Trust becomes journalism’s key asset in the age of AI

Artificial intelligence can write text, summarise information and analyse vast datasets in seconds. At the same time, it has made content creation cheaper and easier than ever before. As the digital world becomes saturated with information, the sheer volume of content becomes less meaningful. The real differentiator is the ability to separate signal from noise and provide information people can trust. The role of journalism will continue to be helping audiences understand the world around them.

“AI can support journalism in many ways, but it cannot take responsibility for ensuring that information is accurate, balanced and meaningful. That responsibility remains with people. In the age of AI, the most important competitive advantage is not technology, but trust,” says Juha-Petri Loimovuori, Executive Vice President, Alma News Media.

The battle for direct audience relationships

As AI becomes capable of answering individual questions directly, users may no longer need to visit multiple websites to find information. This makes a direct relationship with the audience more valuable than ever.

“Strong media brands provide perspective, reliability and continuity. They understand their audiences and can build services that people return to repeatedly. In the media industry, the winners will be those that build the strongest relationships with their audiences,” Loimovuori says.

According to Loimovuori, this is one of Alma News Media’s key strengths in the AI era. Decades of journalistic content, subscriber and audience insight, and a deep understanding of audience interests form a unique knowledge base that can be used to develop content and services that better meet user needs.

The role of AI is to help newsrooms serve their audiences more effectively. Personalised recommendations, intelligent search and more context-aware services help users find relevant information more quickly. At the same time, AI enables a deeper understanding of audience needs and behaviour, helping to connect each user with more relevant content.

As less time is spent on routine tasks, editorial teams can devote more resources to both higher-quality and more comprehensive journalism. AI therefore creates opportunities not only for more relevant content, but also for covering important topics that might otherwise remain unexplored due to limited resources.

At the same time, journalistic content, customer insight and usage data can be combined to create services that deliver greater value than any individual article. Trust, however, still depends on audiences knowing who is responsible for the content and what sources it is based on.

Machines find information, people find the story

Corporate earnings releases provide a good example of where collaboration between AI and journalists is already delivering value. More than 180 listed companies on Nasdaq Helsinki publish hundreds of financial reports every year. Because financial reporting is highly structured and regulated, it contains large amounts of data that are well suited to AI-assisted processing.

At Kauppalehti, AI is used in earnings coverage through a tool developed by financial journalists, but every article is reviewed before publication. The objective is not to replace editorial judgement, but to free up time for work where human expertise adds the greatest value: analysis, context and assessing the significance and newsworthiness of the results.

The same principle applies to public records and official datasets. Technology can sift through large volumes of information, identify anomalies and detect emerging trends in seconds. The journalist’s role is to determine what those findings mean and why they matter to readers.

The most valuable journalism, however, continues to be built on human interaction. Original reporting often relies on trusted sources, face-to-face meetings, phone calls and relationships developed over many years. AI can help monitor information flows, analyse datasets and identify potentially relevant developments, but it cannot replace a news tip, a confidential conversation or a personal relationship.

“Technology can identify anomalies, compare data and detect patterns within seconds. At the same time, journalists are increasingly focusing on interpretation, judgement and understanding broader societal significance. In the newsroom of the future, machines will help identify interesting topics and developments. Humans will determine what they mean and why they matter,” Loimovuori says.

Responsibility remains a human task

As routine tasks require less time, journalists can focus more on analysis, meeting sources, uncovering exclusive stories, exploring new topics and monitoring developments more broadly. The benefits created by technology are reflected in journalism that is both higher in quality and broader in scope. In turn, audiences gain access to more content that provides genuine value and relevance.

According to Loimovuori, AI designed for journalism cannot be developed in isolation from the newsroom. Journalists must be involved in defining what constitutes a good outcome, which sources can be used and when human judgement is essential. Editorial guidelines, rules and quality standards must also continue to evolve as experience accumulates.

In journalism, source criticism, editorial judgement and accountability become even more important in the AI era. Sources must remain transparent and their credibility must be assessed by humans. The closer content moves towards publication, the more important editorial judgement becomes.

“AI must have clearly defined limits. It can search, sort, compare and draft information, but it cannot assume human responsibility. That is why the key question will continue to be whom people trust when they need to understand the world, make decisions or distinguish facts from noise. The strongest media brands in the age of AI will be those with the most capable journalists and the highest levels of audience trust.”

High-quality journalism requires fair and effective rules
The value of journalism also depends on the ability to produce high-quality content on a sustainable basis. As a result, the rules governing the use of journalistic content in AI systems have become a critical issue for the entire media industry.

Earlier this year, Alma News Media joined the international SPUR coalition, which aims to develop common standards and practices for the responsible, transparent and licensed use of journalistic content in AI systems. The objective is to ensure that publishers retain control over how their content is used and receive appropriate compensation for that use.

Alma News Media also protects its content through its terms of use and continuously monitors how that content is utilised. The company actively defends its intellectual property rights in relation to both major technology platforms and smaller operators. Sustainable, high-quality journalism requires a framework in which the value created by professional journalism is recognised and protected through fair rules and market practices.

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