✍️ Is journalism a dying field? The Washington Post recently madeheadlines when it laid off a third of its staff, triggering an avalanche of public backlash and wave of panic for journalists worldwide. With AI slop (AI-generated text) taking over the internet, human writers are in a more precarious position than ever before. Web traffic to publishers’ websites is expected to drop by over 40% over the next three years, according to a recent report (pdf) by the Reuters Institute and Oxford University. So where does the future of journalism lie?

The rocky road ahead

Publishers and media conglomerates are now recalibrating by ditchingsearchengine optimization (SEO) in favor of answer engine optimization (AEO). Even so, among the executives surveyed, most expect minimal return on investment, with 20% expecting none.

It’s not just AI slop that journalists are competing with, it’s content creators. The report notes that 70% of publishers have expressed concerns about digital content creators overshadowing the publishing industry, adding that younger audiences are shifting toward “personality-led” news, in which attention is paid to individual creators — often delivering content through video-first strategies — who are deemed more authentic and personable.

Did you catch that? We’re craving human authenticity. As netizens flock to individual creators, publishers are losing bank… and talent. The financial allure of the individual creator economy has led top editorial talent to pivot away from traditional publishing, and some 40% of executives worry their top journalists may be swayed. The rise of individual content creators, however, has raised another concern: how credible is the information they’re sharing?

How publishers are reacting

If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em. In an effort to compete with independent content creators, publishers are training their own newsroom staff to act more like creators, prioritizing video-first content on platforms like YouTube and TikTok and divesting from others, such as Facebook and X. These publishers have also made videos a top destination on their own native websites, with well-established brands such as the New York Times, CNN, and the BBC, among others, driving traffic to their own productions.

… But it’s a double-edged sword. Executives worry that by upskilling their staff, they are essentially training them for their eventual exit into the independent creator economy.

Death to commodity news

What does AI write best? Commodity news — and publishers are killing it. By scraping and reworking commodity news pieces — such as service journalism stories, political updates, and how-to guides — AI has become an expert. The fix? “To focus on journalism that can’t easily be summarised in the three bullet points,” head of Digital at The Wall Street Journal Taneth Evans says. This means publishers will now be axing most content AI can reproduce, with the report noting that service journalism pieces will be reduced by some 42%, general news by 38%, and how-to guides by 32%.

What’s filling the void? Distinct human content — by humans, about humans. This includes original investigations and on-the-ground reporting, analytical stories, and live event coverage. However, among the areas to which publishers are pivoting, human stories are prime: ones prioritizing emotional connection and “personality-driven narratives.”

The rise, fall, and revival of the human writer

Over the past year, job postings for “storyteller” doubled in the US. Writers, recently shunned and out of work, are back in demand, and demand is indeed strong. Beyond traditional journalism, human writers are being rehired in droves, according to Business Insider (BI).

In a not-so-surprising pivot, major corporations are desperately seeking human voices after AI slop eroded trust. Whether through newsletters, podcasts, or video content, big corps are taking matters into their own hands, and the first step is to make themselves authentic again.

A new premium, a new price tag: These new positions — mostly within communications departments — promise a pretty sum. Netflix is offering its director of product communications up to USD 775k, BI notes, compliance tech firm Vanta’s head of storytelling would be in for USD 274k, according to WSJ, and OpenAI — yes — is offering its potential communications execs up to USD 400k, according to BI. A good chunk of applicants are journalists.

As journalism sways in the winds of change and layoffs in the industry continue to make headlines, another change is afoot, one that makes clear a pivotal fact: as long as there are stories to tell, human writers will never be out of a job. While journalism may still need time to readjust, it’s a different story for storytellers.

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