Chat GPT processes 2.5 billion messages a day. I learned that at last week’s Newsrewired conference in London. It was my first time attending this JournalismUK event, and I wanted to share my takeaways in this edition and what they might mean for African newsrooms.

What: Newsrewired 2026, a JournalismUK conference in London

The Big Stat: ChatGPT processes 2.5 billion messages a day

Key Takeaway: The rise of the "agentic newsroom"—AI ecosystems are reshaping how audiences discover and consume news. The content is now following you, rather than you following the content.

What's Changing: Search engines are redesigning user experiences around AI, which means declining click-through rates and fewer opportunities for news publishers to reach audiences directly. Attribution—connecting content back to the publisher—is weakening even further.

What's Working: The Economist (180+ years old) is experimenting with personality-led video and audio (The Insider) to deepen audience connection, particularly with younger consumers. Over six months, they created 40 pilot episodes, refining them through feedback before launch.

On Failure: FlightStory (Diary of a CEO) has a head of failure and experimentation. The takeaway? Reframe failure. "Failure gives us feedback which gives us knowledge, which gives us power."

Independent Journalism: Jim Waterson, Isabelle Roughol, and Daniel Ionescu have found success outside traditional newsrooms through newsletters and personality-driven reporting. Their advice: focus on a clear niche, experiment constantly, stay lean, and don't over rely on social platforms. According to Daniel Ionescu, "1,000 paying subscribers is all you need."

On Podcasting: Video isn't replacing audio—it's expanding the tent. Podcasting is now a dual-format medium.

Something New: Live journalism as performance. Not just hosting events or debates, but storytelling that sits somewhere between journalism and theatre.

Why It Matters: AI-driven discovery is changing the relationship between publishers and audiences. Newsrooms need to experiment, build direct audience relationships, and rethink how they reach people in an era where platforms control discovery.

GO DEEP.👇🏾

The era of the ‘agentic newsroom’

AI-generated content has surpassed human-generated content online, and we are now entering the era of the ‘agentic newsroom’.

One of the strongest themes running through Newsrewired this year was that journalism is entering another major phase of disruption, one that many African newsrooms are already experiencing as we have seen through shifting audience behaviour, creators, and increasingly AI-driven discovery.

Speaking at the conference, Ezra Eeman, the strategy and innovation Director at NPO, argued that big tech is no longer simply developing AI tools, but building entire AI ecosystems that are beginning to reshape how audiences discover, consume, and interact with media. AI is becoming woven into our daily lives like a “super assistant.”

This poses a massive challenge for news publishers because people no longer have to visit news websites or platforms to keep up with the news, as information is increasingly being delivered directly to them through AI-driven experiences. The content is following you, rather than you following the content,” Eeman said.

He warned that click-through rates and opportunities to reach audiences are declining because search engines are redesigning user experiences around AI. In fact, just this week, Google announced it’s making its biggest change to the search bar in years, to fit the era of Artificial Intelligence.

When I worked at the BBC, we valued attribution, because it ensured that audiences could clearly recognise and connect the content back to the publisher, regardless of where they stumbled upon it. Social media had already begun to weaken that relationship, and it looks like AI-driven discovery is diluting that connection even further.

This feels particularly relevant in Africa, where younger audiences are increasingly discovering news through TikTok, WhatsApp, Telegram, YouTube, and creators rather than through traditional homepages. Beyond producing great content, the challenge now for news publishers is how to remain visible and relevant in environments increasingly controlled by platforms and AI interfaces.

Established brands that evolve

I have always been a fan of established media brands that evolve with the times. So I enjoyed the conversation between The Economist boss Luke Bradley-Jones and my former BBC colleague Ramaa Sharma. The Economist is more than 180 years old and has traditionally been a print magazine, with long-form analysis. But it is now evolving, and one of its biggest new products is The Insider, a personality-led video and audio show that has proven to be a hit with audiences.

The move is a clear recognition by this legacy institution that audiences increasingly want a closer relationship with journalists, and not just institutions.

According to Bradley-Jones, the move into audio and video was partly driven by a desire to deepen audience connection and retention, particularly with younger audiences. “What customers want is to get closer to our journalists, to get to that collective viewpoint of the world,” he said.

He also spoke about how they have adopted a culture of experimentation. Over six months, the team created around 40 pilot episodes, refining them through internal feedback and audience testing before launch.

This got me thinking about African media houses that are still heavily structured around broadcast-era or institutional models. What happens when audiences begin following journalists, explainers, and creators more than brands themselves like we are currently seeing in some of our markets?

Managing failure and experimentation

Speaking of experimentation, I think one of the biggest challenges many media houses face is experimentation. How do you manage failure? I’ve spoken to some media executives in Africa who say their biggest challenge isn’t the failure itself but the cost of the failure. With limited resources, they cannot afford to fail and therefore do not experiment enough.

Grace Miller, the Head of Failure and Experimentation for FlightStory, the media company behind Steven Bartlett's globally renowned podcast, The Diary of a CEO, also took to the stage. First of all, I found it fascinating that they have a head of failure and experimentation. How many companies are bold enough to call it that?

My biggest takeaway from her was that we need to reframe failure and how we react when something doesn’t work. “With more experiments, you are more likely to have more success.” She said, “Failure gives us feedback which gives us knowledge, which gives us power”.

Independent journalism is becoming more viable and influential

I also enjoyed the panel of independent journalists with Jim Waterson, Isabelle Roughol and Daniel Ionescu, who have all found success outside traditional newsrooms by building direct relationships with audiences through newsletters and personality-driven reporting.

This shift towards personality-led journalism is already visible across parts of Africa, where creators, independent commentators, podcasters, newsletter writers, and digital-first journalists are building highly engaged niche audiences outside traditional newsrooms.

They stressed that audiences increasingly value journalism that feels personal, human, and relevant to their interests. Their advice to independent journalists is to focus on a clear niche, but to also experiment constantly, and genuinely understand what audiences want. And to stay lean and frugal — making use of free software trials, promotional offers, and affordable equipment.

Both Waterson and Isabelle Roughol warned against overreliance on social media platforms, arguing that platforms can change priorities at any time. Instead, newsletters were highlighted as the most reliable path to monetisation and long-term audience ownership. According to Daniel Ionescu, “1000 paying subscribers is all you need.”

In many ways, that lean approach already mirrors how many African independent journalists operate - building audiences with limited resources, mobile-first tools, and small but highly engaged communities.

Nic Newman from the Reuters Institute focused his session on how people are consuming podcasts. He said, “Video is not replacing audio, but rather it’s expanding the tent. The lesson for publishers is clear. Podcasting is now a dual-format medium, and commissioning and production strategies need to shift accordingly.

Live journalism as performance

The event ended with a "live journalism" performance by Verónica Muñoz Martínez, host and producer of the podcast Everybody's Lost. She described a tragic scene following flooding in a Spanish town a couple of years ago as a performance. This was something I hadn’t seen before.

It was followed by a panel discussion on live journalism as a means of reaching audiences. Annie Slemrod, Middle East editor at The New Humanitarian, shared an example of a live journalism performance they'd done in Beirut.

It got me thinking. So live journalism isn't just hosting events, debates, or discussions. It can also be performance, where storytelling sits somewhere between journalism and theatre.

Africa’s Agility Could Be Its Advantage

What became clear throughout the conference is that distribution alone won't cut it anymore. Journalism now depends not only on trust, and relevance, but also keeping a direct relationship with audiences, even as AI and platforms reshape how people find news.

Ironically, this may also be an opportunity for African media. Many of our newsrooms are still agile enough, and can therefore easily experiment, adapt quickly, and challenge some of the assumptions we carried over from the heyday of legacy media before they become too entrenched to change.

Isu Elihle Awards 2026 — Media Monitoring Africa

The awards, which celebrate their tenth anniversary this year, are open for story idea submissions and reward innovative journalism that centres children's voices, challenges harmful narratives, and shines a light on issues affecting children often left unseen across the continent. The top six finalists each receive financial support of up to R10,000 to research and develop their concepts into publishable stories.

Apply here

Deadline: 4th June 2026.

AU–EU Youth Voices Lab: Lens of Change

The Lens of Change initiative is building a database of emerging filmmakers aged 18–35 from Africa and Europe to document youth-led advocacy and social transformation. Selected projects, including short documentaries, social media edits, and event highlights, receive grants ranging from €765 to €1,800 per project.

Apply here

Deadline: Open Call

FIJ grants

The Fund for Investigative Journalism offers grants for freelance journalists, staff reporters, and media outlets producing high-quality, nonpartisan investigative stories, for print, online, broadcast, books, documentaries, or podcasts.

Apply here

Deadline: September 14, 2026.

We work with media organisations to turn big ideas into real impact — integrating AI, navigating digital shifts, and rethinking editorial strategy for the future. Curious about what that could look like for you? Let’s connect. Send me an email.