In a new article for Nieman Lab, media innovator Jennifer Brandel predicts that 2026 will mark a turning point for journalism — one driven by both artificial intelligence (AI) and a renewed sense of journalistic purpose.
Brandel, CEO of Hearken and a 2026 John S. Knight Journalism Fellow at Stanford, foresees two powerful forces reshaping the field “from both above and within.”
First, she argues that AI companies will move aggressively to protect and control the journalism their models depend on. With local news in crisis — the US losing two newspapers a week — AI systems risk degrading without reliable, human-reported data. To safeguard these vital inputs, Brandel predicts that tech firms will begin directly funding, building, or even purchasing news organizations.
She points to signs already visible: OpenAI’s partnership with Axios Local, Google’s investment in California news efforts, Microsoft’s work with Semafor, and major licensing deals with AP, News Corp, and others.
“These aren’t random,” Brandel writes. “They are supply-chain decisions.” AI companies, she says, now view journalism as critical infrastructure — essential to keeping their products trustworthy. But she warns that this vertical integration brings serious risks: conflicts of interest, compromised editorial independence, and blurred lines between journalism and model training.
Second, Brandel predicts a philosophical shift within newsrooms. After years of treating neutrality as sacred, journalists will increasingly reject the idea that avoiding “activism” ensures objectivity. In an era where even factual reporting is politicized, she argues, integrity — not neutrality — must define the profession.
“Journalists will stop performing neutrality and instead reassert integrity,” Brandel writes, suggesting reporters will collaborate more openly with civic movements, watchdogs, and grassroots organizers who hold valuable “ground-truth” information.
Together, these changes create what Brandel calls “a battle for the soul of journalism.” As AI companies secure journalism as a data source, journalists themselves are reclaiming it as a public act. The coming year, she predicts, will determine whether this convergence leads to a renaissance — or a reckoning — for the industry.
(Compiled from Brandel’s blog post)
