Now, artificial intelligence (AI) is changing not only the way people access news, but also how it is produced. The industry is about to go through even more profound changes. The industry is facing an existential threat like never before.

While we may argue that journalism is indispensable to the functioning of an open and democratic society, we have yet to figure out how the media can get out of its current predicament of gradually losing relevance in the information ecosystem.

One thing we know, however, is that quality journalism can be the main savior.  Getting there, however, is a real challenge, but it is not insurmountable. Journalists must embrace the changes in information technology and adapt their work accordingly.

The COVID-19 pandemic provided a valuable lesson for media outlets in Indonesia and most countries around the world. Many news outlets reported a sudden uptick in the number of people clicking and viewing news about the virus from sources they could trust. Flooded with misinformation and disinformation, some of which came from the government, the public turned to news outlets, mostly established, but also some start-ups, that practice journalism.

News outlets may never regain the glory days of the past now that they operate in the digital landscape, but they can still carve an important niche in the ecosystem. Focusing on quality, they can stay above the fray of the tons of information, mostly fake if not inaccurate and certainly not verified, that are flooding that landscape.  

Quality has become the keyword of journalism’s survival.