05/04/2026

ON SUNDAY April 5, 2026 theSunday Special V

journalists to focus on work that requires MXGJPHQW DQG FRQWH[W U VHG ZLWKRXW VẊ FLHQW RYHUVLJKW LW LQ troduces new risks. AI-generated content can be persuasive without being accurate and the scale at which it can be produced raises concerns about verification and accountability. What is notable is that both profession als and audiences tend to agree on certain SULQFLSOHV 7KHUH LV D FOHDU H[SHFWDWLRQ WKDW AI-generated material should be identi- ¿HG WKDW KXPDQ RYHUVLJKW VKRXOG UHPDLQ central and that responsibility cannot be delegated entirely to automated systems. The technology itself is not the issue. The question is how it is integrated into H[LVWLQJ VWDQGDUGV 'HVSLWH WKHVH FKDQJHV the core purpose of journalism has not shifted. The task remains to establish what has KDSSHQHG WR H[SODLQ ZK\ LW PDWWHUV DQG to do so in a way that is fair, accurate and accountable. The tools and platforms may HYROYH EXW WKHVH H[SHFWDWLRQV UHPDLQ In a fragmented and fast-moving environment, credibility becomes more VLJQL¿FDQW QRW OHVV :KHQ LQIRUPDWLRQ is abundant, the ability to trust a source becomes the main point of distinction. As one editor put it in a recent discus sion, breaking news is no longer scarce. Trust is. B H\RQG WKH SK\VLFDO QHZVURRP It is tempting to frame this as a loss and in some respects it is. The shared space, the daily routines and the visible structures of the traditional newsroom provided clarity and cohesion. But journalism has never EHHQ GH¿QHG VROHO\ E\ ZKHUH LW WDNHV SODFH T RGD\ WKH QHZVURRP H[LVWV LQ D PRUH distributed form. It is shaped by networks rather than rooms, by systems rather than schedules. That makes it harder to see and sometimes harder to manage, but not necessarily less purposeful. The real question is not whether the newsroom has changed, but whether its underlying discipline can be sustained within that change. Because in the end, journalism does not depend on a building. ,W GHSHQGV RQ D VHW RI SUDFWLFHV ± YHUL¿FD WLRQ MXGJHPHQW DQG UHVSRQVLELOLW\ ± WKDW have to be maintained regardless of how the environment evolves. And in a system that moves this quickly, those practices are no longer assumed. They have to be chosen, repeatedly and deliberately.

In a system driven by speed and visibility, journalism is being reshaped by forces beyond the newsroom itself When editors are no longer the only gatekeepers BY DR SRITHARAN VELLASAMY

T HERE was a time when a news room was not just a function, but a place you could feel the moment you stepped into it. There was noise, urgency and a certain hierarchy that held everything together. Editors called across desks, phones rang without pause and reporters moved with a kind of restless purpose. 'HDGOLQHV ZHUH QRW ÀH[LEOH DQG QHLWKHU were standards. That world has not disappeared en tirely, but it has thinned out. Today, the newsroom is no longer GH¿QHG E\ ZDOOV RU HYHQ E\ JHRJUDSK\ ,W H[LVWV DFURVV ODSWRSV VKDUHG GRFX ments, messaging platforms and analytics dashboards. A story can be drafted in 3HWDOLQJ -D\D UH¿QHG LQ 3HQDQJ DGMXVWHG elsewhere entirely and published simulta neously across multiple platforms within minutes. The process is efficient, even LPSUHVVLYH EXW LW RSHUDWHV YHU\ GL̆ HUHQWO\ from what came before. What has changed is not only where journalism happens, but how it holds itself together. A GL̆ HUHQW NLQG RI SUHVVXUH T KH PRVW VLJQL¿FDQW VKLIW LV QRW LQ ORFDWLRQ but in pace. Newsrooms today operate in an en vironment where speed is constant and XQIRUJLYLQJ 6WRULHV DUH H[SHFWHG WR PRYH quickly, sometimes before every detail is fully settled, because the cost of delay is invisibility. If you wait too long, the story not only arrives late; it disappears beneath everything else competing for attention. This has altered the rhythm of journal ism. Where once a reporter might focus on one substantial piece, there is now an H[SHFWDWLRQ WR SURGXFH FRQWLQXRXVO\ ± updates, short pieces, video clips, social posts, all feeding into the same cycle.

those closest to them. Stories that might once have gone unnoticed now surface quickly and widely. Yet the same openness also reduces the level of filtering that information passes through before reaching the public. During breaking events, early versions of D VWRU\ RIWHQ FLUFXODWH EHIRUH YHUL¿FDWLRQ LV FRPSOHWH PDNLQJ LW GL̇ FXOW WR FRUUHFW later. Journalism, in this environment, is no ORQJHU RQO\ DERXW EHLQJ ¿UVW WR UHSRUW It is increasingly about being trusted to make sense of what is already circulating. 7KLV OHDGV WR D EURDGHU LVVXH WKDW H[WHQGV beyond newsroom structure. Across many markets, trust in media has been declining for some time. Surveys LQ UHFHQW \HDUV VXJJHVW WKDW FRQ¿GHQFH LQ news organisations is fragile, shaped by SHUFHSWLRQV RI ELDV RZQHUVKLS LQÀXHQFH and the overall tone of coverage. The digital environment has added DQRWKHU OD\HU RI FRPSOH[LW\ :LWK WKH ULVH of manipulated media, synthetic content DQG KLJKO\ WDUJHWHG LQIRUPDWLRQ ÀRZV audiences are often unsure not only what to believe but also how information is SURGXFHG LQ WKH ¿UVW SODFH W KHQ WUXVW ZHDNHQV WKH H̆ HFW LV QRW limited to media organisations. It af fects the wider public space. Without a shared sense of what is reliable, dis cussion becomes fragmented and even well-reported information may be treated with suspicion. T HFKQRORJ\ DV ERWK WRRO DQG WHVW A UWL¿FLDO LQWHOOLJHQFH LV QRZ SDUW RI WKLV ODQGVFDSH ZKHWKHU H[SOLFLWO\ DFNQRZO edged or not. Used carefully, it can support journal ism by handling routine tasks, analysing large datasets and enabling more ef- ¿FLHQW ZRUNÀRZV ,Q PDQ\ FDVHV LW DOORZV

Within the industry, there is already a WHUP IRU WKH VLGH H̆ HFWV RI WKLV &KXUQDO ism. It refers to the increasing reliance on press releases, wire copy and circulating material, not out of laziness, but as a response to the volume required to stay relevant. The system keeps moving. The audi ence remains engaged. But something TXLHWHU LV D̆ HFWHG LQ WKH SURFHVV 'HSWK EHFRPHV KDUGHU WR VXVWDLQ DQG YHUL¿FDWLRQ has to compete with velocity. In traditional newsrooms, editors played a central role in shaping what the public saw. They decided not only what was important but what needed more work, what required caution and what did not yet meet the standard for publication. 7KDW UROH VWLOO H[LVWV EXW LW QRZ VKDUHV space with another force, algorithmic distribution. Stories are increasingly surfaced based on their performance. Engagement deter mines visibility and visibility reinforces engagement. Over time, this creates a feedback loop in which certain types of content spread further simply because they are more likely to be shared. Research has consistently shown that emotionally charged or novel information tends to spread faster online than carefully YHUL¿HG UHSRUWLQJ 7KLV LV QRW QHFHVVDULO\ D failure of audiences, but a feature of how digital systems prioritise content. The implication is subtle but important. Editorial judgement is no longer the only ¿OWHU VKDSLQJ SXEOLF DWWHQWLRQ ,Q PDQ\ FDVHV LW LV RQH LQÀXHQFH DPRQJ VHYHUDO M RUH SDUWLFLSDWLRQ OHVV ¿OWHULQJ At the same time, the barriers to publish ing have fallen dramatically. This has EURXJKW FOHDU EHQH¿WV 0RUH YRLFHV DUH heard, more perspectives are visible and events can be documented in real time by

Dr Sritharan Vellasamy is a writer, researcher and CEO of Wordlabs Global, a media company based in Malaysia. He is the author of the forthcoming book Drag You to the Mountain.