The future is going to be uneven, unequal. You already have people who are served incredibly well, who can subscribe to so many different outlets, who have literally different AI agents searching global news for them at any given time and finding all the information that they need. And you have others, who have access to none of these things, who don't even have access to a local newspaper, who are kind of completely deprived of information.
Dr Martin Moore, Senior Lecturer in Political Communication Education
06 July 2026
'An uneven future': experts warn of inequality and AI disruption in media
At the event held as part of the Digital Futures Institute’s Festival of Storytelling, journalists and media scholars warned that the future of journalism will be shaped by widening inequality, declining trust in institutions and the rapid disruption caused by artificial intelligence.
The Possible Futures of Journalism panel, chaired by journalist and media critic Mic Wright, brought together broadcaster Samira Ahmed, Dr Martin Moore, Director of the Centre for the Study of Media, Communication and Power at King’s, and Dr David Young, Co-lead of the Digital Investigations Lab.
Speakers said journalism is moving away from a shared public information space towards a fragmented system in which access to reliable news is increasingly divided.
Dr Martin Moore argued that while some audiences now benefit from highly tailored information, others are left without access to local or trusted reporting.
He warned that the decline of mass media as a unifying force could deepen social and political divides.
Will there be journalists in the future?
Artificial intelligence was identified as one of the most significant forces reshaping journalism. Panellists discussed predictions that AI could dramatically reduce the number of professional journalists, though most rejected claims that the profession would disappear entirely. However, its role, scale and influence could shrink dramatically depending on how AI and media systems evolve.
There will be journalists in 20 years. The question is whether it will be The Terminator scenario – humans fighting the machines, where the journalists are the rebels, and a few people are looking for real journalism against the majority of AI-generated content – or whether we find something that's more of a happy medium. It might be small, but I feel that we are experiencing a bit of an analogue pushback.
Samira Ahmed, journalist, writer and broadcaster
Speakers highlighted growing concerns about credibility as audiences struggle to distinguish between human reporting and machine-generated content. At times like this, Samira Ahmed argued, major broadcasters such as the BBC should focus on reinforcing traditional journalistic values, including rigorous fact-checking and building public trust.
The idea of trust can be a powerful selling point in our age.
Samira Ahmed, journalist, writer and broadcaster
Collapse of traditional business models
The panel also examined the economic pressures facing journalism, particularly the failure of digital advertising to sustain news organisations.
Efforts to offset falling revenues through online growth have largely stalled, with speakers pointing to the collapse or downsizing of digital-native outlets and the decline of local newspapers.
Ahmed described the loss of local journalism as especially damaging, noting that coverage of everyday issues, such as public services and local governance, has significantly diminished.
You saw in real time how your journalism hit the streets, and local people bought the paper to find out what was going on. Are my streets safe? How are the schools? Can I get a doctor’s appointment? Where are the police? And that’s the stuff that has disappeared from coverage, because we do not have local papers.
Samira Ahmed, journalist, writer and broadcaster
Rise of independent outlets and personal brands
Despite these challenges, speakers pointed to emerging alternatives, including independent newsletters and smaller investigative platforms.
We do see some of the investigative journalism migrating onto Substack. There is interest in bringing citizens into the investigation process. There are all sorts of challenges involved with that, but there is also a really interesting idea at the core – finding out new ways to do investigations collaboratively.
Dr David Young, Lecturer in Digital Media and Culture
However, they cautioned that the rise of individual “personal brands” in journalism brings its own risks. While it allows new voices to reach audiences directly, it can undermine the scale and stability needed for long-term investigative work.
Journalism needs protection
The discussion ended with calls for stronger leadership and regulation to protect journalism in the public interest.
Samira Ahmed said the industry still has an opportunity to recover by refocusing on its core mission:
‘Both in our politics and our media organisations, we need people to stand up and say: we're not going to be led by a tabloid agenda, we're not going to be led by politicians trying to stir up trouble and then respond to it. We are going to go back to the principles of what is good journalism, and we are going to stand our ground.’
In this story
Lecturer in Digital Media and Culture
Senior Lecturer in Political Communication Education & Director of the Centre for the Study of Media, Communication and Power