Axios published a story last week on “The Rise of Super Journalists.”
There’s much the communications profession can glean from how journalists are applying AI to their work.
I’ve highlighted the following passages from the Axios story (full Axios story at the end of the post) that have relevance to communications.
Reporters with sourcing expertise
- This is the critical path item for PR when it comes to constructing stories that land. It starts with our ability to poke and probe client sources to extract the good stuff.
- This is also why we created the workshop, “Helping Sources Become Better Sources.”
True domain expertise
- Makes a case for why we continue to be all in when it comes to specializing in technology. More than just tech vendors, non-tech companies increasingly need support in telling tech-led stories.
- Foundational to everything we “touch.”
Deep passion for the topic(s)
- It’s an intangible that when combined with curiosity, generates insights, ideas and results that otherwise wouldn’t be possible.
Human connection
- PR is the people business, full stop.
Substack just raised $100 million to entice experts to go solo on its platform. New media companies, notably Puck, have adopted a similar Super Journalist ethos.
- While traditional media has consolidated, there’s never been more “influencers” in our orbit. The migration of journalists to Substack as well as the rise of podcasting and other forms of unconventional media explains this fragmentation of influence.
Authentic scoops by people you trust.
- We’ve been talking about the internet commoditizing news, particularly product announcements, for over ten years. AI accelerates the dynamic.
- The chart below applies supply and demand economics theory to media relations. What journalists value the most — as Axios puts it, authentic scoops by trusted sources — is what PR delivers the least. Packaging non-public domain news feeds into the journalist’s quest for scoops.
Authentic context to see and think about topics in a more sophisticated way.
- Another way of describing thought leadership, the point of the spear for most of our client campaigns.
Here’s the full article from Axios.
Jim VandeHei: Rise of Super Journalists
These are journalists with true domain expertise, top-notch sourcing and historical depth to tell people things they don’t know.
- They’re not your average journalist doing a dutiful job chronicling unfolding events. Those, we believe, will be displaced by an AI agent summarizing things to match — with precision — the tastes of each individual user.
- No, these are the journalists with deep passion for a topic — be it politics, AI or a specific city — and deep sourcing, knowledge and credibility. They establish an authentic human connection, based on trust built over years.
The big picture: This is great for you, the news consumer. In the future, we envision a world where discerning readers, viewers and listeners get the best of both worlds: higher quality human expertise on their favorite topics and quicker, better summaries of daily news or happenings via AI
- We built Axios years ago for this very moment. We have a smaller newsroom than some older competitors. But we have true subject matter experts — including Sara Fischer on media, Dan Primack on deals, Ina Fried on tech, Hans Nichols on Congress, Neil Irwin and Courtenay Brown on economics and the Fed, Marc Caputo on the White House, Alex Thompson on national politics, Barak Ravid on the Middle East, Eleanor Hawkins on communications strategy, Joann Muller on transportation, and so many more.
- We’re doing the same in Axios Local cities — now 34 and counting — where we hire the most wired reporters in a city to cover that city for a core local audience of smart professionals.
We’re not alone: Substack just raised $100 million to entice experts to go solo on its platform. New media companies, notably Puck, have adopted a similar Super Journalist ethos.
- AI will change journalism dramatically. We’re updating the Axios Manifesto to make it clear we’ll use AI as a tool for research, data collection and analysis, and compilation of data like concerts or events in cities — not to write stories. We’ll soon start sharing some of the best use cases we’ve found.
- We believe AI will enable us to expand Axios Local to many more cities, much faster (more on this soon). But it won’t replace Super Journalists. In fact, the spread of AI will make their work even more vital and valuable.
Here’s how we think about it: AI will help get more high-quality human-generated content to more humans. The distinctiveness of true Super Journalists’ work will stand out amid the sameness of commodity news spit out by AI machines. We’re betting you’ll yearn for and reward:
- Authentic scoops by people you trust.
- Authentic context to see and think about topics in a more sophisticated way.
- Authentic nuance that flows not from the literal words and actions of people — but from their facial expressions, body language and true intent.
The bottom line: Super Journalists + superintelligence = information nirvana if Axios can nail the mix and win your trust.