Back to basics

In the beginning, there was a story and a message. Something that captivated, that caught attention, that brought us new perspectives and reliable information on any given topic. The media, or news organisations, digital or print, have always been the foundation of our understanding of the world around us.

ThomasbJefferson, third President of the United States and principal author of the Declaration of Independence, clearly summarised the importance of a strong and dynamic press when he stated“(..) and were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter. But I should mean that every man should receive those papers & be capable of reading them.” This statement remains as relevant today as it was at the time. News organisations have evolved over time to create proven models of governance and information validation that guarantee the accuracy of information for the reader, which are fundamental at a time when misinformation is presented to us daily in more or less credible forms,with the recent example of the BBC being an exemplary case of how organisations should respond to their errors, with transparency and speed. In Portugal, according to the most recent study by the Reuters Institute (Digital News Report 2025), 54% of citizens trust most of the news they read, and Marktest studies continue to show high levels of engagement with reading publications, including print, despite the continued reduction in the number of readers.

The most recent challenges posed by growth and the transition to digital have led to an expansion of the media’s presence into new formats and new channels, from social media to podcasts, from branded content to initiatives such as events.News organisations have renewed themselves, changed, and gone through periods of concentration and the disappearance of relevant titles, but they continue to maintain their fundamental role of providing balanced and considered information.

At the same time, consumers, with particular relevance to Generation Z, have been choosing more carefully and reducing their presence on social media, where acrimony and fake news are a problem that is difficult to resolve, seeking more real and meaningful interactions. There are already several good examples: the Offline Club, the recent legislative initiative in Australia to limit access to social media for those under 16, the ban on smartphones and tablets in playgrounds implemented by Denmark, together with fundamental educational projects such as Pinóquio na Escola, aimed at raising media literacy and combating misinformation.

All this context creates new opportunities for relevance for news organisations, but also for brands that know how to invest, capitalising on their relevance to consumers (and readers) and creating creative initiatives that bring together the physical and digital worlds to strengthen more personal and closer relationships. Consumers continue, at their core, to aspire to what is authentic, what is personalised, what entertains them, and what opens up new perspectives. In all these dimensions, news organisations can play a relevant role. In the end, it continues to be a story and a message.