The light we cannot lose

n this World News Day, for too many people, the future is getting too dark to see. This moment is best described as living in a state of perpetual flux, of global uncertainty and deep, unsettling insecurity.

- BRANKO BRKIC Leader, Project Kontinuum Co-founder Daily Maverick

Our world is increasingly built on information, sometimes almost exclusively, and the news media is its basic infrastructure.

Like water and energy, we often only notice its absence when the service stops. So too with reliable news — only when it disappears will we realise how deeply our daily lives depend on the steady delivery of reliable information.

Al is an important part of our common future, but it will not be a panacea for every problem we encounter. An algorithm still cannot replace a dogged reporter or a savvy investigative journalist.

It is humans who make a crucial difference — because only humans can bring empathy, moral judgment, and persistence to the search for truth.

As the institutions of old are crumbling, and many are already gone with no replacement, this task is getting more complex by the day.

In this perilous moment, news media’s duty, its daily delivery, and indeed its existence itself, feel more important and consequential than ever before.

We are still truth’s most important messengers.

If we are to continue delivering on our mission’s promise, we in the news media also must think long and hard about the years ahead.

We understand that, with the greatest urgency, we must reaffirm news media’s compact with the communities we serve; to fortify our personal covenant with each and every reader, viewer and listener; to hold steady while the very ground is shaking under our feet.