From community connection to AI innovation: 5 keys to local media trust and growth 2025-12-09. WAN-IFRA's inaugural Local Day brought together local media leaders from across Europe to explore how transparency, community engagement, and artificial intelligence are reshaping the future of local journalism.

Yesterday was the first-ever Local News Day in the U.S.

It's an important moment. But also a prompt: what can we learn from elsewhere?

#FlashbackFriday to 5 lessons from European publishers that feel very relevant right now 👇

wan-ifra.org/2025/12/from... #journalism #localnews

Too many publishers are optimizing for a search journey that no longer exists. In my new piece for Digital Content Next, I outline what's changing — and five things media companies should be doing about it.

digitalcontentnext.org/blog/2026/04... #Search #Digital #Media

How to tackle the three tensions defining media in 2026 For media companies, the start of a new year is an opportunity to take stock of the big trends and reassess priorities for the year ahead. AI inevitably

Three key tensions are defining the media biz in 2026: audience relationships, AI (the unglamorous implementation phase), and revenue diversification. They're not separate problems - addressing them needs to be done as part of a coherent, holistic strategy. digitalcontentnext.org/blog/2026/02...

The World Press Trends Outlook 2025-2026 is now publicly available. Global insights from 172 media leaders across 66 countries on:

• AI in newsrooms
• Revenue diversification
• The creator economy
• Platform power
• Press freedom

Read it here: www.slideshare.net/slideshow/wa...

That said, she notes you need self-awareness to know when to pick up the speed and when you are doing everything you can.

She also shared how:

• Being a jack-of-all-trades = flexibility = power
• Recommends building something that lasts 50 years
• And above all, learn to trust your gut

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Kayla Henderson-Wood ( @uosojc.bsky.social alum ) spoke to my class this week about the creative economy & entrepreneurship.

Among the many great tips, “You don’t need to suffer to succeed.”

In an industry addicted to hustle culture, that worth remembering. 1/2

🌏 @uoregon.bsky.social @uosojc.bsky.social students, study abroad with me this summer in New Zealand!

Explore how food, culture and digital storytelling intersect in one of the most beautiful countries in the world!

📅 Aug 16 – Sept 12
📝 Apply by March 15

🔗 geo.uoregon.edu/programs/oce...

New class gives students a hands-on look at hostage advocacy Taught with Washington Post journalist Jason Rezaian, the course also explores press freedom

Great to see this vital work getting recognition. My @uosojc.bsky.social colleague David Ewald is leading an innovative class giving students hands-on experience tackling real-world communication challenges and understanding the human stakes behind global stories.

👉 news.uoregon.edu/new-class-gi...

Really enjoyed hosting Jessie Kirk (Travel Oregon) with my students for a discussion on audience pathways, visual thinking, analytics, digital skills & adaptable storytelling.

Key takeaway: “The future belongs to storytellers who can adapt to their audiences.”

#journalism #digitalstorytelling

How to tackle the three tensions defining media in 2026 For media companies, the start of a new year is an opportunity to take stock of the big trends and reassess priorities for the year ahead. AI inevitably

New article: The three biggest tensions defining media in 2026 and how publishers can respond.

AI, audience relationships + revenue diversification aren’t separate challenges; they’re deeply interconnected.

Here’s what media leaders should be thinking about 👇 digitalcontentnext.org/blog/2026/02...

10 Years Free: A Celebration of Jason Rezaian

@neuroai-uoregon.bsky.social was the proud sponsor of a
@washingtonpost.com live event last week marking the 10-year anniversary of journalist Jason Rezaian's release from prison in Iran where he was held hostage for 544 days.

View the event at: www.washingtonpost.com/washington-p... #pressfreedom

Damian Radcliffe guides media students to the next level The professor of practice received a Herman Award for Specialized Pedagogy for his outstanding achievements and expertise in teaching.

Thanks to the @uoregon.bsky.social Provost’s Office for producing this profile piece, which follows on from my winning a University Teaching Award last year. provost.uoregon.edu/damian-radcl... cc @uosojc.bsky.social

From user needs to digital innovation: 5 lessons from leading Danish publishers WAN-IFRA's latest Newsroom Summit Study Tour revealed how several of Denmark's top media companies are reshaping their journalism with audience-first thinking, cultural transformation, and strategic d...

From user needs to digital innovation: 5 lessons from leading Danish publishers — great examples from JP/Politikens Hus, Berlingske and Zetland on audience-first thinking, team collaboration and purposeful tech in newsrooms > New by me for WAN-IFRA.

wan-ifra.org/2026/01/from...

World Press Trends Outlook: Rising ‘three-pillar’ revenue model fuels industry optimism The structural decline of news media’s traditional business model – advertising and circulation revenue – has hovered like a dark cloud over publishing strategies for 20-plus years. But the continued ...

The latest WAN-IFRA World Press Trends study dropped today. This annual report, which I led the writing of, explores the big issues for news publishers - such as revenues, digital transformation, and freedom of the press - based on a global survey of industry leaders.
wan-ifra.org/2026/01/worl...

Damian Radcliffe, Carolyn S. Chambers Professor in Journalism – University of Oregon

5 themes from my Digital Content Next work this year:

📌 Subscription growth hinges on retention
📌 Paywalls are plateauing — value matters
📌 AI is reshaping media workflows
📌 YouTube is central to Gen Z discovery
📌 Creator partnerships are now strategic

Read: digitalcontentnext.org/blog/author/...

Thanks for sharing, @brizzyc.bsky.social

From skepticism to strategy: media adapts to the creator economy The relationship status between traditional media players and members of the creator economy can best be described as complicated. Publishers have often

My latest for Digital Content Next examines how + why mainstream media is leaning into the creator economy.

Thanks to Nic Newman @reutersinstitute.bsky.social + George Montagu at FT Strategies for their expert insights.

digitalcontentnext.org/blog/2025/12... #CreatorEconomy #Media

Excellent, valuable thread. Thanks for this and the amazing spreadsheet you have pulled together. docs.google.com/spreadsheets...

an illustration of a chat app called chatgpt on a dark background ALT: an illustration of a chat app called chatgpt on a dark background

This knowledge is part of the competitive edge they must cultivate. And it was great to see the level of depth and thought that @uoregon.bsky.social students applied to this task. /3 #AI #GenerativeAI #Careers

There were lots of great takes. I've posted some overarching themes on LinkedIn www.linkedin.com/posts/damian...

As an educator, I can talk in generalities, but students MUST take ownership of understanding how AI specifically affects the areas they plan to enter. /2

I asked the 200 students in my @uosojc.bsky.social class on The Media Business to investigate how AI is being used in a specific role, field, or organization that they want to work in after graduating, and to reflect on what this means for their skills, opportunities, and future career. /1

An Introduction to the Creator Economy | Damian Radcliffe The Creator Economy is one of the most important forces reshaping media, journalism, entertainment, and advertising today. Here are my introductory slides, which dive into this topic as part of my Uni...

It’s impossible to grasp the future of media without understanding the Creator Economy.

For students interested in journalism, PR, advertising, and storytelling, understanding how creators grow, monetize, and adapt is essential.

Here are some introductory slides on the topic. bit.ly/44bKgkh

Thank you to Paige Campbell for joining my JCOM 304 Media Business class @uosojc.bsky.social yesterday.

Paige talked about her journey from initially feeling like this space wasn't for her, to becoming the owner of Grady Britton + what it takes to run an agency grounded in integrity and purpose.

Huge thanks to Justin Johnson for speaking to our
@uosojc.bsky.social students today!

He shared how student-athletes can build strong, authentic brands in the NIL era — exploring the routes of this authenticity and examples of this in practice. 🙌

#NIL #StudentAthletes #SportsMarketing

Freelancing: Building a career on your own terms | Damian Radcliffe My thanks to the Oregon Journalism Education Association for the opportunity to talk to high school students today about the realities of freelancing and working as an independent content creator. S...

Huge thanks to the Oregon Journalism Education Association for the chance to talk about #freelancing today.

My session was packed, and I was blown away by how many high school students are already working as independent (often $) creators. Inspiring!

See my deck:
www.linkedin.com/feed/update/...

The conversation follows a visit by Professor Schellmann to @uoregon.bsky.social earlier this year, as part of our Demystifying Media series.

We explore:

• How companies use AI in hiring pipelines
• How journalists and job seekers can push back

podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/7...

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#71 Demystifying AI with Hilke Schellmann | Demystifying Media at the University of Oregon Hilke Schellmann, an Emmy award-winning journalist and professor at NYU, discusses her book "The Algorithm: How AI Decides Who Gets Hired, Monitored, Promoted, and Fired and Why We Need to Fight Back ...

🤖 New on @uosojc.bsky.social Demystifying Media podcast : Hilke Schellmann (NYU professor & Emmy winner) joins us to unpack how AI is used in hiring — the biases, the claims, and where things go wrong.

🎧 Listen: demystifying-media.simplecast.com/episodes/71d...

#AI #ArtificialIntelligence #HR 1/2

State of subscriptions 2025: pushing past the paywall plateau For decades, advertising was the primary source of income for media companies. However, the digital age has forced publishers to rapidly reassess their

📉 Subscription growth has plateaued. So how can publishers address this?

For the trade body Digital Content Next, I examine proven solutions, such as bundling and new products.

🔗 Read here: digitalcontentnext.org/blog/2025/09/25/state-of-subscriptions-2025-pushing-past-the-paywall-plateau/

#37 Next Generation Leaders: Q&A with Julia Mueller Podcast Episode · Next Generation Leaders · 09/24/2025 · 30m

You can also listen to this interview via Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/3...

🚨 New! Episode 37 of the @uosojc.bsky.social's Next Generation Leaders podcast features Julia Mueller, a reporter covering politics, campaigns, and the White House in Washington, D.C.

📑 juliamuellerthewriter.com

🎧 Listen now: nextgenerationleaders.simplecast.com/episodes/37-... #journalism