Another year over, a new one just about to begin, to slightly mangle John Lennon.
How have the last twelve months been for you? A bit of a roller coaster ride, I suspect. At every industry conference I’ve attended over the past twenty years, I’ve heard someone get up and say that things are changing and that the rate of change is accelerating. That acerating rate of change has been particularly in evidence this year.
Looking back, here are some of the trends that have stood out for me – three rises and one fall:
- Rise of AI: Artificial intelligence is now front and centre of publishing minds and is likely to remain there in 2026 and beyond. It is disrupting our business models and changing the way we work. It has reduced search traffic and flooded the zone with slop, making our non-slop more valuable but harder to find. On the other hand, it has provided us with the tools to make significant productivity gains across all areas of our businesses. Those publishers that find success in future will be those that find the right mix of human and machine. According to FT Strategies’ Adriana Whiteley, writing for our AI Special in October, “AI should be used wherever it frees journalists to do what only humans can do: provide judgement, context, editorial oversight and trust.”
- Rise (again) of humans: Across industries, jobs are under threat because AI can perform many tasks cheaper and more efficiently. Yet there are many things AI can not do better and these have particular relevance for publishers. Humans write better, talk better, sing better, design better, entertain better, advise better. At a recent BSME event (reviewed by InPublishing), columnist Caitlin Moran said that AI would not replace great columnists because, “AI doesn’t understand feeling shame. It doesn’t understand feeling scared. It doesn’t understand feeling love for your child. People want to read about someone’s emotions.”
- Rise of reader revenue strategies: In 2010, The Times put up a paywall. At the time, charging readers online seemed outlandish, risky and doomed to failure. That has changed! Not for all, but for many. Go to the Mail or the Sun’s website and you will see large numbers of stories badged ‘M+’ or ‘Sun Club’ and blocked to non-subscribers. In November, the Observer launched its first digital subscription. In December, Newsquest Scotland celebrated hitting the 50k digital subs milestone and, also in December, Reach announced a premium subs offering for the Manchester Evening News. As well as providing much needed additional revenue, it’s likely to lead to added investment in journalism, because, after all, that is what subscribers are paying for.
- Decline in press freedom: 2025 has been a dire year for press freedom, which has been under relentless attack from – and I can’t quite believe I’m writing this – the US government! In May, a report from the Committee to Protect Journalists, concluded that freedom of the press is no longer a given in the United States. Nothing has changed since May to change that conclusion. Indeed this week, the US president brought a $10bn lawsuit against the BBC. It seems like a remarkably weak case, but that’s beside the point. The purpose of the case is to intimidate journalists and suppress criticism and dissent.
So, heading into 2026, publishers need to be laser focused on how they can use AI to enhance their USP, which is their humans, to continue to build reader revenues and improve the membership offering and to stiffen the sinews for a protracted fight over press freedom.
Wishing you a happy and restful Christmas break and a healthy and prosperous 2026.
You can catch James Evelegh’s regular column in the InPubWeekly newsletter, which you can register to receive here.
