The International News Media Association (INMA) has released ‘How News Brands Answer: Why Should I Trust You?,’ a new report examining how news publishers must rethink brand strategy as artificial intelligence, declining search traffic, shrinking social referrals, and growing news avoidance reshape audience relationships.
Written by Jakub Górnicki, co-founder of Outriders Klub in Poland, the report argues that traditional brand awareness metrics such as recall and reach are no longer sufficient. Instead, publishers must build what Górnicki calls a “proof system” — making the people, processes, and accountability behind journalism visible before asking audiences to subscribe, register, or trust.
Drawing on more than 4,000 journalism slogans and brand campaigns spanning nearly 200 years, alongside recent INMA research and award-winning publisher case studies from around the world, the report traces how journalism has repeatedly reinvented its public promise as technology disrupted the industry. Today, it argues, the next evolution is moving from claims of trust to demonstrable proof.
“Trust has become something journalism can no longer assume,” Górnicki writes. “The strongest news brands of the next decade will stop treating brand as the layer above journalism and instead make it the public interface of journalism.”
The report identifies six “proof surfaces” that publishers should embed across their products: people, process, place, participation, provenance, and product. Together, these create visible signals that help audiences understand how journalism is produced and why it deserves their confidence.
Among the case study campaigns are publishers including The New Zealand Herald, Nine, Politiken, De Telegraaf, Fædrelandsvennen, The Press, Nieuwsblad, IOL, and Die Zeit. The report demonstrates how leading news organizations are shifting from promotional messaging to evidence-based brand building.
Rather than asking whether audiences simply remember a news brand, the report proposes a new scorecard focused on whether publishers change beliefs, demonstrate evidence, strengthen first-party relationships, and create lasting trust signals within their products.
As AI-generated content becomes increasingly indistinguishable from human journalism, the report argues that visible editorial process, accountable journalists, and transparent reporting methods will become some of publishers’ strongest competitive advantages.
The report is intended for news executives, editors, product leaders, audience strategists, and marketing teams seeking practical frameworks for strengthening trust and building durable audience relationships in an AI-driven media landscape.
‘How News Brands Answer: Why Should I Trust You?’ is available for free to INMA members and for purchase by non-members at INMA.org/reports
