logo
Moira Forbes on Media's Next Chapter: Credibility and Community Take the Lead

Moira Forbes on Media's Next Chapter: Credibility and Community Take the Lead

Khaleej Times3 hours ago
The media world has undergone a fundamental transformation. Breaking news – once the industry's ultimate prize – has been displaced by two elements that now command premium: trusted voices that create clarity from chaos, and engaged communities where audiences actively participate rather than passively consume. This shift from valuing speed to valuing curation and community represents nothing less than a complete reordering of media's hierarchy of value.
For decades, major news organizations competed primarily on speed and exclusivity. First to publish, first to broadcast, first to alert. That competition made sense when information was scarce and distribution channels limited. But technological forces have completely upended this equation. Social media has democratized content creation, turning billions into potential publishers. Search engines have made virtually all recorded knowledge instantly accessible. And artificial intelligence now enables content generation at unprecedented scale. These technologies have created not just algorithms for distribution but entirely new ways of discovering, consuming, and engaging with information.
This information abundance has brought tremendous benefits – greater access to knowledge, more diverse perspectives, and unprecedented opportunities for connection. Yet it has also created new complexities. As content proliferates across platforms, audiences increasingly struggle to distinguish credible information from noise and seek meaningful dialogue rather than endless streams of disconnected updates.
For established media brands, this new reality presents both opportunity and risk. Institutional reputation alone no longer guarantees audience attention. Yet organizations with demonstrated records of accuracy and insight possess invaluable credibility in a fragmented landscape. Their task is leveraging that credibility while building genuine communities around their expertise.
The media hierarchy has also fundamentally flattened. Independent voices with distinctive expertise, authentic perspective, or unique access now attract loyalty once reserved for major institutions. These creators succeed not through distribution scale but through perceptive analysis and direct audience relationships. Their ascendance requires established organizations to articulate value beyond their brand name, as audience loyalty no longer is exclusive to institutional identity.
Geography adds another dimension to this transformation. While audiences access global information streams, they still seek perspectives that understand their specific cultural context. This creates opportunities for media that successfully bridge international perspective with local relevance.
Artificial intelligence amplifies rather than diminishes the importance of human expertise. As AI makes basic content production effortless, human judgment becomes exponentially more valuable. While algorithms excel at information processing, they struggle with discernment, ethical reasoning, and contextual understanding – precisely what audiences increasingly seek. Similarly, while technology facilitates connection, meaningful community requires human guidance.
Credibility and community have become the twin pillars of media value, each reinforcing the other. Trusted curation attracts audience participation; community engagement strengthens loyalty. Audiences increasingly value sources that expertly filter what matters and this shift fundamentally changes how they evaluate information sources. The question is no longer "Who's first?" but "Who makes sense of what matters?" In this new landscape, those who deliver both trusted guidance and meaningful connection will define media's next chapter.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Wall St futures slip as markets await clarity on tariffs
Wall St futures slip as markets await clarity on tariffs

Zawya

timean hour ago

  • Zawya

Wall St futures slip as markets await clarity on tariffs

U.S. stock index futures slipped on Monday as investors grappled with uncertainty around U.S. tariff policies, while Tesla's shares dropped after CEO Elon Musk announced plans to form a political party. The White House is close to finalizing several trade pacts in coming days and will notify other countries of higher tariff rates by July 9, President Donald Trump said on Sunday, with the higher rates set to take effect on August 1. Trump also threatened an extra 10% tariff on countries aligning themselves with the "Anti-American policies" of the BRICS group of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. In April, Trump unveiled a base tariff rate of 10% on most countries and additional duties ranging up to 50%, although he later delayed the effective date for all but 10% until July 9. The new date offers countries a three-week reprieve. At 5:30 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis were down 79 points, or 0.18%, U.S. S&P 500 E-minis were down 28.75 points, or 0.45%, and Nasdaq 100 E-minis were down 141.25 points, or 0.61%. The market's reaction was cautious, as investors weighed the lack of fresh details and braced for light summer trading in a week light on economic data — except for Thursday's initial jobless claims. Monday's pullback also comes after the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq closed at record highs on Thursday following a surprisingly strong jobs report that pointed to resilience in the labor market. The Dow closed the holiday-shortened week about 0.5% away from its own record high. Among megacap stocks, Tesla dropped 6.6% in premarket trading after Musk announced the formation of a new U.S. political party, marking a new escalation in his feud with Trump. Nvidia last week was on track to become the world's most valuable company in history, with the chipmaker's market capitalization nearing $4 trillion. Its shares were nearly 1% lower on the day. Meanwhile, Trump's chaotic tariff policies and what that might do to economic growth and inflation have kept the Federal Reserve from cutting interest rates, and minutes of its June meeting scheduled for release on Wednesday should offer more clues on the interest rate outlook. Traders have now priced out a July rate cut, with September odds standing at 66%, according to CME Group's FedWatch tool. Attention is on the massive tax-cut and spending bill approved by the Republicans in the House of Representatives after markets closed on Thursday that is set to balloon the national debt by $3.4 trillion. While the stimulus could juice economic growth, it also threatens to stoke inflation, making the Fed's next move harder to predict. (Reporting by Pranav Kashyap in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)

Visa's 24/7 war room takes on global cybercriminals
Visa's 24/7 war room takes on global cybercriminals

Khaleej Times

timean hour ago

  • Khaleej Times

Visa's 24/7 war room takes on global cybercriminals

In the heart of Data Center Alley — a patch of suburban Washington where much of the world's internet traffic flows -- Visa operates its global fraud command center. The numbers that the payments giant grapples with are enormous. Every year, $15 trillion flows through Visa's networks, representing roughly 15 percent of the world's economy. And bad actors constantly try to syphon off some of that money. Modern fraudsters vary dramatically in sophistication. To stay ahead, Visa has invested $12 billion over the past five years building AI-powered cyber fraud detection capabilities, knowing that criminals are also spending big. "You have everybody from a single individual threat actor looking to make a quick buck all the way to really corporatized criminal organizations that generate tens or hundreds of millions of dollars annually from fraud and scam activities," Michael Jabbara, Visa's global head of fraud solutions, told AFP during a tour of the company's security campus. "These organizations are very structured in how they operate." The best-resourced criminal syndicates now focus on scams that directly target consumers, enticing them into purchases or transactions by manipulating their emotions. "Consumers are continuously vulnerable. They can be exploited, and that's where we've seen a much higher incidence of attacks recently," Jabbara said. - Scam centers - The warning signs are clear: anything that seems too good to be true online is suspicious, and romance opportunities with strangers from distant countries are especially dangerous. "What you don't realize is that the person you're chatting with is more likely than not in a place like Myanmar," Jabbara warned. He said human-trafficking victims are forced to work in multi-billion-dollar cyber scam centers built by Asian crime networks in Myanmar's lawless border regions. The most up-to-date fraud techniques are systematic and quietly devastating. Once criminals obtain your card information, they automatically distribute it across numerous merchant websites that generate small recurring charges -- amounts low enough that victims may not notice for months. Some of these operations increasingly resemble legitimate tech companies, offering services and digital products to fraudsters much like Google or Microsoft cater to businesses. On the dark web, criminals can purchase comprehensive fraud toolkits. "You can buy the software. You can buy a tutorial on how to use the software. You can get access to a mule network on the ground or you can get access to a bot network" to carry out denial-of-service attacks that overwhelm servers with traffic, effectively shutting them down. Just as cloud computing lowered barriers for startups by eliminating the need to build servers, "the same type of trend has happened in the cyber crime and fraud space," Jabbara explained. These off-the-shelf services can also enable bad actors to launch brute force attacks on an industrial scale -- using repeated payment attempts to crack a card's number, expiry date, and security code. The sophistication extends to corporate-style management, Jabbara said. Some criminal organizations now employ chief risk officers who determine operational risk appetite. They might decide that targeting government infrastructure and hospitals generates an excessive amount of attention from law enforcement and is too risky to pursue. 'Millions of attacks' To combat these unprecedented threats, Jabbara leads a payment scam disruption team focused on understanding criminal methodologies. From a small room called the Risk Operations Center in Virginia, employees analyze data streams on multiple screens, searching for patterns that distinguish fraudulent activity from legitimate credit card use. In the larger Cyber Fusion Center, staff monitor potential cyberattacks targeting Visa's own infrastructure around the clock. "We deal with millions of attacks across different parts of our network," Jabbara noted, emphasizing that most are handled automatically without human intervention. Visa maintains identical facilities in London and Singapore, ensuring 24-hour global vigilance.

GCC wealth management landscape is shifting to address investor concerns around agility and technology
GCC wealth management landscape is shifting to address investor concerns around agility and technology

Zawya

timean hour ago

  • Zawya

GCC wealth management landscape is shifting to address investor concerns around agility and technology

Trust in AI is on the rise with 71% of investors expecting wealth managers to incorporate AI into their product offerings Investors in the region are actively engaging with advisors and have higher expectations around investment performance and product access Dubai, UAE – According to the 2025 EY Global Wealth Research Report, the GCC wealth management landscape is undergoing a profound transformation, shaped by shifting client expectations and technological disruption. Investor behavior in the region reflects greater engagement with advisors, increased openness to switching providers, and heightened expectations around investment performance and product access. Nearly 55% of GCC clients reported arranging more advisor meetings in response to market volatility, well above the global average. The importance of understanding how financial activities impact the client's financial health is nearly as important as portfolio allocation, indicating that investors now expect advisors to deliver holistic wealth management. At the same time, multihoming is rising rapidly, with 36% of investors in the region expecting to increase their number of wealth management relationships, and nearly 50% expressing interest in working with more providers, pointing to a growing fragmentation of trust and loyalty. In parallel, clients are showing a strong preference for alternative investments, with 69% already allocating assets to these vehicles. Mayur Pau, EY MENA Financial Services Leader, says: 'The EY Global Wealth Research Report shows that longstanding assumptions in wealth management are being disrupted by accelerating economic shifts and rapid technological change. This is heightening the urgency for wealth managers to offer more clarity, agility, and proactive guidance in an environment defined by uncertainty. Clients also expect greater depth and breadth of the product shelf than ever. Wealth management firms must be prepared to understand the drivers of satisfaction and ensure they are optimized independently of prevailing market conditions.' GCC investors feel satisfied with the services provided by their primary wealth manager across all key dimensions, but they still see the task of managing their wealth becoming more intricate. Only 57% of the region's respondents have reached the 'high bar' of being well-prepared to meet their financial goals, which must be the target for all advised clients. Rising expectations for AI integration In the GCC, 13% of clients express a high level of trust in artificial intelligence (AI), showcasing their openness to AI-powered solutions. This figure is notably higher than in more mature markets, like North America (6%) and Europe (9%), and it is also competitive with Latin America (16%) and Asia Pacific (15%). Wealth managers in the region must leverage this trust to meet the evolving expectations of their tech-savvy client base. The GCC is among the most enthusiastic regions globally when it comes to AI, with 71% of investors expecting wealth managers to incorporate AI into their product offerings. This number is even higher among mass affluents. On the other hand, clients are increasingly aware of the potential risks associated with AI, including data misuse and the accuracy of AI-driven insights. To build trust, wealth managers must actively educate clients about AI's capabilities and the safeguards in place to protect their information. This includes communicating the ethical principles guiding AI use, ensuring compliance with regulations and demonstrating how AI can enhance – rather than replace – the human element of wealth management. Clients seek less common fee arrangements GCC investors are more cautious and proactive, emphasizing transparency, cost clarity and tailored offerings. While percentage-based fees on assets under management (AUM) are unpopular globally (15%), they remain relatively more accepted in the GCC (27%), with performance-based fees, fixed fees, subscription fees and combinations of fee structures losing popularity. These findings show that industry pricing mechanisms are out of step with client preferences, revealing an underlying opportunity for pricing optimization. Concerns around hidden costs have decreased in the last few years, with firms making progress in improving fee transparency. Over 90% of clients in the region strongly believe they are being charged fairly for services rendered. GCC clients cite better investment performance and returns (55%) and access to a wider array of investment products and services (53%) as their top two drivers to switch wealth management providers. Only 26% would opt for a different provider due to seeking lower fees for services. Hamdan Khan, Partner, EY MENA Wealth and Asset Management, says: 'With investors increasingly expecting AI-powered solutions and holistic wealth management approaches, firms must act swiftly to align their strategies with these evolving demands. By investing in AI technologies, enhancing client engagement and prioritizing ethical data practices, wealth managers can position themselves for success in a rapidly changing landscape. The future of wealth management is not just about managing assets; it's about building relationships, fostering trust and leveraging technology to create exceptional client experiences.' The biennial EY Global Wealth Research Report aims to help wealth managers align strategic priorities with deep, data-driven insights into client behavior, preferences and expectations. It also identifies clear trends in managing provider relationships, reallocating capital, and planning for intergenerational wealth transfer. For more information on the report and its findings, please visit: management-research -Ends- About EY | Building a better working world EY is building a better working world by creating new value for clients, people, society and the planet, while building trust in capital markets. Enabled by data, AI and advanced technology, EY teams help clients shape the future with confidence and develop answers for the most pressing issues of today and tomorrow. EY teams work across a full spectrum of services in assurance, consulting, tax, strategy and transactions. Fuelled by sector insights, a globally connected, multidisciplinary network and diverse ecosystem partners, EY teams can provide services in more than 150 countries and territories. All in to shape the future with confidence. EY refers to the global organization, and may refer to one or more, of the member firms of Ernst & Young Global Limited, each of which is a separate legal entity. Ernst & Young Global Limited, a UK company limited by guarantee, does not provide services to clients. Information about how EY collects and uses personal data and a description of the rights individuals have under data protection legislation are available via EY member firms do not practice law where prohibited by local laws. For more information about our organization, please visit The MENA practice of EY has been operating in the region since 1923. Over the past 100 years, we have grown to over 8,500 people united across 27 offices and 14 countries, sharing the same values and an unwavering commitment to quality. As an organization, we continue to develop outstanding leaders who deliver exceptional services to our clients and who contribute to our communities. We are proud of our accomplishments over the years, reaffirming our position as the largest and most established professional services organization in the region. © 2025 EYGM Limited. All Rights Reserved. ED None This material has been prepared for general informational purposes only and is not intended to be relied upon as accounting, tax, legal or other professional advice. Please refer to your advisors for specific advice.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store