out their CVs. Everywhere I look, newsrooms are being asked to do more with less, until there is less and less left to do it with.
I knew building a new media organisation would be hard. Lately, though, I’ve felt despondent in a way that’s difficult to shake.
The answer we often hear is that journalism must innovate. I agree. That is why I started The Debrief Network. But innovation takes people, time and money. Those of us trying to build new models cannot do it on encouragement alone.
Eighteen months in, The Debrief has had several iterations. We’ve tried things, changed course and tried again. Our ambition has stayed the same: to bring the news to people who might otherwise scroll past it, and to make it clear enough that they want to stay.
But I keep returning to a question that worries me: if we all end up commenting on the news, who will do the reporting?
Someone still has to make the call. Read the document. Go to the place. Ask the second question when the first answer sounds too neat. Check whether the story everyone is sharing is actually true.
We can make journalism more accessible. We can tell stories in new ways. AI can help us work faster. None of that removes the need for people who verify, think critically and take responsibility for what they publish. I’m stubborn about this because the distinction matters.
World News Day feels a little like celebrating an anniversary during a difficult stretch in a relationship. You remember why you committed in the first place, even while asking some hard questions about how you go on.
I don’t have a cheerful answer this morning. I do have a reason to keep going.
People deserve to know what is happening around them. They deserve news made with care. And if we want that work to survive, we have to value the people and resources it takes to do it.
I’m sad about where we are. I’m still here, building.